From Childhood book collector to Rare book seller
How Tom turned his hobby into a specialist firm and YouTube business — a client case study.
Tom W. Ayling - Rare Books and Manuscripts
From the last 1,000 years of human history · JRR Tolkien Specialists · Oxfordshire
Combined YouTube, TikTok, Instagram & Facebook following
Record sale — the rarest known Tolkien book in Tom’s collection
In new sales within weeks of a key account strategy session with striveX
Q1 profit alone matched his first two full years combined
Tom Ayling has been collecting books since childhood, and spent over a decade working in the trade before founding Tom W. Ayling Ltd. Today the firm specialises in J.R.R. Tolkien first editions, letters and archives, alongside rare literature, fine bindings and medieval manuscripts, trading from Manor House at Howbery Park in South Oxfordshire. Tom has also built a combined following of over a million across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, sharing rare book discoveries with a new generation of collectors.
Before working with striveX, Tom’s biggest source of stress as an owner-operator was the financial side of the business — keeping track of everything and knowing whether he was actually on course to turn a profit. Since day one, striveX has taken much of that worry off his plate, replacing it with regular tracking, clear goals and a plan he can follow.
Before I went into it, I was most concerned and stressed about the financial side of the business — how we were going to keep track of everything, and make sure we were on the right track to make a profit so I could get paid. Working with striveX from the very start has taken so much of that off my plate, and it’s been enormously helpful.
Tom · Founder, Tom W. Ayling Ltd
A few years into working together, Rachel and Tom sat down to talk through key account management — something Tom had always done by instinct but never had a formal plan for. After that conversation, Tom ranked his top 50 customers and wrote to every one of them. Within four to six weeks, that outreach alone generated £120,000 in sales the business wouldn’t otherwise have made.
Tom shares his experience of working with striveX and the changes he has made to his business following a consultation with Rachel (consultation meeting also recorded and shown below!)
A selection of medieval manuscripts and rare books from the collection.
Manor House at Howbery Park, South Oxfordshire — home to the company.
The biggest impact has been giving me, as the owner-operator, far more agency — knowing what needs to change, where to put my time to make the biggest difference, and feeling confident we’ll see real results because of it. We’re in our third year now, and in the first quarter alone we’ve made pretty much the same profit as the whole of years one and two combined.
Tom · Founder, Tom W. Ayling Ltd
That conversation between Tom and Rachel was recorded — watch the full consultation below to see exactly how they worked through his key account strategy together.