In this episode I chat to two entrepreneurs in the hospitality space, Duncan Stirling and Charlie Gilkes who founded Inception Group back in 2009. The company operates a group of unique bar, restaurant and club concepts in South West and central London.  As a long-standing fan of Maggie’s (as who doesn’t love a solid 80s soundtrack), I was really interested to learn how they’ve quickly built a multi-brand business but also how they weathered the unforeseen pandemic that potentially could have wiped out 12 years of hard work. 

The good news is they are continuing to grow, Maggie’s is still as popular as ever and they are both adamant now is as good a time as any to start up.

Charlie and Duncan’s advice: 

• When you take the leap into self-employment it’s hard at first but stick at it and it will be worthwhile
• Having a partner and fellow founder means you have consistent support
• Remember cash is king: try to put enough money aside for a rainy day
• Charlie believes in learning on the job, and says that being thrown in the deep end is the best way to learn practical skills;  Duncan, however, has found that working elsewhere has helped him hone his management skills
• Take time to build your business as it will be more sustainable in the long run
• Enjoy the work, grow slowly and steadily; and don’t over plan but keep an open mind as you can’t forecast how things will develop
• “Don’t be a busy fool” and spend time at the start on things like business cards, concentrate on clients and revenue 
• Enjoy your autonomy and freedom starting your own business affords you
• When recruiting, spend time with people before you hire them and recruit for the right attitude as skill sets can be taught 
• Always know who your customers are going to be. Spend time getting to really know your audience 
• Right now is always a good time to start a business, especially after a national crisis

If you'd like to contact Duncan or Charlie you can via  [email protected] or [email protected].

 
Head over to Speakpipe to leave your voice note for future guests too.

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.
• For contracts check out Law Depot.

Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2021 founder of PR for startups advisory Fallow, Field & Mason. MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link & Licence

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