With many gyms and organized sporting events shut down for the foreseeable future, many people are looking for ways to stay active. Made4Fighters is helping people with that challenge by offering martial arts gear and other workout equipment that they can use right at home.
This isn’t a new concept for the company. But they’ve been able to navigate recent challenges thanks to a strong foundation and business model. Read more about the company in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
Made4Fighters – What the Business Does
Sells gear for various martial arts.
Director Jacob Edwards-Bytom told Small Business Trends, “We design and sell training equipment and gear for martial artists. This includes taekwondo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, karate, boxing, MMA, and muay thai fighters. Our products are designed for beginners all the way up to people who practice at the professional level.”
Business Niche
Carrying quality products from top brands.
Edwards-Bytom says, “In fact, we sell products made by 60 different companies. In addition, we design our own proprietary brand called Bytomic, which includes gear such as boxing gloves, workout mats, shin guards, foam rollers, and karate uniforms.”
How the Business Got Started
To expand an existing business.
Edwards-Bytom explains, “Initially, we only sold products to MMA fighters. Now, we’ve expanded to cater to other martial arts such as kickboxing, muay thai, and karate. Our other business, Bytomic, is a B2B wholesale distributor that sells to other retailers and gyms. Made4Fighters is a B2C e-commerce business that allows us to sell directly to martial artists.”
Biggest Win
Navigating recent challenges related to COVID-19.
Edwards-Bytom says, “For example, we anticipated that more people would be looking for alternative ways to stay active since they were stuck at home. So we started selling home training equipment such as treadmills, multi gyms, and rowing machines. This has allowed us to keep our company sustainable despite the challenges.”
Biggest Risk
Developing their own line of products, Bytomic.
Edwards-Bytom says, “We had to invest a lot of time into R&D, as well as manufacturing our own products once we were ready to go to market. It would have been much less risky to simply sell the brands of other retailers. However, we know that’s what most e-commerce companies do. And we knew that wouldn’t give us a competitive advantage. Today, our products have earned their reputation as a leading brand in the martial arts niche and have even been featured on trade publications and The Guardian.”
Lesson Learned
Content is key.
Edwards-Bytom explains, “Developing content for our blog wasn’t a big focus of ours the first few years we were in business. But as an online company, we understand now how important content is for reaching prospective customers and bringing awareness to our website and online store.”
How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000
Sponsoring sporting events and professional fighters.
Edwards-Bytom adds, “We believe this would help expand our reach outside online channels and also be a great way to get involved in the local community.”
Fun Fact
They are a true family business.
Edwards-Bytom says, “Entrepreneurship is in our blood. Our family has been starting and running new small businesses for over 25 years.”
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Image: Made4Fighters, Facebook
This article, "Spotlight: Made4Fighters Quickly Adjusts to Current Challenges" was first published on Small Business Trends
May 20, 2020 at 09:10AM
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Annie Pilon, Khareem Sudlow
