Dan McClen

From a young age, Dan had a keen interest in all thing business, and dreamed of one day running his own. Having not yet found his creative side, and no idea where to begin creating a company, he decided to seek an accountancy apprenticeship and started working for a BMW dealership in Newcastle. With a passion for cars, learning and an almost relentless determination to succeed, he quickly progressed and by the age of 25 was an Accountant for one of the largest motor groups in the U.K.

During Dans time at BMW, Dan knew he wanted to do more than just be an Accountant. With a keen eye towards the operational side of the business, he got involved as much as possible, often surprising the General Managers with ideas they were happy to implement, having not been used to an Accountant who wanted anything to do with running the business. Still dreaming of having his own business though, he was always noting business ideas down on his phone's notes. Never having the courage to actually start, and making all the typical excuses one does when starting something new: I don't have time, I don't have the money, I don't know what I am doing.

Finally, at the time of pouring over business books and researching business leaders, Dan was trying to find a birthday present for his then girlfriend. She always tried wearing earrings, but came up with the same problem. They would go red, itch terribly and become very sore. Stubborn as always, Dan spend hours researching the different materials and different jewellery on the web claiming to solve the problem. Having come up with a few solutions, and noting that 1 in 7 people have allergies such as his girlfriends, and idea for a business different to those on his phones notes was born.

This was the start of Solace Jewellery, and many hours of hard work to bring it to life. With no idea of how to set up a website, create a mailing list, ship products, it was a steep learning curve. But as with everything else, Dan emerged himself in books and learned everything from scratch, improving the website in little steps.

Now Solace Jewellery is profitable, and with multiple orders a day. It's target goal is to be the best hypoallergenic retailer in the U.K., with customer service at its core. Dan continues to learn and improve the website, and offerings to his customers.