Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rachel Craven founder of Tin Roof Cafe, located in Erin, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My husband Brady and I own a cafe in the small town of Erin, Ontario. We pride ourselves on serving great coffee, espresso, baked goods and sandwiches. We make all our baked goods from scratch in house using quality ingredients. Some of our staples include cookies, squares, muffins and scones. On weekends we also add butter tarts and cinnamon buns to our baked good rotation. We make delicious sandwiches and have become well known for our delicious breakfast sandwiches, like our Tin Roof breakfast sandwich which is made on our house made focaccia bun. We are lucky to serve many locals and regular customers during the week days and also have many people travel from neighbouring cities and the GTA on the weekend. Since the pandemic we have seen a real surge in people visiting from out of town who are looking for something to do and an escape from the city.
Tell us about yourself
I first fell in love with cafe culture and all things coffee and tea when I worked as a barista at The Shed Coffee Bar. It was there I met my now husband and business partner Brady. We were both new to the industry and eager to grow and learn more when the coffee shop we worked at suddenly decided to close. We were devastated in the months that followed but continued talking about our dreams of how we would love to own a coffee shop of our very own one day. We eventually decided to take a leap of faith and now own the same building we met at all those years ago. It was certainly a much bigger undertaking than we ever anticipated as we were inexperienced in business and had our customer demands and staffing needs grow very quickly. Although there have been many hard times, we are very proud of the business we have built and love the community we are part of!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say our biggest accomplishment is being able to adapt quickly when we are presented with a challenge. We saw many businesses close their doors when the pandemic started but we decided within a matter of weeks to try a different business model and installed a take out window where we opened twice a week with a rotating pop-up menu to supply the town with baked goods. It was a very challenging time and we more or less converted into a bakery during those first few months and had to operate the business with very few staff to reduce our overhead costs and minimize the spread of covid-19. We learned so much during this time and although there were a few hiccups along the way we were determined to find safe ways to continue running our business and serve our community. We had so much positive feedback during this time and it was wonderful to provide some joy to our customers with our baked goods during such a dark time.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Our biggest challenge has always been finding reliable and invested staff. In the cafe industry staff turnover is quite high and it takes a while to train staff as the business is fast paced and multi faceted. There are so many areas to learn and master and while we have been fortunate to have many great staff over the years we are largely a stop gap for students and young people while they finish school and before they start their careers.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
1. If numbers are not your area of expertise our advice would be to consult an experienced CPA Tax Accountant and / or financial planner who can help set you up for success. The pandemic in particular has created financial challenges for so many small businesses and we are thankful to have knowledgeable people we can turn to when we need advice.
2. Owning a business is a challenging endeavour and not something that should be taken lightly. Before starting a business be sure it is something you have true passion for and that it is sustainable long-term. My advice would be to first work for a few years in a similar setting. It is so important to learn from the successes and failures of other businesses and business owners. This will also help give you a clear vision to develop your own business model and help you learn the ins and outs of daily business operations. We have met many people who dream of owning a coffee shop or cafe but have never worked in the industry. Brady and I believe working in a similar environment prior to owning our own business in addition to operating the business together from day 1 has been a key part in our success. It has given us so much insight as we have been able to see firsthand what is working and what we need to change.
3. Don't forget your "why" (this one I have to remind myself every day). I am a worrier and when times get tough and I have doubts I often have to force myself to go back to "the why". Owning a cafe is hard work and very seldom a glamorous job or an easy way to make money. You have to have real passion for what you do and keep reminding yourself why you started. There are many wonderful perks to owning your own business but you also need to have determination and passion to get you through the hard days and months.
Anything else you'd like to share?
My final piece of advice for anyone looking to open a similar business is that if you are ever truly unhappy with any aspect of the business you always have the ability to change it. If things get stale or boring look for ways you can expand your offerings to suit a new clientele or changing market. Making small changes to your business over the years keeps things fun and interesting while helping your business evolve over time!
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.instagram.com/tinroof_cafe/
https://www.facebook.com/tinroofcafeerin
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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