In this week’s episode of the Niche Pursuits Podcast, Matthew James Davy and I discuss his remarkable journey from life as a marine engineer on luxury yachts to becoming the founder of a fast-growing e-commerce brand. What started as a side hustle during long hauls at sea turned into a highly profitable business through persistence, turnarounds and a willingness to learn through trial and error.
Matt shares how he went from initial shipping failures to building his own pottery brand and white labeling. His story is full of lessons for entrepreneurs thinking of starting a side business or expanding an existing business. Let’s explore Matt’s entrepreneurial journey, what worked, what didn’t, and what’s next.
From Yachts to Entrepreneurship
Before starting his e-commerce business, Matt spent nearly ten years working on superyachts. While the lifestyle, which offered tax-free income and six months of paid vacation, was lucrative, it came at a high personal cost. Being away for half a year meant missing out on birthdays, weddings and everyday life with loved ones.
So Matt started looking for an outlet outside of working on the plane.
- He used his free time at sea, sometimes up to eight hours a day, to study and build an online business.
- His early ventures included thrift stores that barely made sales.
- After realizing the quality and shipping issues with low-ticket products, he switched to high-ticket dropshipping.
This commitment to change has paid off in a big way, but not without bumps.
Initial lessons on dropshipping
Matt’s introduction to high-ticket sales began with a course he took after listening to countless podcasts. He followed the recommendations carefully, chose a niche (watersports equipment at first), and then quickly realized that choosing too narrow a niche led to limited sales.
She eventually landed on pottery equipment, a passion project inspired by her fiance’s hobby. But this also came with limitations.
- His first shop brought in around £1,000 to £2,000 a month.
- He discovered that overall UK search volume in his niche was only between 25,000 and 30,000 per month, well below the 100,000 he now recommends aiming for.
- Efforts to expand the niche to other hobbies have failed due to a lack of uniform audience targeting.
Despite these challenges, Matt was learning valuable lessons about niche selection, margin control, and customer focus.
White Labeling: A Game Changer
After failing to sell his shop, Matt made a strategic move: instead of shipping other people’s pottery, he decided to bleach the label and eventually produce his own. This change changed everything.
- He took samples from Alibaba, tested many factories, and ultimately chose one based on quality and communication.
- His first batch of 10 pottery wheels cost around £4,000. He sold them for £10,000 and made a profit of £6,000, which was more than he had made in the previous four or five months.
- After he started selling his own branded products, his net profit margin went from 6% to 9% (like a trickle) to 40% to 50%.
Not only did margins improve, but he gained complete control over product quality, logistics and customer experience.
Smart Marketing Moves
With better margins and control, Matt began experimenting with new marketing strategies that were too costly as a dropshipper.
- He built an email list and used it to drive repeat traffic and conversions.
- He invested in search text ads, usually too expensive for low-margin dropshipping, because he could now afford higher customer acquisition costs.
- Social media played a big role, especially platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, where his older, creative audience hangs out.
Matt didn’t stop there. He also made smart moves in SEO, especially with backlink building.
- He created a pottery studio directory for Great Britain, classified by county.
- After listing the studios, he emailed them to interact.
- This free (excluding VA costs) tactic has generated 50 to 100 connections, improving trust and search rankings.
It attributes much of its organic growth and sales to this community-based approach.
Six-Digit and Ten-Dimensional Measurement
The numbers speak for themselves. Matt’s business grew rapidly after taking the step to own his own product.
- 2023 is coming: £71,000
- 2024 is coming: £272,000
- 2025 is coming: £630,000
This represents a nearly 9-fold increase in profits over two years. On Black Friday, it went from selling 10 products a month to 76 in just one week.
With this increase, Matt moved from solo operator to team leader.
- It currently has a full-time advertising manager and customer service team.
- Many backend processes such as automation and order management are outsourced to VAs.
- It invests in scalable systems including logistics and revenue to run the business independently.
Looking ahead: More brands, more growth
With a brand now on a solid foundation, Matt wonders what’s next.
- He now plans to build additional stores using what he calls “cheat codes” he has developed.
- His priority is to make sure the current store runs without his day-to-day presence.
- He thinks about how he can help other entrepreneurs achieve similar success, if not through a course, but simply by giving back and answering questions.
He emphasizes the importance of persistence and learning through failure.
Final Thoughts
Matt Davy’s story is a powerful example of how a side hustle can turn into a thriving business. When he started, he didn’t have a master plan. Instead, he built his knowledge through trial and error and relentless curiosity.
Here are some highlights from Matt’s journey:
- Start as a side hustle, but take it seriously.
- Ignore data, search volume, margins, and demand.
- Be prepared to turn around if something doesn’t work.
- Consider owning your product for better margins and more control.
- Invest in email marketing, SEO and platform-specific advertising based on your audience.
- Talk to others in space; most are happy to help.
What makes Matt’s journey especially relatable is that he shares not only his triumphs, but also his mistakes. Her transition from a stable but unfulfilling career to building a brand from scratch offers a realistic road map for others who aspire to do the same.
If there’s one final message from this interview, it’s this: Keep going. Keep learning. And don’t compare your middle to someone else’s end.
