A young trader who left high school in Year 11 spoke of the “bulb moment” that led him to develop a multi-million dollar company.
One day while driving home from work, plumber Tim Lewis caught a glimpse of his reflection in the rear-view mirror and noticed the “cheap disposable safety glasses” he had to wear every day.
He thought to himself: “I want to find some better looking safety glasses.”
I realized that there was a huge gap in the market for stylish, certified safety eyewear. I searched online but couldn’t find anything like it available all over the world,” the 29-year-old from Perth told FEMAIL.
He studied Australian safety standards, researched manufacturers and began designing with some basic sketches in his father’s living room.
After 18 months of “long days, late nights, and countless obstacles” he was fired SafeStyle in November 2017.
All the hard work involved in building a company from the ground up has paid off, as Lewis claims the brand is now making a staggering $1 million a month.
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Plumber turned entrepreneur Tim Lewis (pictured) launched SafeStyle from the comfort of his bedroom in November 2017
“I saw a gap in the market and, to be honest, I just wanted to wear more comfortable, stylish, high-quality safety glasses to work,” said Mr. Lewis.
“To be honest, I just wanted to wear more comfortable, stylish, high-quality safety glasses at work – I was so excited to see if that was possible!” Mr. Lewis said.
“Traders spend over 40 hours a week working with safety glasses and I never liked wearing a standard wrap-around safety glasses and that was the only option.
“Dealers, myself included, were throwing them in the trash and treating them as disposable, so that was also bad for the environment. They served one purpose fast.
He quickly worked on creating basic drawings which led to the creation of 3D samples before finalizing the final.
Mr. Lewis first launched the brand on Instagram and Facebook and launched a basic website.
Then he went ahead and ordered 3,000 trophies to be sold, which he was worried about because he was pouring his life savings into the brand.
My first shipment arrived and I started picking and packing orders from my bedroom. At first I was only getting one or two applications a day, but within weeks, the numbers skyrocketed.
He had to shut down his plumbing company—Tim’s Plumbing & Gas—to spend “every waking hour” expanding SafeStyle.
The glasses are made from shatterproof, recycled polycarbonate, and the brand has sold over 500,000 pairs to date.
The products are unisex, tax free and suitable for tradesmen, miners, healthcare champions and weekenders. The glasses themselves range from $29.99 to $69.99
The glasses are made from shatterproof, recycled polycarbonate, and the brand has sold over 500,000 pairs to date.
“I’ve learned that if you do everything right as a business owner to create a great product, market it well, take care of your employees and take care of your customers, all the rest will come,” Mr. Lewis said.
He now leads a team of 30 employees and continues to design glasses himself with the help of his team.
The glasses themselves range from $29.99 to $69.99.
He now leads a team of 30 employees and continues to design glasses himself with the help of his team
Today Safestyle eyewear is available in 500 stores and online sales are booming.
The products are unisex, tax free and suitable for tradesmen, miners, healthcare champions and weekenders.
I’ve always wanted to create a brand that can give back to the community and I’m really proud of our philanthropic portfolio. To date, we’ve donated over $150,000 to charities, and have partnered with the likes of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Lifeline and our most recent partner is Lions Outback Vision,” said Mr. Lewis.
