Back in 2019 when I worked at EventCity, this was what I was quoted by an account manager from one of our suppliers trying to impress me with their ability to support our business. ‘It’s the small businesses that shout the loudest.”

At the time I was a Food and Beverage Operations Manager for a large events company where we would do retail operations for up to 20,000 people a day, gala dinners for 2,500 and so much more. It was a blank canvas venue from outlet setups for our cafe, street food stands and bars, to bespoke dinner menus and we were a small team with big clients, so as an operation it was extremely challenging. 

I’ve purposely put a picture of us both as the headline photo for this post, because despite our extensive menu, offers and ambitious business goals, it has literally been just the two of us for the last 12 months. Sadly, we can’t pay ourselves let alone bring in a team, so as a small business, we are it.

The company I’m discussing (I won’t be naming in this blog) had changed their business support model to ensure that its ‘high value’ client businesses would get their full attention and support and I was told that gone were the days of “£300 a week businesses taking up their time, and would only get an account manager when they were financially viable enough.”

I’m ashamed to say that this quote went right over my head at the time. I had the attention of this company, who I was putting hundreds of thousands of pounds of business their way each year, and was so impressed with their customer service and adapting to the challenges and they were ready at a moment’s notice to address any problems, match pricing and ensure we were supported.

Now I’ve launched my own business, the reality is that £300 now is the same value as £3000 to EventCity for us. And worse, it impacts me and my partner both personally as well as professionally, unlike when I was raising Purchase Orders at EventCity. It’s easier when you are spending someone else’s money, and that business has the foundations in place to manage comfortably in difficult times, move money about and have the funds for creative accounting. Don’t get me wrong, business is never easy whether you head up a small cafe or a big corporation. I understand that fully well. The only real difference is the ‘scale up’. For example, people ask me how difficult it is to run a dinner for 2500 people and I will say it’s the same as running a dinner for 100, as from an operational standpoint, you just scale up (with a little more stress for the people who tie all the threads together). However, it’s more likely the underdog, the small business, that will be the one who won’t be sleeping at night.

So, I have partnered with the company since starting up, and it’s only now that my circumstances have changed does that old quote come to light, and made me realise I made a mistake partnering with this business. Now the reason I’m not going to name this company is not because they are a despicable company, far from it. I was motivated by my previous experience with them and the service I received when I was at EventCity, which is why I wanted to work with them, but they are just too big of a supplier and now I’m a number, not a client, and therefore, not important. And for that, I am angry. Not angry with the company again, business is business, KPIs are KPIs and there are so many benefits to utilising this company. Their pricing is great, their minimum spend is reasonable and although I no longer get the ‘extra mile’ customer service, the customer service hasn’t been bad. This is not a blog to out a ‘corporate titan’ that should be held accountable for its poor ethics, but a blog to highlight the anger at myself for not using our start up as a way of positioning to support smaller businesses. A mistake I will not be making again, and a principle I refuse to forget when we grow.

Now here’s the problem. I want to correct this mistake, but at this point it’s easier said than done. I’ve reached out to smaller businesses in hopes to move the business, and the people I speak to are so grateful, will do anything to make it happen. In particular Birchall Foodservice. They were fantastic, caring and wanted to move the earth to make us a part of their businesses. 

Unfortunately, the logistics to change the menu around new suppliers, allergens, calories, pricing, and like-for-like products, is a mammoth task at this point for myself. And I would absolutely do that to support smaller businesses if I could, but the reality is even they can’t compete with the pricing of this big company. So now I’m in a dilemma. I want to honour my principles and work hard to accommodate businesses that are struggling like ourselves. But to do that right now would be giving our business a death sentence, at this stage of its development.

I’m being selfish with my current practice, but I do not intend to live by this for the foreseeable future. We have now almost established our brand, menu and style, and the next steps will be about keeping things fresh. So, when I design new menus, it will be tailored around not only dietaries, unique concepts and flavours, but with the aim to pull in new suppliers, small suppliers and as we grow, bring them on the journey with us.

The most important thing I will not forget, and something I find bigger corporations forget, is that we all start somewhere, including the company I speak about now. Unless you are super rich already, no one can succeed in business without support, networking and building positive relationships. And I can almost guarantee that it was the smaller businesses that started this company’s growth.

In a future post, I will be taking about the ethics of delivery partners and how this culture has impacted small businesses in both positive and negative ways. But for now, I want to talk about some of the businesses I’ve worked with, who have incredible ethics. 

WDS Group, a small wholesaler in Bury, were also a supplier when I was at EventCity. We gave them a chance at working alongside our business that demanded high volume and quick turn arounds, and even though it wasn’t always perfect, they appreciated the support, gave more than 110% and were the only supplier who came to our rescue when the pandemic started. The pandemic really started to cause problems in March 2020, one of the busiest months for the events industry. We had £20,000 worth of stock ordered for the month (more than £60,000 at retail value!) and suddenly all the events were dropping out the diary like flies. Now part of our agreements with suppliers was a ‘order and return’ agreement due to the nature of our business being bespoke. For example, a gala for 1000 may want a particular lager for their event. We can’t run out, we have to stock it, but at the same time we can’t hold on to the remaining stock at the end of the event if it’s not a key line item, as the next event will expect something different. But all of these businesses turned their backs (including the supplier this article was based on). For reasons we did understand, but was it honourable? No! Yet WDS Group turned around to us and bought almost EVERYTHING off us and at cost price, but still, that’s a £20K sale at the start of the lockdown which was not only incredible, but impossible in those times. They had the foresight very early on to run a home delivery service with their operation, putting together hamper kits, small orders and business pricing for small households and it took off very quickly. The fact it was a small company that had this success is incredible. Sadly, EventCity didn’t survive the pandemic, and I was one of the first to get made redundant.

Anyway, now I’ve gone solo, I’ve only put a small amount of business towards WDS Group, purely for logistical reasons as majority of the items I stock from them are beverages, and the bar side of the business hasn’t took off quite yet. But the reality is, they still make me feel like a VIP, they still support our business and are ready to help me out at a moment’s notice. They source products for me, find me unique products, help me out in an emergency situation and Adam Rowiski in particular is a true diamond for this company and a true asset and has so much of my respect. He was the one who supported EventCity in the dark times. He has also been helping us get our feet off the ground with the retail distribution and stockist project, coming to visit, both as a customer and colleague, and genuinely cares.

Another company I wish to discuss is EventHireUK. These guys are absolutely amazing. In particular a gentleman by the name of Jean Moller. The support they have given our start-up business is beyond incredible.

I first met Jean when I was at EventCity when he introduced us to EventHireUK for our furniture hire needs, and to say this was one of the most important meetings of my career is an understatement. Me and Jean went through the trenches to pull off some of the biggest events in my career. In particular McDonalds. They were not just a hire service; they became part of the team. Almost 80% of the kit out of the venue was sourced by them, put in place, washed, collected and logistically mapped out in such great detail. And the pricing was incredible. That was a hard event. Myself and their small team, it was a 28-hour shift, 2500 people for breakfast, lunch and a full gala dinner with big entertainment including Rita Ora. 10 bars were made and two giant field kitchens, each one the size of six traditional commercial kitchens.

From this event, we worked alongside each other for three years. They would source bespoke equipment, great prices and when the pandemic hit, they were hit just as hard, but Jean would get in touch to see how we were all doing.

Come this start-up, we had some logistical nightmares. Firstly, we were both in full-time jobs and we had big kit coming with no real way to take deliveries ad hoc. But they took in the equipment no problem, held on to it until we were ready and delivered and help us move it at very little cost to us. They wanted to help us, and they certainly did more than we could hope for.

When we had the issue from Adexa with the unit (please see the blog Soph-AKA Super Karen) they kindly held on to that piece of equipment for almost five months. No problems at all, and worked to help get it sent back when we finally resolved that nightmare. This wasn’t a small piece of equipment either, it was a full refrigeration unit!

Then when we came to running our photoshoot for the events space, the kit we would be hiring for events was so kindly loaned to us, with the only cost for transport, so we could prepare our showcase day.

There are not enough words to describe just how much I respect this team and company. They care, and although they do business with the big titan events businesses like Manchester Central, they have just as much time, if not more, for the little guy.

I also what to talk about our new payment card supplier Dojo and EPOS provider Grafterr who have been absolutely incredible supporting our small business. But I be will saving this for a future blog as this story goes hand in hand with our story of our former supplier, a company who have been absolutely disgraceful and should be absolutely appalled by their ethics.

Running a small start-up has really opened my eyes this last year. If for any reason this business doesn’t succeed, I will no doubt wish to return to events and hospitality. But this time the way I do business and who with will be so much more important to me and I would rather work harder to support the small businesses than take ease with the big ones! Because the phrase is correct, ‘small businesses do shout the loudest.’ It’s because they need the most help!

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I don’t even know where to start with this blog regarding our experience with Bury Council over these last 12 months, but to say we are disappointed would be an understatement.

Now to be very clear. This is not targeting anyone in particular in the Council, nor anyone that works for the Council. There are no names to mention in this scenario and no one we are trying to individually name and shame, but rather the politics around the Council’s processes and how badly it has affected our small business. 

We know that people in the Council work hard, that it can be challenging and we will never fully understand that job without doing it. It’s easy to judge what people do without understanding the mental and physical challenges they go through. Kind of like how the Government told the hospitality industry during the pandemic we were ‘non-essential’. Although let’s face it, most of our current politicians have probably never had a Saturday job when they were growing up. Also on a side note, after working in the events industry and the years in exhibition venues, the best people to manage a roll out of a vaccine operation were sat at home being ‘non-essential’, whilst the government were using the venues managed by these people to run these field hospitals that were… well… I won’t comment any further!

But our grudges are at the support (or lack of) for a small business in times where businesses are really struggling to get established, and to be honest, highlight some of the stupidity that is all too common in government decisions. Which I don’t think is going to be exclusive news to people reading this blog!

Let’s start with last year, before we secured the property…

So, when we found the property, it was a Class E, Educational Facility. It naturally fell into this category in the last few years when there was a reshuffle in the business property classes. Until 2019, it was in the retail / hospitality bracket and we wanted to put it back to that. This was a very expensive cost, with a very lengthy planning application and it was only because we felt we’d found ‘the perfect site’ that we decided to take the risk.

So, at the start of August, our application form was submitted. An application can take 8-12 weeks once verified. Of course, verification was done quickly, (if four weeks is a measure of being quick!). We were then asked at the start of the run whether we’d be willing to allow an extra four weeks due to the backlog of applications they had to review. Now of course we said yes because we didn’t want to be difficult nor create a negative impression of ourselves that could impact our presentation, but we did highlight that we really hoped to open before Christmas, and with the four-week delay to get the application verified, along with the 12-week initial waiting period, it was a tight schedule for us to be open in time for Christmas. We had a plan to get ourselves in and open within a few days if need be, but 16 weeks pushes up into January. This would definitely not be the best time of year to open a dessert business, because let’s face it, in January no one has any money after Christmas and with Christmas out of the way, people are looking to start their new year diets. What a month for a start-up dessert business to start off strong!

Of course every effort was made to get us open in time for December (hoping people can read the sarcasm here!). December was when we finally got a decision, after jumping through loads of tedious hoops which was beyond frustrating. I have OCD, but the OCD tasks we were asked to do to tie up an application which was, not to brag, outstanding, made us want to pull our hair out!

Now we have to open our business in January! Not great, but at least we can start our dream in 2023 and kick off the new year with a bang!

Now comes to the fun part (again… sarcasm!)

We were told as part of the application being successful was on the understanding that the large ‘North Lancs’ sign in the picture below was to be removed. 

This sign was not appropriate for a Conservation Area; no application form had been submitted or approved and it was an eyesore (which we agreed with). Apparently, the previous tenant was going to be instructed to take it down but had left the property and then Covid hit, which delayed the Council in getting it sorted. The site was formally ‘Ronnies on The Rock’, which closed around 2008. The signage for what ‘Ronnies on the Rock’ had when it was in operation was appropriate and what to benchmark ourselves against. A discussion was had and as far as we were aware, the only issue with the signage was that structure and nothing else.

Even though we didn’t like the massive structure at the top, we had no idea what the condition was behind it. Removing it was still not ideal, as it would make us less noticeable from afar, but we have the space at the top of the door, the 3D box sign on the wall and the window stickers, so this should be enough to make us visible. We could see from our neighbouring business that the space allocated at the top of the property was small, narrow and high up, so not exactly going to draw much attention, so the rest of the signage was what we were going to rely on.

Therefore, we decided to go for it – we signed the contract for the lease, purchased the kit and equipment and then the signage for the site and got ourselves up and running in four weeks. We didn’t take the top sign down though as we still needed to do the planning application for the signage. We moved ahead with ordering the rest of the signs as we knew the only problem was the top sign, and it could take a long time to get an application approved, and we needed to open the store and get some money generated to get the business moving. But it was a safe bet that we would be fine… yes we know, we are idiots!

Now open and running, we submitted our signage application to ensure we were compliant, and then waited on the council to approve us to remove the big sign and finally finish the outside of the property, as sat with an ugly empty sign at the top that made us look incomplete and not open, was generally not a pleasant view when people walked past. We were apprehensive, as the cost to remove it was going to be a big one, and we still had no idea how bad the condition was behind it.

Then the worst day came. A lady from the Council arrived and told us that ALL the signs were not acceptable and must be removed. Please see the map below to see how far the council is from this site (it will be important later). The only space allowed was the space at the top, which would end up looking like this…

We were devastated. All the money spent on signage (£1000) going to waste, on top of the cost of the new signage, and removing that giant structure (which we were quoted £750) plus the new signage which was quoted at £1000. At this point we were making £200 a week if we were lucky. No where near our break-even amount. Nobody could see us as we were, and now we were being told to make ourselves even more invisible! All because we were in a Conservation Area. Now bear in mind, our other neighbour has a huge sign on their property!

This has happened because no application had ever been submitted for any signage since Ronnies on the Rock, and if they had, they would have not been approved.

Fair… (to an extent) yes, but after this meeting we discovered some options on Google Street View and decided to have a look at the history of the property. Look at the images below (some we found without Google Street View).

SIX businesses since 2010 (at least), all six using the top sign, four of whom since 2013 were using the sign above the door. Three since 2014 using the 3D light box at the side. All the signage we have to remove. Now don’t forget how far away the council is from our venue. So it took 13 years for them to notice!!?!

Also, if you look at the history of the property. In the last 12 years, there have been three planning applications, not including the two of our own, which require a site visit to inspect, that didn’t pick up on these issues. Something just doesn’t quite add up! The first one in 2011, when the giant sign at the top was already installed, the third one from 2019 when the 3D light box sign and sign above the door was installed.

Yet, a small start-up, who followed the rules by putting an application form in, now has to pay the price for the Council’s and previous tenants’ incompetence. And I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it is the incompetence and the morality of the Council’s error in their ability to do their job, and us to not only rectify it but also pay for it, is beyond disgusting. Were we angry? Damn right we were! This cost us a lot of money for their mistakes, oversights and inability to do their job properly.

Now the lady we were discussing this at the time was lovely, well at first, and did seem genuinely concerned. It was clear the decision was out of her hands and in the hands of more senior management. The poor woman took the brunt of our frustrations and upset and we of course ensured she knew they weren’t directed at her. But at the same time, she never gave us an answer to the most important question that I was asking – why the council had not sorted this in the last 13 years!? And if being honest, it was clear by the end even she didn’t care. We weren’t important enough!

I tried to keep all our conversations documented via email, but it seemed she preferred to keep in contact via the phone. The Council took no responsibility or accountability for their errors and just gave a poor excuse that “these things can get missed”. No explanation. I’m sorry but 13 Years, an eight minute walk away from the site, six businesses and most importantly three planning applications which actually requires them to get in there 500 steps for the day and walk around the corner to approve?! I do not accept their excuse! Sorry, rant (almost) over!

Eventually, we decided to reach out with a compromise. Let us get the top sign sorted, cleaned up and put in a proposal for that before moving ahead with a decision on the rest of the signage.

I then get an email that ignores everything that I’ve suggested, and responds as if I’ve agreed to everything they dictated to at the start and to move ahead with a new planning application that highlights the changes THEY want. I tried to reach out again for an explanation, but of course, they just ignored me!

However, in life there is always a solution, and me and Sophie decided to turn this negative into a positive. With the launch of ‘Kaspa’s Desserts’ taking us by surprise, and us situated in an area with some really well established and fantastic artisan cafés, (Wax and Beans, Ground Up, Bloom and Number 10). We couldn’t rely on our ‘Rawkies Edible Raw Cookie Dough’ USP and branding any more. We needed to step up our food menu and our branding. Plus the frosted window look wasn’t letting people see in (my fault on that one, should have listened to Sophie!) so we decided to have a rebrand; change the window designs and become ‘Rawkies Desserts & Café Bar’.

Still though, it looked very bare. We need to do something to give the front that final lift that didn’t require planning applications as we didn’t want to take the risk that the Council would take another 13 years to fix a problem… sorry… make us fix their problem. Funds were tight as well thanks to the major cost this had caused us. But come September, we came up with a nice way to finish off the front, that didn’t cost the earth and finally allowed us to promote a shop front to be proud of.

Despite these dramas, we understand that this is a Conservation Area and it’s important to follow the rules. We were very clear about this when we put together our Change of Use Application and we meant what we set out to do. But we also feel that if it’s that important to the Council, then why take 13 years to sort it?! I mean JK Rowling released the Harry Potter franchise in less time!

Also, I think it is important to highlight that we wouldn’t have moved ahead with this property if we had known what we were being reduced to. We respect the rules of a Conservation Area, and if it didn’t fit in with our business plan, then we wouldn’t have signed a contract that ties us in to a restricted property for the next five years. But hey, we live and learn and we will make the best of it!

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