Be Willing To Make Mistakes And Learn From Them

31 year-old Oliver Zissman is an ‘opportunist’ entrepreneur who, during his year out after school, launched his own business after spotting a gap in the market for selling gym and fitness equipment over the internet.

With a small loan from his family to help get him started, Oliver secured his first supplier and Totally Fitness was launched in the UK in 1997.

The aim of Totally Fitness is to provide a service where customers could try equipment before they committed to buying and were able to discuss their choices with highly trained staff. It now has 30 employees and a turnover of approximately £5.2million in 2007.

He says, “You have to be willing to make mistakes and learn from them – there is no shame in trying out various different ventures. The satisfaction you get from launching a successful business makes all the effort along the way worthwhile.”

Oliver’s entrepreneurialism was recognised when he was named as a finalist in the High Business Growth category of the 2007 Enterprising Young Brits awards during national Enterprise Week.