Life is a playground for Seamus Coffer who started his business, Adventure Swingsets, in 2003. Here he talks to allaboutbusiness.ie  about what the company has needed to do to adapt and survive the economic downturn.

Adventure Swingsets owner Seamus Coffer planned to spend his life in the water but today finds himself firmly rooted in the dry land of parks, playgrounds, back gardens and squealing children.

Although Coffer started his career in marine engineering, the 1980s recession forced him to move to Australia, and then the USA, to find a job. In America he worked as a sub-contractor installing swingsets for children. The experience planted the seeds of a business idea in his head.

Background to the backyard

The pull of home was strong and Coffer returned to Ireland in 2003. Naturally the first thing he did was build a swingset for his sisters’ kids. Visitors to the house were enchanted by the hand-built set, the queries started rolling in and Adventure Swingsets was born.

Coffer’s unique selling point (USP) over his many competitors was the customised nature of the work. Other businesses sold flat-pack, generic designs but Coffer was able to give his customers exactly what they wanted.

The hand-crafted play sets are now found in crèches, shopping centres, pre-schools, public parks and private homes.

Adventure Swingsets is a sole trading company. It was financed by a small business loan with help from the Limerick County Enterprise Board.

Swinging to success

Things were going well but there were challenges. The businessman says the biggest was understanding all the documentation needed for running a business from VAT and accounts to legal issues. “For guidance in the beginning I used to shoot the breeze with plasterers and carpenters that I knew, just to get my head around the paperwork,” he said.

Marketing was one thing that did come naturally. Thanks to his American odyssey he was able to copy various word-of-mouth marketing techniques. One of the most successful was hosting BBQs with the swingsets on show so families could bring their kids along to try them out.

By 2009, things started to change as the dark clouds of recession gathered. Sales plummeted and Seamus was forced to take a hard look at his business. Painful decisions had to be made: he scaled down operations from a warehouse to a garage in a friend’s yard and cut staff from four to just one, him.

Cash is king

The biggest challenge facing Adventure Swingsets now, as with many companies, is cashflow. New timber supplies are only purchased after they sell a playset. “Everything has to be paid in advance now which can be tricky”.

For now, small is beautiful but that hasn’t stopped Coffer from planning for the future. He hopes to open up a number of display areas around the country so  people can see his product “Once customers see how strongly built these swing-sets are they sell themselves.” Sales in large DIY retail stores also factor in his vision for the future.

The plan seems to be working out so far. The flat pack competitors that were around before seem to have stopped advertising so Coffer is unsure whether they are still running.

Still in the running

Advertising for the business is through papers, flyers, radio, trade shows and most importantly word of mouth. The company is upgrading its website as these days Coffer notices more of a reaction from people saying they spotted the sets on Google than anywhere else.

Coffer compares the current climate for business as similar to a horse race at the moment with “fences and stumbles the whole way through but you just have to stick with it through thick and thin”.

Seamus’ own business philosophy is to go out of your way for people and make yourself available at all times because you never know when you’ll make a sale. Although he’s hearing of so many companies going bust it inspires him to drive on. Like a jockey, he worries about holding back or stopping for a break in case the business falls out from under him.

Related Links

http://www.adventureworldswingsets.com/index.php?view=home