Your Consultant

I’m Donna, and I’m a hospitality professional based in West Lothian, near Edinburgh, with over 20 years of hands on experience.

My love for this industry started young. I’ll never forget visiting The Moat House in Glasgow: I was absolutely in awe of the busy staff, the beautiful décor, and the atmosphere. I thought, “This is it. This is what I want to do.” It wasn’t just an occupation; this was my vocation in life.

I didn’t just drift into the industry; I threw myself into it. Alongside the usual early jobs, I completed a First Class Honours Degree in Hospitality Management. That gave me a wealth of knowledge, a solid grasp of the business and don’t forget a taste for wine – you get to do wine tasting on a hospitality course!

I quickly realised I preferred the fast paced, high energy world of bars and restaurants. Give me the awesome, controlled manic of a full service over quiet hotel split shifts any day. My career moved quickly: from Deputy General Manager at a busy bar to my first big opportunity as General Manager for a brand new Italian restaurant opening in the city centre. That opening was my first real taste of the planning, the stress, and the sheer magic of launching a new venue.

My career then took me into a strategic Head Office role as Training Manager for a group of eight pubs. This was where I got deep into the mechanics:

• Creating all the staff training, from bar service to management courses.
• Getting my hands dirty with the admin and bookkeeping.
• Crucially, when we opened two new bars, I was responsible for everything from training the new teams to setting up accounts with card terminal providers and waste management.  The stuff no one sees, but everything relies on.

Then the big leap when redundancy came my way: opening our own café. It was the push I finally needed to do what I’d always dreamed of. We decided to start on a smaller scale, and all roads pointed to a café.

As we wrote the business plan and looked for premises, I went back to the floor, soaking up the café culture and operational flow. During this time, I helped two different café novices who had bought over existing businesses, guiding them through the challenges of their new ventures. This experience cemented my realisation of the huge problem: there was almost no specific support for hospitality start-ups. Business Gateway was great for general advice, but the moment we asked an industry specific question, the answer was always “you’ll need to research that.” It was clear that specialised, industry specific expertise were sorely lacking.

Luckily, I had 20 years of experience and a great network, but I realized how much someone without that background would struggle – as I also could have done with some extra support.

In 2017, we took the plunge and opened our own café/takeaway, running it successfully for six years. I remember the anxiety before opening being next level. I was the Manager, I was the Owner, fully accountable for everything. But that anxiety was immediately replaced by the euphoria of serving our first queue of customers! We ran a well planned, organised, and efficient operation, and we absolutely loved it.

That successful journey is exactly why I work as a Hospitality Consultant today.

I partner with people who are right where we once were: bursting with ideas and passion, but maybe missing those vital industry specifics. (I also help those who’ve started and need to hit the reset button to fill in the gaps.)

I believe that while starting a café, restaurant, or bar isn’t rocket science, it absolutely requires the know how and expert support. I will be your passionate guide, helping you steer clear of the pitfalls and filling in those crucial industry blanks.

Ultimately, I love talking all things hospitality, and I want to use my experience to help you turn your dream into a brilliant business that genuinely thrives.