Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Heirs, an Internationally Renowned Private Chef based in Edinburgh, England, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I am a personal chef and culinary consultant. I travel the globe cooking for my clients, and my business revolves solely around food. I can find myself spending a month cooking for a small family group in a Scottish castle, then flying halfway around the world to cook one meal for a product launch for some of the world's most prominent brands. There's a huge variety to my business. No two days or customers are ever the same.
Tell us about yourself
I grew up in the hospitality industry, helping in the kitchens of my parents' bar and restaurant business. Entering this industry was a given for me; it's all I've ever known. I took the usual path of catering college and working my way around various Michelin-starred establishments before eventually settling in my current business. Variety motivates me, so making sure my diary is filled with unique and interesting events helps keep me motivated and helps me continually develop and grow my business.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I think as a business owner surviving and coming out of the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic with my business still viable is a huge accomplishment, given the huge restrictions on my style of business.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
For me, the hardest aspect of owning a business, especially as a one-man business, is juggling the operational side. I love food and cooking and events, but that's only a small part of the business. There's soo much admin and organisation that goes into a business, and I'm responsible for it all. I need to be really disciplined to focus on the less appealing admin side of the business.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- My top tips for starting, running, or growing a business are always the same, the most important tool I have at my disposal is networking, I know a lot of people shy away from it, but networking has always been key to me, I've had some of my most rewarding and lucrative bookings from a simple conversation at a business event.
- Secondly, I couldn't function without my diary app, it tracks my life. Everything goes in there. Since I started using it, my admin time has decreased, allowing me more time to spend with clients resulting in more revenue.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.markheirs.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markheirschef/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markheirs/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkHeirs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-heirs-069992162/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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