#4 Here we go again. The weeks are flying by - whether that’s because I’m increasingly busy, or it’s because I’m always looking forward rather than focussing on the present, who knows? Both things probably. One thing I’m not good at is sitting down and stopping - it’s probably an affliction of anybody who's self-employed. On Sunday I found I had an afternoon with nothing to do and so I sat on the sofa and did almost nothing, absentmindedly playing Sudoku until I nodded off. It was glorious. Glorious! Of course when I woke up I remembered I had some baking to do before Monday morning and just like that the weekend was over.
One of the biggest struggles of a growing business is keeping the cashflow working. It’s a struggle for every business but it feels particularly tricky right now as I balance the need to buy pieces of equipment to make us more efficient, with the need to have enough in the bank to keep making the food we sell, with being prepared enough for future opportunities.... It's a struggle which takes up way more head space than it should. Yes, I could finance the equipment but I’m really reluctant to do that. Has anybody got any smart ideas…? All suggestions gratefully received!
I mentioned last week that there’d be more news about a new chef. Now this IS exciting because I’ve offered a part time job to a chef and they said YES. My first permanent team member! I can't say anything about them at the moment because they haven’t told their current employer yet. But I’m delighted that they’re coming on board. I've wondered about who my first recruit would be for a a couple of years now but I’d often dismissed the idea as impossible - I was cautious and my wish list was extensive. I wanted somebody who would be happy working part time initially with a view to adding additional hours as we grew. I wanted somebody who was happy to work with me in the home kitchen initially so we could keep costs as low as possible for as long as possible. I wanted somebody who was prepared to muck in and do anything, not just make delicious food. I wanted somebody who was a better chef than me. I wanted somebody more artistic than me who might be able to improve our social media output. I wanted a lot, and I got it all! I’m so excited, and so are they!! You’ll see their face soon for sure. Bear with....
Last week I told you about some video editing wizardry that Child 2 was putting together for me. The finished video is here. It’s very simple but much better than I could have achieved so hopefully she’s going to do some more of this over the coming weeks.
I think that’s it for this week. I’ll be chasing up a couple of customers about catering jobs (one’s a wedding for 180 so that'll need some planning), and working through the incorporating ‘to do’ list from my accountant. Oh, and making some more Scotch Egg samples for the butcher. Yum!
If there’s anything you’d like to know about this journey just ask. It's getting exciting!
More next week.
Dan
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