We've decided to do something a bit different.
Instead of keeping the struggles and wins behind closed doors like most businesses do, we're opening up the books — sharing the real story of what it actually takes to build a small, family-run pallet company into a £1 million turnover business. No fluff, no highlights reel. Just the honest day-to-day of running Champion Pallets.
Here's a recap of the first five days of the series.
Day 1 — Introducing the Series
We kicked things off by introducing ourselves and being upfront about where we're starting from.
We're a small, family-run team based in Portsmouth. We buy pallets, repair them, and sell them on to businesses who need them. Simple model. Hard work. At the moment, we're nowhere near a million pounds — but that's the goal, and we're going to chase it with the cameras rolling.
No corporate backing. No investors. Just us, our depot, and a lot of pallets.
We wanted to document this because we think there's a real gap between the polished business content you see online and what it's actually like to run a business at ground level. This is the ground level.
Day 2 — The £20,000 Scam That Nearly Broke Us
This one was hard to share, but we think it's important.
We were contacted through our website by someone claiming to be from the buying team of a large French agricultural business called Axereal. It looked legitimate — they had the right name, the right language, the right confidence. They requested a substantial pallet order and took the whole process seriously. Contracts were signed. Personal guarantees were in place. Everything looked above board.
We arranged for a haulage company to collect and deliver three full loads. The pallets went. The payment date came — and nothing arrived.
We started chasing. At the same time, the haulage company reached out to us. They'd been investigating too, and confirmed what we were beginning to suspect: the whole thing was a fraud. The person we'd been dealing with had no connection to Axereal whatsoever. They'd impersonated a legitimate business to steal stock — from us and from the haulage company both.
The money we spent on that stock was gone. The pallets were gone. And we had nothing to show for it.
£20,000. Just like that.
It's a brutal lesson. These scams are sophisticated — they use real company names, they sign paperwork, they have patience. We'd encourage any business to verify new clients rigorously before releasing goods, especially on large first orders. Always confirm contact details independently, never just through the email thread you've been given.
We're still standing. But it hurt.
Day 3 — The Comeback
We could have gone quiet after the scam. Instead, we went to work.
The day after sharing what had happened, we had one of our best trading days in recent memory — £3,000 brought in a single day.
It wasn't magic. It was calls made, quotes sent, relationships used. It was refusing to let one bad actor derail everything we're building. The response from people who'd seen the video was incredible — messages of support, people checking in, a few new enquiries too.
But we were honest about it on the day: £3,000 is a great day for us right now. It's also a reminder of exactly how far we have to go. At that rate, we're not at £1 million yet. The goal is real, but so is the gap.
One good day doesn't fix everything. It just reminds you why it's worth fighting for.
Day 4 — How Our Business Actually Works
A lot of people who follow along on social media aren't in the pallet industry — so we took a day to break down how we actually operate.
The model is straightforward:
- We buy or collect pallets — from businesses who have surplus stock, from clearances, or directly from suppliers
- We repair them — damaged boards get replaced, blocks get fixed, anything structurally unsound gets sorted at our depot
- We sell them on — to warehouses, manufacturers, logistics companies, and anyone else who needs a reliable pallet supply
It sounds simple, and in some ways it is. But the margins come from buying right, repairing efficiently, and moving volume. Every pallet we don't shift is money sitting idle. Every repair we do well extends the life of a product and improves our margin.
We're not glamorous. We're a team that gets its hands dirty so other businesses can keep their supply chains moving.
Day 5 — The Lorry That Broke Down
Just when things were starting to feel steady again — the lorry packed in.
Our main vehicle, the one we depend on for collections and deliveries, broke down and the repair quote came back at £6,000.
So now we've got a decision to make. Do we find the £6k and get it fixed now? Or do we find a workaround — hire in transport, subcontract collections, slow down until we can afford to do it right?
Neither option is painless. Fixing it now means a significant outlay at a time when we're still feeling the effects of the scam. Finding a workaround means slower operations and potentially losing jobs to competitors who can deliver faster.
This is the kind of decision that doesn't come with a right answer. It comes with a deadline and a spreadsheet.
We'll be sharing what we decide — and why — in the next video.
Follow the Journey
If you want to watch the series live, follow us on social media — we're posting daily updates on how the business is really going, what we're learning, and whether we're making progress towards that million-pound target.
It's going to take time. It's going to be messy. But we're doing it in public, because we think honesty matters more than a highlight reel.
If you need pallets in the meantime — we're still very much open. Give us a call or fill in the contact form and we'll get you sorted.