I recently sat down with Jordan Robb, host of the Profits & Parenting podcast, to talk about what it’s really like to start, run and eventually step away from a café. We covered a lot of ground, from my early days in bars and restaurants to building HCM around hospitality start-ups while raising two boys. Watch the full episode below, along with a short clip from the conversation.
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts and AntennaPod.
What We Talked About
If you’re thinking about opening your own place, here’s some of what we got into:
- Check the use class before you sign. The wrong premises can leave you applying for planning permission that may never come through, and that’s a heartbreaking place to find yourself after you’ve already committed.
- Think hard about leasing. If you lease, anything that goes wrong with the property is your cost. That’s one reason I chose to buy a freehold for Brunch Box.
- Plan before the keys arrive. Suppliers, staff and training should be lined up in advance. It’s how we opened within a week of getting the keys.
- Systems are what let you step away. Checklists and written procedures are the reason you can take a holiday and trust the place to run.
- Look after your people properly. We talked about HR without an HR department, and I pointed to ACAS and the Federation of Small Businesses as great support for small owners.
- Great service is the best USP you’ll ever have. It costs nothing extra.
We also talked about running a café through Covid, why I decided to sell up for family life, and how selling the business while keeping the building turned it into a long-term asset. You can read more about those years in the Brunch Box case study.
If you’ve got a hospitality dream and want to avoid the nightmare version, I’d love to hear about it. Why not start with a free 15 minute chat?
Leave a Reply