Lucky Breaks: The breadman, the auditor & me.

Evening everyone,

There is no doubt about it but every business needs a lucky break.

The biggest break we ever had came in 2006, when a bread supplier came in to pitch business to us, his bread was great, but didn't come in commercial sizes, so wasn't right for us. As he left he picked up a brochure we had produced. His next call was to a small Gallery/Cafe whose sandwich supplier had ceased trading,He passed on my brochure and two days later The Delicious Food Co were the new sandwich supplier. Enquiring as to who the previous supplier had supplied I found amongst others two gems.

 Ernst & Young and Avoca Suffolk St.

I made contact & set up meetings with both clients. After pitching to AVOCA, they were so impressed they had placed   their very first order with us before I'd even  got back to the car. It was the start of a great relationship &  we continued  to make sandwiches under the AVOCA label for a number of years.

The next client, Ernst & Young as it was known then, was a bit more tricky as the catering facility was run by a contract catering company.Getting on the approved supplier list was as difficult as getting a mortgage in 2013.
 However the EY client loved us & ultimately he called the shots.

This required an audit of our food business...to be honest we hadn't a clue. Sure we had a HACCP system, but it was basic. Our (commercial) kitchen was full of cookery books, pretty ceramic platters, a kind of Kath Kidson meets Martha Stewart, mixed with a little bit of Nigella (to keep Mr Delicious smiling). The scope of the audit was 32 pages long & covered things I thought petty ...specification sheets for packaging materials....water certificates...a corporate responsibility statement...OMG..

But the auditor (who had flown in from the UK to do the audit), saw something in us, a small business making seriously good food, albeit in a slightly disorganised way. The audit took 12 hours as both he & I looked for a way to get us over the line: the line from Martha kitchen to a proper professional food business..and we got there (achieving A grades, no less,  in our past two audits for that same client)

Ultimately that one act of passing on our brochure, transformed our business & led to clients that included not only AVOCA, EY, but Citibank, PWC, RTE, Google, Yahoo, Deloitte, Bank of New York..and many many more...

Now wasn't that one hell of a  lucky break !

Shirley

Me, Bord Bia & The (Dublin Food) Chain Gang

Evening All,

By now if you've been paying attention you will know that I'm a bit of a procrastinator...

Benjamin Franklins'  quote

"why put off  until tomorrow when it can be done today"

has been amended in my head replacing "today" with "tomorrow", 

 Leaving things to the last minute, pulling things out of the bag,  well,  that's something at which I excel  I always know I'm onto something I really want to do when I start early, plan in advance & hit that deadline fifteen minutes before it expires.

So, when I got an email from Dublin Food Chain announcing a trip to London with a group other Foodies & Bord Bia to suss out food trends over there I was on to it like a bat out of hell. I emailed by return with a very definite "expression of interest" and despite the trip being over subscribed three fold , as one of the early birds I secured a much coveted place on board.

Dublin Food Chain was started a few years ago by  James Burke a man with a wealth of experience in the food business with a vision & passion to put something concrete together that would bring small food businesses together to share ideas, to mentor & to inform each other.The work that James, Bord Bia & LEO  are doing to support small food businesses is phenomenal.

However despite all the help that is out there I find it difficult to take the time to reach out & explore the many options for help that are available. Self employment can be a lonely place which is why I was so excited about this trip, not only would I have a chance to see first hand what the trends in the ready to go market are in London, get ideas for packaging etc, but I would get a chance to meet my fellow foodie colleagues.

The trip was last Friday and it was a triumph,It was organised with the skill of a military operation. Starting in Kings Cross we visited food business after food business, taking pictures, absorbing the trends, connecting with each other. We walked miles in the sunshine, exchanged tips & stories of the  worries & successes of our businesses, we swapped business cards,  made & received suggestions that might be useful to each other.

At the end of the day, tired, excited & inspired I realised that the most important thing that I took from the day was that in the food business in Dublin, with such a wonderful supportive community nobody need ever feel alone.

Bless you all.

Shirley
x

(Owner of The Delicious Food Co)

Something Fishy's' Going Down !

Evening All,

Last week I promised myself that I would go back to writing a weekly blog about life as an SME owner & keep you updated, amused &  comforted that:

a) you are not alone if you too are self employed

b) that boring but pensionable job, you have considered forfeiting 

might not be quite so bad after all.

All businesses depend on one thing above all else & that is THE CLIENT. Without clients there would be no business.Clients are the oxygen that breathes life into our dreams of self fulfilment. It's important to have a good spread of clients, to never be over dependent on one, although we all wish for that special one, The Mr Big, who's business takes care of ours, with orders rolling in & the ultimate bonus of prompt payment that appears in the bank on the same day every month, without ever having to ask.

Last week I got a call from a key client, could I meet him to discuss where management were going with their expanding  business

I stock a number of their stores & whilst  not quite Mr Big, this is a piece of business I value & would not want to lose.

I went to the meeting, dressed to impress, yet feeling defensive. I knew what was coming..they are revamping their fresh food business, somebody "up North" will provide Crayfish sandwiches...it's a very sexy EXCLUSIVE  proposition & by exclusive I not talking about the Crayfish.

So I did what I do best when faced with Beechers Brook, I held on tight, dug deep & tackled it head on.

Now, I can't match the fantastic prices of a mass producer, my products may not be the best packaged product on the shelf ,but

my sandwiches are made the morning they are delivered. The bread  is made locally by The Bretzel Bakery, we buy all our vegetables in Smithfield, we employ five of us in our kitchen  Every penny we spend & make supports local jobs.

We matter !

I urged the client to consider this; that we like so many others need his business to do what we do. The success of a business is not just in the bottom line, it's how it supports so many small businesses like us and it is the small businesses like us who are the backbone of this economy.

Later that evening I got a call, the owner had heard my pitch and if I am willing to be flexible, he is willing to be flexible too, so as they sayin the music business
 "it's not over 'til the fat lady sings"


As for our sandwiches...forget Cray Fish, we'll be filling ours with nothing less than
 Dublin Bay Prawns.

 Delicious !

Starting Over...

Evening All,

When I started my blog two years ago, I fell happily into the rhythm of writing a blog every week, punching out tale after tale of the  life of a small business owner. I think the blog hit a chord with other small business owners as I revealed the highs & the lows of my daily  journey around the

 Food Lanes of Dublin, owner of The Delicious Food Co.

In 2013 the positive feed back that I got to the blog kept me buoyant personally when I might have otherwise sunk. It was wonderful to share the big successes & not be afraid to tell it as it was when things were tough. What I loved most about the blogs I wrote then was the honesty of them, the lack of fear of  

the freedom of my own expression.

The beauty about writing a  blog is the anonymity of it. I don't think anybody writes a blog for people they know, they write it for themselves (at least I do) and then cyber it out there into the universe to 

see where it lands, who  connects with it. If you write a personal blog like I do, you need to stay strong or the careless (often well meant) whispers about revealing too much can dent that treasured freedom.

So, starting from next week I intend to go back to writing a weekly (humorous) blog on the life of a small business owner,  warts, beauty spots & all.

Why not hop in beside me & come along for the ride , it will be fun.

I promise!

Shirley x

Marching into March...Intact & on Fire.

Evening All,

Phew !

If my last blog at the end of January started with "WOW", then the end of February comes with a definite" phew". For those of us SME owners who get paid after 30/ 60 days from the end of the month

February is a nightmare.This  is the month we get paid for December sales, and  December 2014 was a very short month. I have been dreading February since last November.

 There hasn't been a night that I haven't woken up every hour & done a tot of the balance sheet...what's coming in..what's going out.

 I am wrecked !

But February has also been a terrific month.

 Sales have been up on January by over 20%, the accolades about our food continue to roll in. Office catering has taken off with a bang with a significant increase in sales in that sector too, The great thing about office catering is that every time I see an email with a catering order I can quickly rejig the midnight balance sheet in a positive direction, in the knowledge that the order will be paid for within a week or two.

In February we also had an approach to poach myself & Mr Delicious from a CEO of another food business. He has been watching what we do & think it would be great for his business. With the financial resources & knowledge of his business he sees a great future for all of us, but under his brand..not ours, The Delicious Food Co.

We are tremendously flattered by the approach, we have huge respect for his business, his team & what they have achieved, but we are not ready to let go. To be honest, I don't think either of us could ever work for somebody again.

Today my son who is doing TY work experience with us, asked me if he won the lottery which would we prefer...for him to invest a lot of money in the business to take it to the next level or for him to just look after us financially. Without a moments hesitation I  said for him to look after us financially.

I may not want to be employed again...but the prospect of somebody else footing the bill for another lifestyle....well that's just something for which myself & Mr Delicious might just be ready

In the meantime .March 2015..here we come !

Shirley
x

50 Shades of Delicious (Part 2)

Evening All,

Wow what a January it's been !!

At the end of last year I flicked thru' all  my blogs & thought to myself  "you're like a bleedin' stuck record... "...ground hog day and all that... Recording one's life for all to read is fine...but seeing the lack of progress for myself was unsettling.

But of course that is partly because I am my own harshest critic.We achieved great things last year, but enough just never seems to be enough. The absence of any public profile for The Delicious Food Co makes me feel like I've personally failed it, as newbie, after newbie pop up in every magazine supplement, glowing reviews of products & owners...beaming at the camera with a plate of product accompanied with the  story of their rags to foodie richness journey.

I don't think I've ever told you that a big love of mine is theatre,  productions  in small venues. I have seen the most wonderful plays in tiny venues, plays that are so good their power  will never leave me, "Lippy""I heart Alice heart I" "Care""Out of Wedlock","The Author" "Creepy Jimmy" "The Oh Fuck Moment" "Smile of your Face" the list goes on; small productions in small venues, gone before they get the recognition they deserve.Maybe I love them because they are like me; no big promo budget, no clever PR machine,just great story tellers making magic theatre quietly yet so deserving of bigger audiences & wider public acclaim.

So,
it was with great delight that last week I accepted a challenge from the doyenne of Irish theatre The Abbey Theatre to run a pop up shop Delicious Food Company shop at the theatre for delegates at a two day  Theatre of War Symposium.There I rediscovered my inner  Delicious Food Company's greatness.The feedback I got about our food was superlative,

 one positive comment after another...

So with this renewed confidence, my head is in just the right place to make this The Delicious Food Co's tenth year in business, the overnight success it has always meant to be. To create that public profile our food deserves, for us to be beaming at you from the Sunday Times, our Orzo & Roasted Carrot salad in hand. In the week that 50 Shades of Grey hits the big screen
Forget Christian Grey & Anna Steele
for this is me & Mr Delicious time.

Shirley x

Bless Me Father.. I continue to sin...(I'm still a social media cripple) Part 2

Evening All,

More  than a year after writing one of my fav blogs on being a social media cripple...of swearing that all was about to change...that I would get my website up & running...that my twitter feed would become more foodie, my Facebook page the go to place for witty commentary on life, catering, recipes, advice & random stuff I pick up along the way ..I am still that same social media cripple. I have even come to consider it as some kind of website phobia ...a fear of something that has no basis in   logic.

I did try in Jan 2014 and top of the brief was...PLEASE MAKE ME DO IT...I paid more upfront than was required & off we went. I disappeared for a bit, but I went back, made myself sit with the designer, signed off on the template & begged him to keep on my case until it was finished. He clearly didn't get the message/was too busy with other clients/ life or maybe he just didn't like me...

not a whisper did I hear from him, again...

I have now met the man to get this over the line...an Australian called Brad who lives down under and has steadfastly made it his mission to  get my website up & running. Brad thinks nothing of calling me ten times per day...and has done for almost two months now, I cannot escape him and now I'm hooked. Brad with his endless patience & infinite politeness

has made me confront my fear.

I swear that when you next hear from me I will be sporting my latest fashion accessory...

the link to my new website 

Hail Brad !

Shirley

x


Part 1

http://deliciousfoodco.blogspot.ie/2013/10/bless-me-father-for-i-have-sinned-im.html