The buying and selling bug bit me early

Three decades ago there used to be Nintendo video games that children loved playing. One such kid got a Nintendo as birthday gift from his parents when he was around five years old. He was probably in his first grade when he started renting out these video games for $1 to classmates. That landed him up in the principal’s office. In the bigger scheme of things, it revealed a talent that would later become his career – buying and selling.

The child we are referring to is Charlie Chanaratsopon, founder of Charming Charlie – a US-based contemporary jewellery and accessories brand for women having a 385-plus store network – 370 in the US and Canada and 15 internationally – including the Middle East and the Philippines.

In a conversation with Rupkatha Bhowmick, Chanaratsopon says he was never cut out to be a professional. He always liked the idea of buying and selling and quite obviously decided to become an entrepreneur.

“I was interested in buying and selling things since the time I was five. I had this constant urge to do business. As the years went by I got keener to buy and sell more things, which eventually led me to set up my own business. I self-funded Charming Charlie although today we have partners from two different groups. It took us about four years to find our investors. Setting up your own business isn’t easy. Almost 97% of start-ups fail to make a mark. But you can’t be afraid of failure,” he shares.

Read the full article in the April edition of RetailME