A Question of work?

So as the grains of sand fall through the life glass, another week has past in the blink of an eye. As we now approach December, life will become warp speed and a bit of a blur.

As the frost covers the cars, the grass crunches under foot and the morning air is crisp it’s yet another school run with the boys and a chance to have a couple of minutes conversation with the parents, as we wait for the school gate to open. Inevitably through politeness people take an interest in the business, and are always very complimentary about how we are progressing and how hard we are working. It’s so beautiful people seem to care and it’s always appreciated. Later in the day I meet a dear friend for coffee and a catch up, he is at a point of possibly mixing up his career. A hard worker who has always taken on any challenge in the company he has been a loyal solider for. As we are talking about this open world of exciting options (never to old to put on some tights and live the dream as a pro wrestler), he mentions my work ethic and how hard I work. At that moment as I’m partly confused and wondering what a fucking cruffin is (croissant and muffin), and it dawns on me “I don’t know what work is anymore”

This isn’t a revelation of a bee realising it’s a sloth it’s more of a parameter confusion. The streams have crossed and those lines are blurring. Is this dangerous? Is this normal? Am I a super businessman? (Probably not, I cut my head open on my boot lock last week and make knob jokes as a marketing strategy). As I entered the gym later in the day, the lovely trainer lady said in a no nonsense Lithuanian accent “it must be nice to just decide to take a day off!”.

Since I was 13 years old, I have worked. On my 13th birthday my dad woke me up to tell me he had got me a job as a paperboy (I imagine it’s a non gender paper delivery person these days) well Happy fucking birthday! . At the time I recall being excited, my brother had a round and always had a bit of cash (£10 a week minus deductions… bargain) so as little brothers do, I started to emulate. At the age of 16, on Saturdays and school holidays I worked for agencies, again following in the big lads footprints. That was mind numbing work from a dodgy fuck called Ray. From 12 hours cutting tops off onions and packing veg to litter picking on a rubbish dump, we did it all. End of the week, go to a pub the wrong side of town, Ray would buy me 2 pints and pay cash. That paid nicely for a mad one Saturday night after a quick shower, splash of Hugo boss and change into whatever awful fashion was the trend at the time it was into town and pure freedom. Then I worked for someone else in some shape or form for the next 19 years.

So why am I telling you this?, to point out how we are all conditioned, and when you have done something for so long habits are ingrained. It becomes a simple formula, get put on the rota, work said shifts, bust your balls when you are there, outwork every mother fucker, go home, plan time off and then next shift repeat. It’s was all very black and white, cut and shut. But since being self employed, small business owner, director, whatever the fuck I am, it becomes harder to quantify what work is. Simply saying anything that involves the business is too vague a statement. Don’t misunderstand, I really like my life and don’t want to go back to working for other people. If you do and it’s what works for you that’s great and nothing I have an opinion on. YOU DO YOU and be happy, it’s just not my bag. Your life, your rules. This is just my brain, working out a question.

This inability to quantify doesn’t cause me any emotional pain or discomfort it just confuses me. I have no idea how much I work. Is thinking about the business work? Now how about if I’m in the Bath at the time? Am I technically working if I’m messaging contacts and suppliers while on the toilet?

For someone who was conditioned to go into an environment and bust my balls, not stop until my body aches and I’ve produced a sweat, to walking around a supermarket buying ingredients, this doesn’t seem to qualify as “work”. I can’t imagine going up to chefs I’ve worked with or potwashers and saying “I’m knackered today, I’ve been shopping and delivered two cakes!”. I’d probably get a pan chucked at me. It’s a weird paradox that the best work anyone can do is think, think of ideas, concepts and innovation, yet the best time for that is when you are relaxed, not doing much physically and seeking to quiet your mind. The brain is in its most creative stage at the theta brain wave, meditation encourages this brain wave as does showers. That’s why great ideas and clarity alway come to you in the shower. So maybe next time I need a marketing concept I’ll just pop in the shower ….. how is that work?

That’s just the work concept, what about a more esoteric ideal. I am my business, my business is me. There is no staff workforce, it’s my energy, my ideas, my concepts. With that in mind I’m drawn to the great quote regarding how to be successful.

The secret to success , learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you’ll make a living, but work hard on yourself and you can make a fortune.!

Jim Rohn

And that mantra is on my mind constantly. Well once I get past my adolescent mind laughing at the word “hardon” , I don’t think mine would be making a fortune. Not sure it would make enough for a bag of chips.

As I mentioned the brain can produce different brain waves dependent on state. So when you sleep it’s in a delta wave, when you are wide awake it’s a beta wave. In between are two more states, two states that if used effectively can help your brain develop but if used negatively can cause destructive habits. So theta is one of creativity, it is when your sub conscious mind is more conscious. For instance the state you feel when you haven’t quite woken up and the brain seems more abstract. Einstein was wonderfully creative because he would purposely put himself in this state, (whilst holding a rock, as to not fall asleep). From this he would visualise himself on a beam of light and would go on to create the theory of relativity. When we put ourselves in this state we make more connections in the neurones of our brain. Interestingly Einstein had a slightly smaller brain than most but had a higher percentage of connections than most. Meditation can also induce the theta brainwave. But what is apparent is every little action can affect every forward motion.

So with that in mind, I look to have no ZERO days. No days of not learning and development. So I’m up early, walking, planning the day, meditation, reading, hit the gym later, study concepts I feel weak in, pushing myself to grow and learn. Is that work? When I’m listening to online lectures, studying financial news, is that work? Two years ago I’d be watching family guy now I’m watching lectures about uranium, cryptocurrency and silver miners as a possible investment. I have evidently changed, my mind has changed but the question remains is this work? I don’t know. As this growth mindset is a constant practise, with the hope that it brings me success in life, isn’t that all part of my new life. A mixture of business and growth. Is that development work? Is this blog work? I throughly enjoy writing the blog but it is for the business, so where does the blog land?.

The alpha brain wave is one of relaxed awareness, it forms habits and directs the subconscious. It helps you zone out and passively take in information. This could be whilst learning something educational or something mindless. Ever watched tv in a daze, then not recall of what the fuck you spent that last two hours watching, or being completely oblivious to somebody taking to you?.

One time I do know I’m not working is when I purposely switch off. This is when my brain feels fatigue and I know it’s time to turn off. So out comes the phone and on goes TikTok for a dopamine hit , at that point I might as well go through a worm hole as time passes by at an alarming rate. Just ten minutes somehow becomes an hour as my dopamine hit tells me just a few more algorithm inspired clips. What is happening is my conscious brain switches off, but I am not sure what it’s teaching my sub conscious about instant gratification and reinforcement? This balance of needing to switch off and relax compared to training my brain for success seems to be very contradictory. As much as the phone can become a crutch and the possibility to become amazingly destructive, it is a brilliant tool. It’s the cornerstone of my connection to customers, taking orders. The AVERAGE person opens Instagram/ Facebook 150 times a day, (if you don’t use it that much someone does it even more).

I use YouTube for guided meditation but that requires me to interact with my phone early in the morning that promotes the sub conscious to react, but undoubtedly i am rewarded with a hit of dopamine. Studies have shown a goldfish has the attention and memory of 9 seconds but humans attention span is now 2 seconds.

As much as TikTok is a switch off exercise it comes with a level of guilt, that somehow the business is not living up to its full potential if I relax. Knowing the link between being relaxed and productivity doesn’t help me feel that somehow there is an imbalance at both exercises. This is just another lesson to learn. Something to be grateful for is the lesson that when I am with the boys and mrs, that I am present and when I work I work. Except the small problem of not knowing how to quantify it. Does working on myself count as WORK.

So even after spilling my mind into this blog I still have no idea how much I work, as a small business owner it seems that the workload is constant, everyday something is done to the progress the business, that I am sure of. How effective is my work time balance ?. I’ll just have to think about that. The question is Will that count as work?

While I figure that out, happy eating

There is no failure, just outcomes

Tonight my brain is a mega mix of emotion, so please excuse me why I get a few thoughts out of the hazy matter and onto the page. If you do take the time to read this, firstly thank you it’s truly appreciated but secondly please do not take this as a sad story, it’s just one of reflection, positive action and insight. It just seems apt to convey it while it is raw and fresh.

To start our story we go back only one day (Tuesday) . In what started out as a “normal” week with just the dinner kits on order for myself. The mrs of course had a multitude of orders, from occasion cakes to postal boxes to early week orders for cafes across the city. I myself had planned the first few days of the week including trips to the gym and webinars on social media. When I am quiet and the mrs is busy, the best thing I can do is be available for shopping and deliveries of those baked treats. The mind was calm, the week was planned.

Then on Tuesday night a local business posted on social media that they would be looking for a last minute food van for a council event next to their building. WHAT A OPPORTUNITY, this was to step into the conversation and the scene. A successful business, that scores very well on the “cool” point, they have a huge following and what a business to learn from.

At certain moments in our journeys we get points at which to reflect, this was one of them. A year ago, the path I would have taken was one of saying “what an opportunity but it’s too big for me!” Or “I could never organise that” or most likely “imagine if I did it and messed up”. But this year my sub conscious has a different dialogue, the phrase that first became apparent was “it’s ok to be scared, just do it scared!”, the second was

“There is no failure, just outcomes“

Anthony Robbins

So with that in mind I replied and the owner was very quick to get in contact. Even though he didn’t know me, knew I was fairly inexperienced, he is a man with vision and just a very nice person. The hope is I can work with him in the future as he seems a very successful business person I could learn a lot from. This was it, I was on board, I HAD THE SPOT but he would confirm the next day as it was pending the electric supply. You see the van (tallulah) is set up to be all electric, the reason was a business decision that, as the vast majority of work is feeding campers in the paradise of the Welsh coast, I have a hook up as part of the deal. To run gas equipment would be a cost that can be avoided. The problem is it’s a limitation, as it’s all electric it draws more than a standard generator could produce.

Wednesday lunch time the confirmation came through, and it became like an episode of challenge Anneka, but without the fake smiles, jumpsuits and helicopters, just resting bitch faced me in the dadmobile.. I had so much to do, this was only two days away and I had to also balance a week of orders of the ever popular Sunday dinner kits. First things first, WRITE IT DOWN, by writing a problem down the brain starts to see a problem more logical, it organises the problem into sections that can be moved around visually. My list included

  • Staff
  • Contact previous supplier
  • Payment systems
  • Shopping
  • Cooking
  • Van

In starting something new, especially something daunting it’s always a good idea to see if it has been done before, this is for two reasons.

1. If someone else has done it, YOU can do it. 2. If someone else has done it, they have experience and can save you possible time and issues.

The person I went to was somebody who had the spot a previous year for a very similar event. This guy does fantastic Indian street food and I have been following him from his very first pitch. The difference between us was he had the ability to act, he put ideas into action and has been reaping well deserved success and has gone from food trailer to a premises and it has become the most sort after takeaway away for Indian food in the city. These are the people to model in life. Now luckily about a couple of years ago I randomly gave him a message of love and support. That random action of positivity has meant we started to have an infrequent dialogue for a while. Recently when I brought a new van (well new to me), to expand for next summer, a message of support came through. This demonstrates the power of small action, it would be easy for me not to have sent that message, to just click a like, but little actions cause momentum and those can snowball. So after a little back and forth, I understood the job a bit more, we could do it. This was going to be fun.

Staffing wasn’t a problem, a quick message to a couple of lads who worked the van during the summer and done. These guys are awesome, even though it was really short notice, “when and where?”. Those responses show the type of boys they are, willing to jump into any situation . That loyalty is second to none. And I love them for it.

Payment had to be all card, It was part of the deal, the fact I didn’t have a payment system was a little bit of a problem but like most things, something that with the mindset of positivity, anything can be resolved. Because I happened to be buying hundred of stamps at the post office on Monday for the postal boxes, and due to the fact there was a large queue, I had happened to notice they sold SumUp card machines. Now me beings bored, trapped in a queue of fuckwits doesn’t seem so bad in hindsight . It would have been easily missed if no queue was there. So I had a quick trip to the post office for “sorry sir, we don’t have the cheap one just the expensive one left.” So one trip later I left with a deluxe version of what I wanted. Yes I spent more on it but that didn’t matter, it was all about action.

For the event to work, all the stock and supplies need to be gotten in quick, that way I would save vital time closer to the event. So a second dart to the wholesaler that day to get there 15 mins before it closed, a run around with those big ass trolleys and the car was full. The meat Would be ordered on the voice Mail later. Once home, unload into the house that’s already been taken over with boxes and stock galore. At times my house now looks like a wholesaler. And although it’s not great for calming the mind, it gives a drive to get a unit, step forward and progress the business. Being a small business does take over, but for now it’s just in that in between stage of not big enough to justify renting a unit and getting too big for our house.

The plan was going well, staff sorted, stock sorted, payment system in a box on the counter and even a YouTube video watched explaining how to use it. Cooking tomorrow and bing bash bosh. Then I got a message “sorry but the electrician said your van will be a real risk of blowing the system, so we can’t supply the power.” At that moment my heart sank, an event that scared the bejesus out of me and one that had become a mad dash to accomplish had gone. But from the business man It was the right call, if the power had gone, the event is ruined. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience and the people (customers) come first, no question, he has also protected my reputation however young it is. As the BfG (chef who trained me) would say “your rep ain’t coming back from that one”. I was gutted, from previous research I knew the size of a generator it would take and they aren’t standard to rent. I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I really felt winded to be out of it.

BUT, did I waste a day running about, stressing about details, wasting money on stock and that precious commodity known as time?. Yes, yes I did. But would I do it all again? In a heartbeat. It’s been a reflection of all I have worked on mentally over the last two/ three years. At 35 when I knew “if I wanted it to change, that I had to change.” Well after two years here was the proof. The ability to be scared of a concept but go for it anyway, no excuses. The ability to address problems and act, the fact I could arrange it and get the other side of fear. It’s taken two years of early mornings, reading, listening to lectures and speeches, countless YouTube videos. But at 37, a certain amount of progress has been made, and most importantly There is no fear of failure anymore, and that is reassuring and a fact to be proud of. It’s a massive shame to miss out on the event, the event will be a massive success and the business organising will as always put on a brilliant night, they are just a classy business who have a fantastic standard. Hopefully now a contact has been made we can work together in the future.

It also has allowed me to see the weaknesses in the business, A lack of payment system, the reliance on an all electric van. So a needed focus on getting the new van ready, and action has sorted the payments. Finding weaknesses isn’t a negative, sometimes a sobering look at an issue can help you grow. I had built a van without a decent level of flexibility, this has cost me on this occasion. Luckily I have a new van. But make no mistake, it’s on me, it was by my design, all results in your life good or bad you attract. Not in some law of attraction way, but we are a result of our actions.

My new van to get ready for action

But after what has become a mental exercise, we go onto the next twist and turn that is small business. Many , many positives have come out of this and that is the focus. With this mindset anything is possible

Happy eating

Supermarket rant

The summer has now given way for autumn, the nights are getting dark and there is now time to breathe, reflect and learn. After my first full summer running the food van, lessons have been learnt and lots of memories have been made.

For those of you new to the journey, this summer the talking stopped and the walking happened and as the planets aligned, the food van opened for a summer pitch in a beautiful campsite, next to my favourite beach. As we catered night after night for all the energy spent beach goers, the laughter never stopped, nor the kick ass food. Although I have been very “radio silent” on the blog it’s down to the fact time, has not played dice, it seems to fly by in the blink of an eye and admittedly this is due to over analysis, and working hard rather than smart. Hopefully as we revert to “Sunday dinner season” my time muscle memory will give more time to write about the thoughts and processes learned from the summer.

But one thing has been building up, so we are going to kick off with a rant, a purely self indulgent rant for a cathartic release. But I FUCKING HATE SHOPPING! . This summer has been a non stop test of patience and a test I’m not sure I would score highly in. As a small business it has been important to try to keep costs down as best as possible, this way it can be passed on to the customer and give us a decent profit margin per dish. Due to the volume of customers this summer (over 6000) and the fact that during the school holidays we were open 6 nights a week, this means I have been in a supermarket or three nearly every day since the beginning of July. Now I am sure you are thinking why not just buy big twice a week? Well unfortunately that consumes the house and makes for stacked fridges, and boxes everywhere. There just simply isn’t enough room.

Luckily a lot of the shops I use are very close to each other, this means I know what to buy in each for the best product or best price. So where to begin with this list of annoyances and grievances ?

Fuck wit husbands who are standing in the way for no fucking reason. Sometimes couples shop together and they both help each other, normally older people. Or maybe there is a medical reason, maybe it’s just support, these people are not the object of this annoyance. It’s the bellends who are lazily wandering around for no reason just because the have abandonment issues or are delusional and actually think they help by asking their wife pointless question after pointless question when she could blatantly do the shopping without this moron slowing her down. She has a list and a mission but because he “thinks” he is helping, I have to patiently wait or hear your stupidity, “Sandra look, they do mustard!”. YOUR HELPING NO ONE, stay in the fucking car, no one needs to see you walking five metres behind, picking up random items and asking your wife if they need it! If she needed it, she would have picked it up you knobhead as she is the one with the list.

People who feel the need to put their trolley at 90 degrees to the shelves and block off an aisle, why they look at an item! These people are so self absorbed they apparently don’t seem to notice that the shop isn’t hired out personally for them and that other members of the public are also there. For these cockwombles I have found a fun way to stop anger from building up to the point of wanting to slap them in the face with a side of salmon. I wait until they are really absorbed in reading whatever product label that is some how captivating their attention like a Sunday times best seller. I wait for them to be really absorbed and then CRASH !, I crash my trolley into theirs and hope it makes a massive noise. The secret is as your lining up and starting to gather pace, at the last moment look at a product on the shelf opposite. Then as they completely shit themselves from shock, you turn and politely say “ oh I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t see your trolley there.”

Another fun way to get back at these selfish wankers is to put your trolley in front of theirs, (keep parallel to the shelves) then stand at the front of their blockade of a trolley, as you find something very interesting on the shelf opposite. This essentially blocks them in. You do end up blocking the aisle but it’s not your fault as your trolley is neatly to the side as are you.

This one I’m going to say as more of a public service as opposed to getting angry, in certain supermarkets they have very short tills. The idea is you put it back in your trolley then go to the massive packing areas at the side and pack at your own speed. It is not good form to try to pack your weeks shopping item by item at the till. It creates big queues that aren’t needed. Yep that was polite, back to the rant.

People who go shopping on a Saturday because they have nothing else to do. GET A FUCKING HOBBY!, taking your family to B&M for a look around is not a day out for anyone. Shops are there to provide a service, you want something, you buy it. Going and buying stuff you don’t particularly want or need blows my mind. I completely understand going in a shop to buy something and seeing other stuff but the amount of times I have heard people say “we just came out for something to do” is mind boggling. Another time, I once heard a woman “bragging” to a friend was “ we didn’t even come out for anything, spend £200 and not really sure why?” How about spend that money on something that would benefit you or your family luv, rather than “come on kids let’s go for a fun day at home fucking bargains.” What a moron.

Speaking of families, why do people go shopping in families of 5 plus? It important to distinguish I am not on about a single parent in this instance, they deserve a medal. I mean the whole family group mum, dad and lots of kids. The most I have seen is a mum, dad, grandparents and 4 kids! Just go shopping another time or take the kids out while one shops. Answer me this, who is happy in that scenario? The answer is NOBODY, especially this bald arsehole who somehow got stuck behind them the whole way around. But in a rare moment of confession I feel I should tell you my secret of how I found happiness in the situation. I waited for my window patiently, then as I could quickly reach through the noisy bored kids for some dark chocolate I let out a silent fart then made a rapid retreat before any noses had smelt the deed. Then I hung back 10 metres as the kids started squabbling who smells and the parents even asked if anyone had had an accident. Made me very happy. Maybe I need a hobby?.

It’s not a day out

Now the season has finished, trips to the supermarket will be less frequent so the blood pressure will come down. Maybe in an act of positivity I should list a few things I have enjoyed about shopping.

  • The middle aisles of random crap, I love the fact I could get a welders mask if the occasion ever warranted.
  • Supermarket staff, (not mid management cocks) those miserable ones who just want to get through the day. I appreciate a non chirpy disposition, at least it’s honest. If you’re getting paid minimum wage, dealing with the idiots all day, why would you be happy?
  • Seeing people by massive amounts of booze and a rustlers microwave burger. What a day they are going to have.
I love the honesty of British customer service

Maybe as the business develops and staff get hired, I will be able to look back and laugh at my summer of shopping. Being a micro business it has been a necessity to find every saving. One day the dream will be deliveries to a unit or have staff who can shop instead of me. For now I just need to remember its part of the process and a great way for me to practise the virtue of patience.

Happy eating

Starting the Van

As we emerge from our first fortnight of van season it’s the perfect time for some reflection and to take stock of the highlights and lessons to keep stepping forward.

Once the Sunday dinner season ended it became go time for the van. It was time to walk the walk, week one was a Friday and Saturday. The bookings were low numbers so a gentle start in and a chance to get to understand the set up and get into systems and routines.

Driving the van (Tallulah) down to the site was a mixture of fear and excitement. Moving her big ass through small country roads filled me with dread. Although I have been driving for many a year, in all honesty I can admit I am not the best driver, and reversing has never been a skill I have mastered or enjoyed,(also reverse is a bitch to find on the old girl) . The anxiety of having to reverse her big ass in a small area with a queue of traffic was constantly playing out in my mind. But like most fears and anxieties the only thing to fear was the fear itself. As I drove, like I was taking a test, the only moment of note was a builders truck going too fast around a bend that came ridiculously close and I ended up moving the wing mirror as he came into my lane. Five minutes later I was parked up in the sunshine in a stunning pitch. Life was good.

The perfect place to pitch

Friday our first night we served in horrific weather, luckily the rain and wind direction meant in the van it was warm and dry but as the campers made a dash in the rain there was no time or want for conversation. As I ran through the close down we got soaked but spirits were high. As it was the first day I had gone down very early and the universe was on my side, after having two issues, one of which was the power to the griddle, as I rang and spoke to the people needed they happen to be in the area and came and fixed the issues within 30 mins. That kind of luck makes you feel it’s all meant to be. Saturday the dark clouds were replaced with blue skies and a new wave of campers all interested in the van, with music pumping, hot grills cooking and the sun shining it showed what a beautiful place it is to be and work.

The next week came half term and it was more of the same, the numbers were brilliant. We were over booked mainly due to the optimism of the campsite owner. And although it was a cause of alarm at first with planning and great work from all involved we smashed out big numbers to happy campers and it felt so good to get all of the different nights under our belt, and some big numbers. If I hadn’t been taken out of the comfort zone numbers wise and aired on the side of caution then the knowledge of what is capable would not have been realised. Instead we made more money, felt the buzz and now have a higher level of understanding and confidence. And with a large amount of return customers we begin to build the name, with the feedback being so positive we could definitely be in peoples plans on the return visit.

One of the takeaways from the first couple of weeks is the people I’ll be working with, the campsite owner is fantastic, upbeat, always thinking how to improve and full of jokes and banter. The relationship has hit the ground running and the fact I will be able to absorb some of that energy is very positive. The wardens around the campsite are full of stories of past experiences and vocations. Well travelled and with a wealth of lessons from previous professions, it has been a pleasure chatting and learning. One of the wardens was a professional journalist who went on to write and sell a travel blog. Just by being open and honest in conversation, you soon become aware of the hidden levels of people. I know I plan on asking for hints and tips when it comes to writing blogs. Then you meet the campers that have a lovely relaxed demeanour, happy to be somewhere beautiful and enjoying life you pick up that positive energy.

Then there has been the help in the van, it’s been a wonderful and fulfilling experience working with friends. The main person on with me is such a close friend it’s like working with family. We joke and banter, not to mention walk the walk when needed but the time flies and the work just flows like classical music. When he hasn’t been on I have had the perfect grill chef from past kitchens and even my old head chef came in to help me on my busiest night to date. Those night were great fun, new location, new venue and my business but nothing between us has changed. Even when unexpected issues occurred my brother in law stepped up and helped smash out 100+ orders. It has been cause for more smiles and a lot of laughter, these people are people I can trust to turn up and work but also to want the best for me as we have connected in a way only long time hospitality staff can.

Working in the perfect location, on my own van, with my mates it’s pretty much all I could ask for, for the first summer trading from the van. Some how though although in many aspects I have more time, but by being out of habit I find it causes me to waste more time and my mind won’t switch off. Learning new product lists, best shops for prices, amount of stock needed and most efficient set ups for service, these problems and solutions are constantly drumming into my brain.

It has been strange and a mental upheaval changing from a week that was focused around 1 day service to a more fluid operation throughout the week. Always feeling there is shopping to do, things to clean or prep. After each service it’s unloading everything back in the house and cleaning ready for the next use. The easiest part of the job is when I am cooking, that is when I feel truly free. That’s my happy place, on the van knowing I have everything brought and prepped.

With the extra time, (this will subside during school holidays) it’s been a conscious effort to make the most of it, gym sessions, time with the boys and dare I say it, even taking some time to relax. Due to the last year being so intense, we haven’t found ourselves with much downtime. Now we have some, but I wasn’t expecting to feel a level of guilt. If I have a night off and do something completely mindless like playing a video game, watching a movie or spending far too long on TikTok, I feel guilty. Guilty of wasting an opportunity to be productive, to get a chore done or continue to build the business. This is a strange and unusual feeling, after a night relaxing I start to think “I probably should have done some tiling in the kitchen” or “I should have got round to updating the website”. I don’t know if these are normal thoughts, I’m not sure I want to be normal, I know I’m not a sit and watch a box set type of guy. All I know is anytime spend with the Mrs and boys is good for the soul. Nobody ever gets to their deathbed saying “ I wish I worked more” but in the same breath you want to know you gave it your all. I guess this is where balance comes in.

Finding time to appreciate take a conscious effort

Taking time to be present has helped me really enjoy the experience so far, stopping to realise how beautiful a location is and that it’s on your doorstep. Just stopping and watching the boys play and grow, catching the mrs smiling, know that you love the people you work with, enjoying time with the family and hearing the laughter. These are all precious moments to cherish.

As the summer starts, plans and ideas are already bouncing around my head ready for next year, it all feels very exciting but I’ll save that for another blog. But the futures bright, the futures ANARCHY.

Happy eating

No One To Hire

We are at a strange time, a time that contradicts itself in many ways and one that could define the hospitality industry for years to come.

As restaurants, bars and pubs begin to reopen outdoor areas, pop ups are being arranged, everybody starts to think of staycations and weekends away everything feels positive, like the warmth of summer sun is a glow on the world of hospitality. Expectations of bars, restaurants and pubs to be fully opened are assumed within the next 6 weeks, that meaning we are one step closer to whatever “normality” means these days.

Hospitality is opening up

I myself can not wait for a pint of Guinness, in a pub, in a glass. Simplicity but perfection to this simplistic man. Anyone with an exposure to tourism is preparing for the summer rush, if last years “eat out, help out” is anything to go by, a tsunami of pent up customers with crash into venue after venue. It could be perceived the troubles are over.

But perception is a funny thing, and just as it was safe to go back in the water, hospitality has a new danger hidden beneath. As a new crisis is set to hit the industry. From London to Paris to New York there are critical staff shortages. Micheal Caines (2 star chef, mbe or obe one of them) recently was interviewed highlighting the problem, the caterer, a well known chef job site, has had record number of job listings and agencies are recruiting as many chefs as possible to keep up with demand. This all being while unemployment numbers are the highest in years.

So what has happened? Well as I am sure you are aware, there has been a bit of a global bastard over the last year known as Covid. As the country shut down many chefs and front of house were put on furlough. Some however were let go and were forced to find another job in another industry or claim benefits. The ones who went to another industry probably went mainly to supermarkets or delivery driving, I myself found myself doing both in order to steady the ship when it came to bills. With these new jobs it forces you into another outlook. You start to see the world with a different tint, they seem more secure than the industry that just dumped you, you get breaks and the level of work you have to do compared to a kitchen is minimal. You see the security of a big company and how people end up in the cogs in that machine. A friend of mine has gone to work in a call centre and the benefits and wage he receives can set him for years to come.

People are seeing life in a new way

People had to stay home and for hospitality staff this was a new luxury, hospitality normally work as the public play, long hours, irregular shifts and destructive temptations were all dissipated. Staff spend more time at home with loved ones than ever, some got healthy, some took up a new hobby and some just got to completely relax. New habits have been formed and new values installed. The chef/ waiter who has spent more time than ever with their child and loved ones is going to be asking themselves big questions about going back to the old habits.

Some people have set up side hustles, they have taken dreams and concepts and had the time to grow these ideas. Having a wage come in from the government gave security to pursue these visions. Some who have been very successful, will question going back to a job with long hours, low pay and no time to continue a side hustle. Even if it was a small success, it is still extra income that could subsidies doing less hours.

In America, which is a very service based economy, the troubles are even worse. America has opened up venues faster than Britain so Britain’s issues could be yet to snowball to America’s current climate. In America the public have been receiving stimulus cheques to stay home, we had the government furlough scheme. Interestingly the average wage in America has go up due to this stimulus. A portion of society is making more money staying home than going out to work!. This has led to restaurants having to issue signing on bonuses to even get staff to come back to work, some venues have paid people to go to an interview!. Somehow waiters and chefs are being treat like sports stars and getting a back hander just to be motivated to return to work. In Florida McDonald’s have raised the minimum wage to now pay $15 (£10.73) an hour and give free food to try to lure people to come and work the Golden Arches. Back in Blighty I have spoken to chefs who have told me about opportunities at tourist hotspots and the owners of these establishments are all looking to pay a lot higher rate than ever before (20%+) due to the lack of chefs. Even if someone plans to return to hospitality There is now the possibility this could snowball as if your could go to a new job for more money why return to the old employer, this then leads to a counter offer and more money is spend on wages.

Even McDonald’s are struggling to recruit

Hospitality staff can now demand more money, “well good on them you say”, but this is a double edged sword. You see people shouldn’t get more money from demand, if someone shows value and skill then of course they should see an increase in wage. If people are getting paid more just because of major shortages it can become problematic. If you went to work and somebody who isn’t as skilled as you has negotiated a better wage, how are you going to feel? You will be undervalued, even if you hadn’t felt that way before. There is only so long you can see a less talented person reap the money before you ask for more or go and find more. This creates the whole wage percentages to increase for an owner.

Next time you go out it may not occur, but it will at some point. As the natural bounce back on pent up demand hits, as the summer sun comes out and you head back to restaurants and pub, you will see prices have gone up. In Britain we printed money to support ourselves through the crisis and that historically leads to real inflation rates going up. The cost of food in the supermarkets has already increased above government figures. On a near daily basis I shop for the business and the total on those receipts week on week are increasing. The same can be said with energy costs, which again is another big cost for businesses. Then of course we have Brexit that is hitting supply, causing fishermen horrific uncertainty and increasing the prices of EU goods. And I don’t give a fuck what you say, as we speak we haven’t got a supply replacement from other countries, we may have trade deals in place but until they hit our shelves it’s just talk. Shipping costs have skyrocketed and uncle Albert caused mayhem in the Suez Canal that led to more supply issues. All this leads to our demand and no supply. That increases prices.

In restaurants you normally look for are about 20% wage costs, 20-25% food costs. Well if both of those are increasing, what do you think happens to the cost of your meal?. It is going to have to go up, so even though the hospitality industry has just been decimated by the global bastard and has received blow after blow we now face another round of scrapping and adjustment. From staff shortages, more restrictions to customers, to bigger and increasing overheads it will take a fine balance to make money for a lot of owners. Those who were just getting by before will feel the pinch most as the margins will become even thinner, the chains will shut a percentage of outlets to balance books and the high end establishments that strive for Michelin stars will have to become very creative to make money as brigades and teams can border on one member of staff for every table.

As much as this has been a rant and in the short term I am not overly optimistic for hospitality, I will try to finish on positives. The industry will lose some restaurants but the pandemic has shown the wealth of talent and entrepreneurs out there. As times get hard and a recession hits the weak businesses will be forced out of the game, those who have adapted and are hungry will survive and maybe just maybe raise the bar. When times get hard, creativity is anaesthesia that changes the world in the most magnificent way. I know micro businesses with passion and drive who I can only see great things for. This could be leading to the changing of the guard.

Happy eating

Reflection

It’s been a while. Through lack of idea, time or habit it’s been a while since I started a blog. To the dozen people who used to read my thoughts and rants, my apologies. Let’s see if I can still do this…

As the light of “normality” begins to break through the dark clouds of the pandemic and the world begins to move forward it seems just and appropriate to take a moment of reflection. Are we through to the other side?, not yet my friend, but it’s been over a year and the business has progressed to a new stage of evolution.

After a year of Sunday dinners, mid week meals, buffets and gentleman’s teas (like afternoon tea but with balls), we have been afforded a fantastic opportunity . I don’t know what brings good fortune to a person but I like to perceive myself as intelligent enough to know when opportunity knocks and to not worry about why the luck has been bestowed upon me. Anyway this summer the van has been given a residency at a busy campsite. This means feeding thousands of campers out of the food van. The van (Tullulah), who I had to watch from a far for far too long. You see, I’ll explain further down, I am not the same person as a year ago. My mind has changed, the subconscious has changed hence how I see the world, life and the future has changed.

Firstly lets go back a bit, Imagine having a dream, one that you took a risk on. You left your very decent, happy and safe job to pursue. That’s what I did, I then brought the van (read that adventure in previous blog) and it has sat there. Sat there not progressing and not only do you not have the money to recondition the van but it sits there idle, to remind you that you are failing on your dream. The thought that you could have sat around on furlough from a decently paid job crosses your mind and late at night your mind asks “did I make the right call for my family?”.

Then the universe acts, I don’t believe in religion but I will happily say “sometimes shit comes together better than you could ever imagine.” As the first real sun of the year started to shine on a February morning, the positivity was flowing, and I simply acted. A simple post, nothing ground breaking, just a post to say I was thinking about the summer and if anybody knew anyone with some land for a pitch to let me know. Then I got a message.

It was the owner of the campsite, but not just any camp site, oh no, the one next to my favourite beach, (the pitch overlooks it) and it is metres away from my dream house. The dream house that has been my big life goal since the moment I saw it, the house that reaffirmed my journey, it was love at first site. So to put it simply “ITS MY DREAM JOB IN MY DREAM LOCATION!”.

If there is ever a chance to progress the business this is it, it’s been the culmination of a year and a half of hustle and grind. What’s better is the owner seems to be brimming with positivity and drive. This seems to be somebody I can learn from, to help me develop and grow. He is somebody who believes in locality, hustle and always stepping forward. Les Brown says “get around successful people, if you want to be successful” , it’s the old adage that “birds who flock together, stay together”. Over the last year new people have come into my life, bonds and connections have been made and the help I have received is humbling and something I look forward to paying back. The van would not be completed without the help and expertise of the owner of a local pizza business, the Mrs’ family who have delivered Sunday dinners EVERY Sunday without a groan or gripe, I wouldn’t be in a fitness routine without my brother in law, I have met other independent food outlet owners who have given advice and support, not to mention we have had numerous people and supporters sharing on social media, giving us spare fridges as we expanded numbers and spreading the word. These are the people to have in your life, and we have so much gratitude for that. Positive people, seeing the bigger picture and always asking the question “how can we help?”.

we have been lucky with all the help we have received

These people have helped us when the world went crazy, with hustle and grind you can only get so far but the love and kindness has helped us sell out week after week after week. This is possibly the biggest reflection in all of this. WITHOUT THEM, THERE IS NO US. Without the amazing customers we would not have this chance, without our customers I would be back at Tesco on crowd control hating it just to pay the bills, without our customers we would not have grown, learnt and been able to build a business that reflect our values and ideals.

Then there has been my rock, the Mrs. Two years ago she was nervous and of a panic about supplying five cakes in a week. Now nothing phases her, in March we took a big corporate order and 400+ boxes of welshcakes were produced and posted. She constantly has cakes on the go and orders do not seem to slow down. Its been wonderful over the last year to see her grow in confidence and ability, in the world of cake making she kicks ass. Gone are the days of “I could never do that!” they have been replaced with “how can I do that?, “what do I need to learn?”.

Its easy to see growth in others, it takes a bit more to reflect on yourself. Like your child who does not seem to grow on a day by day basis but just every now and then out of no where you see how far they have come along and shot up. Looking inward I can now see a change, I don’t know when it occurred but I don’t feel like a chef first and foremost anymore. When you are not on service in so long the energy changes. Throughout the blogs you will see that I was knowing I needed to think like a businessman instead of a chef and this idea was important to grow. The balance has now tipped. Calling myself a businessman still seems foreign but I guess its now some sort of limbo or purgatory. My decision making has improved recently, a lot less time is spend over thinking. Now I try to act while the emotion is strong, if not it suffers the law of diminishing intent. Fear doesn’t stop me anymore, unknowing doesn’t stop me, saying I fucked up doesn’t bother me, now there is no more fear of failure. This change in mindset is down to reading, TED talks and YouTube videos on development. When it comes to finance I now understand more about money. It doesn’t mean I have any more than before but in educating myself, it feels I have learnt how to get the most out of it and better protect it. This in turn helping myself and the business go forward. Another positive change is having stayed away from news media as a whole, that has brought about a lovely freedom in life. When my brother made a joke about the Suez canal tanker, I had no idea what he was on about. this helps you start the day better, if its important information somebody will tell you, but why start the day with doom, gloom and impending anxiety?. Embrace every day, its a gift…… thats why its called the present.

But lets be frank and honest, in many aspects I don’t know what I am doing in the world of business. I guess this is the beauty of the growth mindset, it presents challenges to help you learn as opposed to issues that demotivate you to not try. Take marketing, advertising and brand promotion. NOT A CLUE. whatever I am doing though is giving me a connection to my customers and is making the brand honest. On multiple occasions social media posts have had innuendo that is not exactly subtle. On mothers day I made numerous jokes about “your mum will love my meat in her mouth”, “I want to pleasure your mother this mothers day”, when it comes to a tasty dish, it gets referred to as a knicker dropper!. Last week when given the chance to deliver to a customers mothers address, I replied “your mum is easy”, followed by another message to say a drop to her mothers is easy. Because we are consistent they found it hilarious, another bond made. Although I have not read or researched marketing I believe the chances of this type of approach is unlikely to appear. What it is though is real, its rude, crude and lewd and that is what hospitality is like, we bust each others balls and care deeply about each other. That’s how I feel towards the customers, I still feel bad that last year I offended somebody by calling Easter “zombie Jesus day”. The point of the business is that people get amazing food no matter who you are. We don’t care about background, your financial status, race, colour, gender or education. The lesson that has been learned above any other this year is “to be honest, real and make good food”.

customer feedback, put to inspirational backgrounds
actual quote from customer that we used in social media

As the business develops the message becomes more clear. I would hate the idea of phony marketing slogans that have been produced as a survey according to X,Y, and Z. In a world where a caterpillar cake is making mainstream news, Dr Suess is banned, Eminem is trying to be cancelled by Gen Z (again), Mr Potato Head is losing his gender, football clubs are choosing money over fans and people believe the world is flat, it feels good to be a contrarian. The business is an extension of me, the values are me, the humour is me and the empathy for customers is real. As the world gets crazier, the focus becomes streamlined. Everyone is included in good food, its not about focusing on specific dynamic groups A,B,C

So where next? FUCK KNOWS. But I tell you what, its exciting. This summer I have the chance to work with my friend one of the most amazing people I know. He is family. I get to learn whilst working in my dream location and the chance to get bigger and better is knocking at the door. Nervous, yes but excited for the possibilities next year and beyond. As we go with the flow and try not to stress new opportunities will come to light, these we will be chances to learn and grow.

happy eating

THE YEAR YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.

So here we are, 2021, the promised land. After one of the most unprecended years in multiple generations 2020 was over and the frost covered morning of 2021 began.

New years, in my humble view should always contain reflection. To look back over the year and find moments to be grateful for, lessons to learn and see how much growth has taken place. I saw a meme saying if you survived 2020 then that is a successful year. With a cold vodka in hand, I reflected on New Years Eve about our year and the rollercoaster. One thing became apparent “I don’t want to just survive, I want to thrive!”.

The tone of this blog is going to be one of positivity, I may reference or predict points, some may seem like negative aspects but that is no indication of this positivity train. So 2021, what does it hold?. Well from the unpredictability of last year it will be beneficial to be fluid. If last year gave us a lesson it was to appreciate and not to count on future plans. That in itself has given us all a quality of living in the present. If you are looking in the past, you can’t move forward. If you look too far into the future, you do not see what is in front of you. BUT if you are in the present you can adapt based on lessons from the past and craft your future. This is an amazing trait for us all to have. To be totally transparent, the lesson above was from an episode of SAVED BY THE BELL, but still is relevant. That lesson can ground us when we should be in the moment, but as we all do, we focus or worry on something that can wait till later. Playtime with my sons is so much better for all of us when I am present in that moment, conversations with the Mrs are more focused as the phone is put down (I actually listen) and dinner time is a joy. Now don’t get this wrong we are not the fucking Waltons, the boys are watching tv or Youtube, their food is shovelled in, the youngest is still a fussy eater and the Mrs is watching something “cakey” on her phone but to me its perfect. There is perfection in imperfection and to stop and watch that (be present) makes me a lot happier.

Most new years resolutions fail by February, this is mainly due to people not developing habits, not having a big enough reason WHY, or not changing their mindset. If you want to do something, don’t wait. You can do it any day, if you really want to start then START. If have began a “resolution” then keep with it, read about habits and have the appropriate mindset. Remember your brain picks up on stimulus around you, GOOD OR BAD, so train your brain. Don’t say “I want to lose weight”, say “I’m a healthy eater” or “I am a morning runner” . Learning to say “I AM” can change you brains reticular activating system which helps you see the triggers that promote personal growth. Be warned it works the other way also, if you say “I am fat”, “I am lazy” or “I am a loser” , then your amazing brain will find triggers to reinforce that. Its your choice people but “I AM POSITIVE”.

On reflecting, it seems I am best in the mornings. LESS DESTRACTABLE. This seemed to be a beneficial concept, so after a little research on morning brain patterns (whenever I say research, its because it sounds more professional, than watched Youtube videos) I discovered you operate on a different brain wave early hours. This helps you take in more knowledge and why people like Jeff Bezos get up early. Now instead of staying up watching the same comedy videos or wrestling documentaries, its an earlier bedtime. The alarm goes off at 5am, it gives chance for a decent meditation, chapter of a book, (write the occassional blog), hot cup of coffee and most importantly I can plan the day out without distraction. If you give yourself a list to do, the brain gives you a hit of endorphins when you cross a job off, you like endorphins so shit gets done. Another big benefit of this is if you have got your shit together and are organised by the time your kids get up, then you can enjoy spending time with them in the morning.

Starting a day positive is important, research shows that the mindset of the first 20 minutes of your day guides the rest of it. So if you wake up anxious and don’t settle yourself the rest of the day will be full of anxiety and un rest. A positive mindset is imperative to growth. For those of you who think 2021 will be a bed of roses compared to 2020, you are unprepared for this year. In many ways this year on a global scale, could be worse but that does not mean that it cant be an amazing year for you. I have a very talented friend who is an illustrator, her lockdown hustle has given her a chance to design her own style, her own work and has increased her self confidence as a result. She is now sending orders all over the UK and abroad. (moon.hollow.design, find her on Etsy and Instagram) . She has real momentum going into 2021 and it could be a fantastic year because she got some hustle.

2021 could still be full of unrest, but that doesn’t have to change your growth

Just because the world stops doesn’t mean you have to, the politicians are always going to fuck some things up, so learn to hustle, grind and realise its on you. If I fail this year, then its on ME. Of course the variables could be massive, who knows what is around the corner but as a business owner, its on me to adapt and stay fluid. We are very likely to experience a global recession, the vaccination will be rolled out but will take time (at 1 million a week we are still over a year), civil unrest will keep parts of the world rioting, politicians will make poor choices that lead to a detached population, a hospitality sector that needs to rise like a phoenix and we will all go a bit more green. That is how I see 2021 going but that does not stop the positivity train, oh no. If that is what we have to deal with so be it, as Frank Sinatra said “that’s life”. With that in mind what does 2021 hold for Food Anarchy?

visual depiction of my ideas

The goals have been playing on my mind for a bit, my mind is firing ideas constantly and it is exciting. This is the problem, I want to do it all so as we speak, I have done none. That’s right Fuck All. It makes sense in my head to finish a few jobs from last year, for instance the kitchen before moving on, so technically I am already behind. Also I need to prioritise these ideas for at the moment the are like a group of bodybuilders trying to get through one door, nothing is getting through. So in no particular order the ideas and goals are as follows

  • Pop up restaurant nights
  • expanding the ready to warm kits to include fine dining
  • THE VAN, getting the final issues finished and launching Tallulah
  • YouTube videos, tutorials in cooking basics
  • Summer BBQ kits, an extension of last year
  • Getting a unit to work from, store the van and grow
  • Look towards a cafe, retail property is about to plummet so could be the perfect storm
  • Increase blogging, so not just opinions but maybe some recipes etc.
  • Food Anarchy Cookbook

As you see, its all positive BABY, this is the mindset, whilst others are scared and fearful we are going “balls out”. Although my global view would not fill anyone with optimism at a micro level it can be amazing for you, if you let it. You can read the news about war, death and destruction but how will you feel? Or we can look to focus closer to home, in ourselves and those around us. The big changes start from small actions. 2021 will be an amazing year if we focus on personal growth, make sure this New Years Eve you are looking back thinking to yourself “I fucking nailed it!”.

happy eating

The positive side of mistakes

“I made a mistake”, four words, four little words that have the power to be self destructive or self motivating.

The pain and embarrassment will still be the same but the outlook and direction of recovery will vary completely on which path is chosen. This week hasn’t gone my way financially. From car repairs, to broken phones and finally Mr (or mrs, we are all equal here) tax man it’s been a rough week.

Now my tale is not one of sorrow, I am aware sometimes I set up these blogs that doesn’t convey it’s “all good in the hood”. Yes, a few trivial things have happened in my journey but through the self therapy of the blog and reflection, I like to think this shows a positive direction that maybe resonates with those few that read this blog, fuck it, maybe it actually helps a few people. The blog has always been honest, for better or worse. That bullshit world of perfection social media portrays, showing pictures of couples who are not long from splitting up, but in posts they are all smiley and looking like a perfect pair. Or maybe it’s the person who has the perfect house, everything in place and pristine, or the person with the perfect body and style, who looks infallible but in reality is sucking in their stomach or cheeks for the photo and still farts in bed. These portray a pictures of perfection and make us believe, anything less is failure. All that does is exasperate a fear of failure.

Perfection is over rated

I ain’t perfect, in fact far from it. I fuck up just like everyone else. That’s life. A lot of the fear of failure comes from parents and environmental factors growing up. From being laughed at from peer groups in school, or your parents teaching you standards that were close minded, maybe it’s beliefs from religion or the area you grew up in. We all have different perceptions of failure and that affects our courage to seek it out. Seeking out failure seems a strange awkward concept but if you learn it is key to development. Schools condition us that a failure is a bad thing, something to kick ourselves for. The real beauty of it is never explained. Think at how that difference in outlook could change a child’s mind.

So back to this week, my mistake was missing a simple factor of calculating what tax and accountancy fees I would be paying this year. Something so simple I should have picked up on it but instead I was cocky and thought I knew best (ego). It was a glaringly obvious issue, “I got my years mixed up!”. Now bare in mind I have only been a business for just over a year so it should have been fucking obvious but that would be the ego and not thinking. I should have been looking at the time when half a year was employed for a good company that paid decent and the remaining half was chef services (with little outgoing expenses). Instead I was thinking of the food business we set up from lockdown. School boy error.

To grow in life you have to fail at times.

When it came to accountancy fees, nativity on my part added costs. If I was unsure of something I rang for advice and due to filing something incorrect when setting up the company, HMRC had sent me statements I didn’t understand so that led to more phone calls and the cycle continued. It should be said I really like my accountant, I have paid for her services accordingly but by not setting up properly and not understanding certain elements of starting a business it has increased the yearly bill. I am not afraid to say that with hindsight, in many aspects of it I was out of my depth. If I hadn’t been so naive then I would have structured emails and phone calls so I got the most out of each conversation. By planning to be more structured from here on, then a more efficient pattern will result in less calls.

From the morning meditation, to the growth mindset, to the gym, motivational videos and reading for the past 2? Years I have changed. The subconscious has developed, I am a different person and this week showed me that. Sometimes it feels as if results plateau and nothing is changing, that is essentially because your parameters for testing don’t exist. If even a year ago I had gone through this financial slap in the face, I would have constantly worried, let it takeover my mind, panicked, and procrastinated by doing things I thought were progressive but was delaying the inevitable. Instead I acted and feel quite proud of myself. That is the difference, one way I would feel shit, but with the same events I am feeling proud.

The car wasn’t feeling right to drive. Now the old me would ignore it, scared it would cost a lot so essentially avoid the problem. We had at the weekend had to turn back from a day out due to the car not driving normally. The old mind would say you can’t afford any issues so just ignore it. But this time my mind said fuck the ego and being scared, if you wait to see a doctor a problem can get worse so I dropped in on a garage fairly spontaneously , who luckily had availability and the problem was diagnosed in 10 mins. He also said “you shouldn’t drive this, with the problem”. So instead of the old me who would take it away and contemplate the cost, I said “when can you fix it?” . The Universe was on my side, he could do it by close and after a couple of taxi rides home and back the car was done. The advantage of having a business account is that expense came off the business profits and I also could have the rearranged family day the day after. Win.

Sometimes we just get it wrong, the key is to move on

The old mindset would have prolonged that experience, but for what?, the problem could have got worse meaning an £800 job and if we had missed another day out I would feel upset for the boys and shame that I’d let them down or worse imagine if we had an accident for the sake of me not wanting to spend £250. That is how to make that job seem a bargain. Then my phone broke, it kept turning off every 2 minutes meaning work became very stop start to communicate with customers via orders or invoicing. The route planner would be none accessible for deliveries and social media posts were going to be a struggle. Old me would look at used phones, try to get a bargain and then go again, I think last time it happened I ended up buying 2 phones as one was rubbish and it took two weeks of messing about and procrastinating before I was back up. This was when I didn’t have a business to worry about. This time the mindset was different, broken on Thursday evening whilst invoicing, in the phone shop Friday morning on a new contract via the business with the mindset I’ll just have to make that £30 extra each month. By acting and having faith in yourself you can eliminate stress and worry. It’s the hesitation that is painful and self deprecating so don’t allow yourself to procrastinate. I still do it, again NO ONE IS PERFECT. But remember procrastinating is a habit. Habits can be changed, new ones learnt. If your unemployed and get in the habit to get up late and watch Loose Women, you have learnt that habit. You can also learn to push yourself to do the little things you don’t want to do, BY PUSHING YOURSELF TO DO THEM. Your brain doesn’t judge if the habit is good or bad it just learns to repeat behaviour.

Then the postman delivered a test, a slap in the face. The accounts and tax Bill. Now at first I just looked at it, not taking it in. Like a wall of shame, stupidity and ignorance hitting me in the face. I muttered the words “I’ve been so stupid” and the mrs stepped in to help me focus clearly. Once the oxygen started firing my brain after some deep breaths it made sense. I made a mistake. Old me would panic, ring people, and frankly dispute it. New me understands it is what I owe, where it came from and that by having the habit of saving each month, that we had it in savings and can pay it. It became a measure of Outlook. The savings I thought were ours, but they never were, once I calmed the ego from thinking “they are taking our money” I was ok. We now know we are set up, registered correctly and a clean slate in regards to tax. Those early mornings of self development have paid off, the subconscious saving and investing (learnt from self development) covered this shock but lessons have been learnt.

My mrs is good, that is a very unstated quote but she gets me, like no one else. She made me see that we hadn’t lost. 2020 has been crazy and we are coming out of it with so much good. Ok, financially we are even (when I thought slightly up) but so many people have been hit and can’t come back. The restaurants, pubs, clubs, theatres and other businesses. Yet we came out the other side having learnt so much and built a base. Reflection and gratitude are so important I urge you to take two minutes a morning to just think of what is good. If you say nothing then your not looking deep enough. It will help change your outlook.

By admitting mistakes and pushing yourself to fail, real growth can take place. It isn’t a comfortable place and that makes us stop and procrastinate. Evolution has kept humans alive by being scared of the big animals and staying put is safe but those parts of our brain are outdated in the modern world. Try to fail, learn, grow and repeat for that is the path to greatness and also the path of evolution. And please don’t lead an “insta” life , lead your life with beautiful imperfection.

I’ll finish with a question for you to ponder. “Who will develop more ? the person who never fails or the one who fails and learns.”

Happy eating

“That’s Time at the Bar”

Yesterday, the first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has announced a new series of restrictions in order to quell the resurgence of the spread of covid.

Less than a month after the end of a firebreak that was brought in to reduce the ‘R’ number to something more manageable we had a new stricter announcement. The firebreak was apparently “could be called a success” according to Mr Drakeford, well Marky boy I question your definition of success when within weeks your bringing in new regulations that are a hammer blow to an already crippled hospitality system.

Mark Drakeford looks like he could do with a pint.

These new measures include, stopping PUBS SELLING ALCOHOL, SHUTTING TO DINING IN FROM 6PM, AND CLOSING A RANGE OF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. Prohibiting the sale of alcohol in pubs makes no sense, I pose the same risk if I sit there with a pint of coke than if it’s a pint of Guinness . You don’t want people meeting up, I can appreciate that to a point when it’s people on the lash but people having a quasi moment of escaped reality between all the pre cautions they have now implemented into the dining experience is a step too far. Being able to meet up with a friend, having a date night, being able to go to celebrate a loved ones anniversary or birthday, these are extremely valuable for people’s mental health as it gives an anchor to a reality of a time when the world didn’t suck balls.

That’s just the one viewpoint of the customer, think what it is going to do to the business. The business owners mental health is in an abusive relationship of constantly changing rules, bending over backwards to ridiculously high standards to then be blamed and vindicated. The hospitality industry has taken massive measures to keep people safe including extra cleaning, table service, ppe equipment, extra staff, reduced customers. Then after the feeling that some semblance has returned, people who don’t understand the industry, who don’t consult the industry and have never worked in the industry deal a fatal blow.

“but they have received help” , that’s the uneducated persons general view. The original rates reduction, vat discount and grants were indeed a much needed help. When companies didn’t need to pay rents legally until they could be renegotiated . What that essentially means is they had a discount originally but that’s now added back on with extra. So costs are higher at the moment. Every round of grants is at best covering some bills, It is highly unlikely all bills are covered by a generic set of grants. All of those chains who are in premium locations are hemohragging money at the moment and will be running up debt with government backed loans.

Have you ever thought about government backed loans? These loans are 6 months interest free and are not required to be paid back for 6 years. These loans that were substantial are easy to get. In fact the government made them easier than ever to get in order to keep businesses a float and to keep the damage to the pound and economy to a minimum. It was damage limitation.  What NOBODY talks about though is what is to stop somebody taking out a £40,000 loan, spending/ moving it and then liquidating the business for £5,000. It’s immoral, it’s wrong but it’s a free £35,000 . Now if I can see that and I am a relative amateur to business, my question is HOW MUCH MONEY LOANED WILL DEFAULT?.

The Welsh government has set up a 340 million pound support fund. This is to see people through December. This is a band aid at best, anyone who has been in the business knows the sales cycle of the restaurant game. December is about making money to cover January and February. With the government at best covering the bills it keeps a pub/ restaurant open for December but what about the quietest months of the year that follow. Is the government going to fund them till Mother’s day in March,(the upward turning point of the year)? I sincerely hope so but am not optimistic. Those summer months were lost and although Eat out, Help out was a massive boost, the lack of consistent regulation has taken its toll. The summer months to an experienced operator are about covering October and November. December covers January and February and hopefully at some point you get ahead enough to take a dividend bonus.

A very rough graph to show the restaurant cycle
Blue being profit, red being lose.

Customers are confused, staff don’t know if they are coming or going and now you can’t even buy a pint. I’m sure Mr Drakeford can explain the difference in risk of me going for a Sunday lunch and ordering the beef and a pint compared to me going for Sunday lunch and ordering the beef and a coke!!! I can’t see how it makes any variance on the level of risk.

With Christmas parties and friends annual get togethers already gone, and when people can not meet in other people’s houses, interaction is already at a minimum in restaurants and pubs. When asked by the BBC to show what research has led to this announcement the Welsh government did not provide a source.

Yesterday in a popular supermarket it was chaos, too many people, too much grabbing and putting down, everyone stopping to talk to each other about trivial shit (usually moaning about something) , people not respecting distance. Why aren’t measures being brought back in to supermarkets if there is a spike in cases? People sitting down at a table from the same bubble with masks on everytime they move from the table seems a hell of a lot safer to me than the gauntlet of infection that is a supermarket.

This is now the sword of Damocles swaying precariously above the business. Independents are on borrowed time in the majority of cases as profits that where already thin are being asked to be stretched to cover expenses that occur no matter your sales. The government whether Welsh or British is trying to help the sector get through this unprecedented time but they lack understanding of the industry. As this continues, owners and staff will question the security of hospitality and leave for something more “safe and sensible”. Who can blame them? People have families to support so will give up what they love and take work in a “recession/ pandemic proof” job. Owners will look to cut loses rather than look to optimism.

With the amount of money that has been printed since March, the government has supported this unprecedented time. As the right wing has now effectively become socialist to pay the people, a gigantic bubble has been produced. At some point it pops and a recession hits, this is Rishi Sunaks “economic emergency” he was saying has just began. The only way to lessen this is with inflation which is ever unpopular with voters.  So going into 2021 the options for owners are ride a recession and all the mental and finacial anguish that comes with that or customers have less money due to inflation and spending cuts and your costs go up so margins of profit are even smaller .

Big Rishi has a mammoth task on his hands

I apologise for the negativity of this blog, I prefer optimism so let’s try to find something positive to finish.

If pubs and restaurants can weather this storm, if staff can see it through a bit longer then there does seem light at the end of the tunnel. Next spring when measures should be relaxed, the vaccine should have been rolled out and the warm weather kicks in, a new sense of optimism and positivity will appear. Like the bear who sleepily comes out of hibernation the first thing people will do is explore outside and eat. Here’s hoping this pent up society meet with friends, family and appreciate that part of life that we have been hidden from. Staycations are here to stay for the next few years and that means punters in the hotspots. It’s always darkest before the dawn and spring always follow winter, no matter how bad that winter is.

Support independents wherever you can.

Happy eating.

The Universe Knows Best

It’s funny, but sometimes the smallest moment can change your mindset.

A moment that is insignificant in many ways, I had been in the down cycle of energy, that made me more reflective which is never a bad thing, but the picture seemed more pessimistic than optimistic and although we were getting by I had been feeling stuck and at times lost. The visions had been replaced with worries about how to balance everything. I was taking on stresses of the future that hadn’t even started yet. How do we balance the van and Sunday dinners? Can I get a pitch? Will we be able to do an event? How do I buy equipment for van with a lack of funds? Etc etc

Then the universe stepped in, it gave me a little nudge. It’s time I share with you my dream, the goal that for me is the epitome of life. For years now I have wanted to have a house by the beach, the kind of place where I can stand on a balcony and look at the wonders of nature, smell the sea and most important hear the waves crashing. That noise is the purest soundtrack of nature. To be able to drink a coffee and watch the sun set over the horizon from the comfort of my own home, that is the perfect life for me.

The problem has always been the vision of the house, I couldn’t picture “my house”. So one morning a couple of weeks ago, prepping for a mid week meal delivery, the frustration was building, not for any reason but when you are on a down cycle it makes you feel better to get grumpier and grumpier. I had just fallen out with the bin to put it in context. WHEN YOU WANT TO BE GRUMPY, YOUR BRAIN WILL ACTIVELY SEEK OUT MORE TRIGGERS. After a couple of weeks of seeking these triggers, I was able to feel sorry for myself whilst being a marythr to my own development.

The human brain is a phenomenal evolution. The reason we see more negative in the world when we feel down is due to the reticular activating system. (RAS). This wonder of nature will subconsciously find more triggwers of what you want to see. If you are angry ,it will pick up signals of things in your life to make you more angry. The important quality of it though is it doesn’t know what is good or bad! So if you focus your mind to look for things to make you grow, the RAS picks up on more triggers for you to notice. It’s an amazing tool that evolution has given to humans but it holds great power. This is the science behind law of attraction. RAS is the reason that if you are trying to lose weight it is better to say “I’m now a healthy eater” instead of “I’m on a diet” as the first tricks the brain to look for healthy food triggers, the latter focuses on what you can’t have, so you will see it everywhere.

It is important to say though we all have blips, anyone who knows me will attest I am  “Mr positive” with an almost annoying (ok very annoying) ability to find the positives. The kind of positivity that has quoted in the past “of course Nazis were pure evil, but the Indiana Jones films wouldn’t be as good without them” . Anyway I digress, the customer asked if we could deliver to a different address to normal, no problem. As the country lanes got narrower, the top of the road had a sign “to the beach”, as I crept down the single track looking for numbers I found the house. The moment I stepped out the car I could hear the waves crashing and smell the ozone filled my nostrils and as I approached the house  the view opened up over the cliffs and it unveiled the most beautiful beach in the world. I have known and been to this beach before, it’s my favourite beach. Not just of the area but in the world and I have been to a good amount. This one is perfection.

The beach can quiet internal noise

Taking a moment to appreciate mother nature at her finest, like a shot of adrenaline there was a reset in my brain. As stated in previous blogs, the best place in the world to clear your head is a walk on the beach. Being a landlocked city boy, my experiences of beaches involved donkey rides and amusements but since I moved 18 years ago to a city on the coast, the collection of beaches have left me awe struck every single time how beautiful they are. A quick delivery later and I felt revitalised, then as I turned the car around I saw it, the dream became a vision, it became bricks and mortar, the house I never knew existed emerged from the foggy concept of “a house on the beach” to a pure high definition quality structure in front of me.

The name of the house is now etched in my brain forever, it was as if a bolt of electricity shot through my body. I WAS ACCOUNTABLE FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN, NO EXCUSES. A giant smile took over my face and I drove back up the single track I stopped for another look. It even had a fricking rainbow over it !! . Is this romantic ideals? , maybe . Is it a massive dream? Yes. The house must be valued at a couple of million which seems like the top of Everest compared to where life is now. But it is at times like this that all those early mornings, reading and self development teachings flood into your brain. My sub conscious didn’t say “you’ll never get that”, or “just be happy with what you have” or “that’s for someone else”. Fuck no. It said “if your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough” and “if you can hold it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand”.

Without a destination in your mind, you can never know where you are going. You will just amble around kind of hoping. Am I still a million miles away from that house? Yes, but here is the difference now, ever step I make from that moment of clarity is in the right direction. It takes me forward on that path. Will I get my dream? I don’t know, we will see what the universe has in store but I’ll keep stepping . The GPS is on, it may take me places I’ve not been but they are opportunities to learn and grow. You can only grow by being put in uncomfortable positions.

Always strive for direction .

Growth comes from being in new situations, lessons come from failing, hence why it is ridiculous as a society we fear it so much. To my future problems that had me down I say ” I’ll see you soon and I’ll figure it out when the time comes.” For now the growth mindset is back. Push yourself to failure, at the gym (which I’m back at, but made my personal trainer my brother in law for no excuses) you push your muscles till they fail, then they grow stronger. Of course it is uncomfortable, there is pain and frustration (I spent two days walking like John Wayne) but that muscle comes back stronger, it’s that logic that pushes development physically and mentally.

Direction is everything my friends, hurdles and pitfalls will happen but we keep stepping. Be grateful for what you have and where you are, sometimes take a moment to see how far you have come. And if you feel a bit lost well, it happens to everyone, even the most annoyingly positive of us. My advice is find a destination for your GPS.

Happy eating