Bee Hop Tastic!
Hi there,
I’m tinkin my blogging may well have to be once a week at the most for a wee while. It is proving quite tricksy to fit in everything & I’m feeling the pressure a bit at the moment. I’m not quite on the edge of a nervous breakdown but I’m developing some danger signs-.copious cups of tea, nightmares about work & boring my friends into glazed silence.
I think that it is the case of having one heck of a lot on at the moment- The Bee Hop is great fun & it is our excuse to relive our hippy- dippy- happy- student days, but it is exceedingly time intensive to organise. We do get to meet lots of our customers, friends & random guests with the common draw being music,ale, eats & that laid back vibe that is the Bee Hop.We would be gutted not to do it but if we had shareholders I think they’d cull our festy on the spot.Thank God we are free of all that interference.
The base line worry at the moment is where to take our little business to now. We have the option of going with one of the multiples this autumn. We cannot afford to ignore that our competitors are doing just that & that the supermarkets enjoy 80% of the UK food spend- quite breathtaking really.
The thing is- we love what we do, we love our team & our environment here on Naish Farm. I think perhaps we are not hard knock enough to tackle more expansion-but then it is well dodgy to stand still & stagnate.We really want to get cracking on our new eco bakery version 2, but this requires a hefty growth spurt. We’ll have to keep thinking on it & figure the next step out. There’s no point over thinking it though- I firmly think ‘gut feel’ comes into play quite a bit too.
Business certainly is a full on 24-7 mind game.Often there just not any ‘right’ answers.I so admire companies like Tyrells, Innocent & Yeo Valley who have gone large but also have been transparent about their ethos & principles.Not that I’m comparing little old us in anyway to those super star brands, but there is no harm in learning from what they’ve achieved. Our food industry is sooooo bitchy- there are a lot of companies out there who hate to see others succeed, which makes me feel quite sad inside.Fortunately we know some terrifically warm hearted & genuine people too so I just need to learn to step away from the over egoed ones-(the bad foodie triggers).
Maybe I should forget the recipe book & tackle a ‘how not to run a business Tome?’ i’ve certainly blundered forth in most departments & then though ‘Doh!’
Sorry this has been a bit of a downer. I’m so glad we’re going to Guilfest this weekend. We can chill out with our old friends jig around to Madness etc & get a bit of distance from it all- my head is aching.
Wishing everyone a super weekend,
Em x
