Orange's Nathan Swann aiming for Iron Ambitions to hit Sydney and Brisbane

Having worked at a supermarket from ages 14 to 22, Mr Swann wasn't content with what he had.

"One day I got sick of the same old groundhog day. It was either sink or swim and I didn't want to be trapped in the same cycle forever," he said.

Mr Swann wanted to start his own business, more specifically, he wanted to shake up the supplements game. That led to him opening up Iron Ambitions in Orange in 2018 and it has gone from strength to strength ever since then.

"Traditionally, it doesn't matter what the brand is, a supplement store has just been an empty space with garage shelving and that's about it," he said.

"But I loved going into stores like Footlocker and Culture Kings and the customer experience is so much more creative."

With that in mind, Mr Swann wanted to do things a little bit differently.

"We don't stock a lot of the big name brands, because unfortunately, a lot of major brands are only good at marketing and that's about it," he said.

"The main thing when I started, I didn't want to start out by stocking your everyday stuff. I wanted to reach out to smaller brands who were making better stuff and weren't getting the recognition for it."

Those decisions have led to him expanding his business. In June, he opened a store in Bathurst and by the end of the year, he expects to have shops open in Sydney and Brisbane.

But as they say, things can often be two steps forward and one step back.

Soon after he opened a Lithgow store in late 2020, the shop was closed.

"It was doing fine, but because we were expanding so quick into more major locations, it was becoming a rock in a shoe," he said.

"It was taking a lot of effort for minimum reward so I had to make the hard decision to sacrifice that for bigger fish."

So with the setback, he learned that taking a step back in some aspects could be a benefit, not a detriment. Mr Swann hired a manager for his Orange store, a decision he said was the "best thing to happen."

"He brought a new skillset to the business so I could actually go and make more deals with the shopping centres," Mr Swann said.

"I've never had massive goals to create a big thing, but now that it's happening it's definitely the driving force behind what I want the business to be. I want to be in a lot of locations, bring a different feel and style to what a traditional supplement store is and provide that service in a bunch of locations."

He isn't about to rest on his laurels either.

He has set himself a goal to have 12 stores open and operational by the end of 2023.

"Two years ago it wasn't even a thought in my head," he said.

"Each step that I've taken and survived has given me more confidence to know that I can do this, that I can open a store in a major city and back myself."

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