‘Teachers said I’d never achieve anything big because I’m from Orchard Park – but just look at me now’
22-YEAR-OLD DEFIES DOUBTERS TO CREATE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
A YOUNG Hull man who was told he would “never achieve anything massive” because he grew up on Orchard Park has defied doubters by creating his own successful menswear brand.
Danny Comerford used to get involved in fights growing up and teachers used to tell him to be more realistic about his life ambitions.
The 22-year-old said: “I always did very well at school and I always got my head down and worked hard. However, I was always brought up being told that certain things are unrealistic.
“I wanted to do this and that, but kept being told, ‘you can’t do that – you come from Orchard Park.’ I was told I would never achieve anything massive and that was the mindset I had when I was younger.
“I always thought I would work in a nine to five job because that was what was realistic. People would leave school, get a job and work in it for 40 years and that was their life.
“But in my late teens I realised I didn’t want that life. I wanted to do my own thing and build something which I could grow in the future.”
Having always been interested in fashion, Mr Comerford decided to look into setting up his own clothes business. He could never afford a suit and realised there was a gap in the market for him to become a made-to-measure retailer of men’s suits.
“I did a lot of research and tracked down a manufacturer of suits,” he said. “I tested a few out and they were good. They were made-tomeasure and it was cheaper because I was getting them from a manufacturer.
“After that I decided to start selling them, but I was starting a company from scratch. I had no money at this point so rather than pay individuals to build a website I had to learn coding myself and do it from scratch.
“Any money I earned was invested straight back into the business and I had to be frugal because I had little to no money.”
Comerford’s Custom Clothing was officially created in December 2017 with Mr Comerford deciding to go into business after quitting university.
Prior to that, he had left school at 15 and went to college to study medical science before going to university to do a course in human biology.
However, Mr Comerford did not want to pursue a career in the sciences – and it has since proved to be a sensible decision.
“It took a while to build and by the time I’d built the website I had to learn about advertising through social media. I had to learn to network and negotiate things and work out things like my costs and my taxes.”
Now, Comerford’s Custom Clothing has its own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, which are linked to a website displaying all the suits he has up for sale.
The entrepreneur said: “We’re a made-to-measure suit retailer so we sell made-to-measure suits at very affordable prices for what they are.
“So what you do is go on the website, choose your suit, input your measurements and then we make that suit to fit you perfectly and then we send it straight to you.
“Business has really picked up recently and right now it is the best it has ever been.”
All of Mr Comerford’s suits are customisable, meaning customers can make alterations to specific details should they wish to do so.
In a good month, he usually sells about 100 suits and Mr Comerford is currently integrating an app into his business which is able to calculate people’s measurements by seeing just two pictures of the customer.
When he was younger, Mr Comerford watched his father getting beaten up in front of him by two men armed with steel baseball bats.
However, he was determined to not let his background prevent him from being successful and he wants his story to inspire youngsters to always strive to reach their goals and aspirations.
Mr Comerford, who now lives in Beverley Road, said: “I want to inspire people to believe in themselves. People think you need to come from a rich background or a certain area so they doubt themselves, but I want to share my story to show that isn’t the case.
“I believe there is nothing stopping me being a success even though I come from Orchard Park. “You have to go out and earn the things you want and you will appreciate things so much more if you have earned them. “Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and it’s how you use those hours that is important.
“Many people are brought up and told, ‘your ambitions are unrealistic,’ but it’s important to go out there for what you want. If you want something enough then you will succeed.”
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and it’s how you use those hours that’s important Danny Comerford