The will to survive in business has taught us many things this year as we've adapted to the constant movement of our surroundings.
As part of our Boost My Business initiative Fiona Alston spoke to three new business owners in the food industry about what they have learned in business this year.
Ciaran McGarvey was just completing his first year in business when Covid swept into the country closing businesses with the countrywide lockdown in March.
McGarvey had bought an old fashioned ladieswear shop on the Main Street in his hometown of Falcarragh, Co Donegal and renovated it to open a café by day and restaurant by night.
Throughout the first year in business Batch had consistently added to its evening menu which had increased its popularity.
But now all that is gone for the time being and Batch has transformed to accommodate the current situation.
"When we closed in March I totally wasn't prepared, it was a total shock to the system," says McGarvey, "[we] closed completely and didn't have any backup plan or a 'business as usual’ plan like what we have in place now, we didn’t have any of that."
"I had been here for 360 of those 365 days so it was a big shock to the system not knowing what to do with yourself," he adds.
By the time they could open again in June, they had added a retail section into the premises.
"That was what was going to carry us through if another lockdown came, which it did," he explains. "We had no website up until then, so we started working on that and started expanding the retail product lines, which we're still actually doing."
As part of their online offering they have a coffee club and wine club subscription services as well as some gift and treat boxes using products from Irish producers.
Now in store they have the retail shop and a takeaway service.
"We do scones, soup with nice sourdough and we do coffees - apart from that it’s all retail," he explains. "The biggest part of the operation is probably the online.
"It was a Thursday evening, I think, when this latest lockdown hit. We had a burger night that night and then I had the plan in place when everyone left at 10pm," he says. "We took all the furniture out brought all the shelves in and stocked them and then we were ready to go in the morning".
"We just did a flip overnight," he says, "we were ready for it this time as we knew what was coming and we knew what we needed to do to keep the place open."
While Batch is open it certainly is not business as usual. They have gone from 21 staff down to just McGarvey and one other - not a situation you’d expect to be carrying in your first year of business, but McGarvey is positive it will change when the lockdown is lifted.
"People are saying even when they drive past and see the lights on, even though there might not be much going on inside, it's just nice to see a little bit of life around the street," he adds.
Someone else who was keen to keep the lights on this year was neuromuscular therapist Taragh Hanley. In fact she switched the lights on of her brand new business this year - The Divine Foodie which delivers platters of food to areas of Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin and Meath,
During the first lockdown she was unable to treat her clients as her practice had to close. During the down time she came up with the idea of putting together grazing platters after being inspired by her relatives in Australia where grazing platters are very popular.
"We’ve had orders from Mary down the road to Anne around the corner - we've had orders from New Zealand, Australia and UK all being delivered to parents or loved ones here at home that they can't get home to see," says Hanley. "And we’ve been doing some corporate gigs which have been phenomenal, so it’s a mixture of both now."
"We use all Irish farmhouse cheeses, we make our own aioli, we make our beetroot hummus, even the jam is homemade and the brown bread - everything we make here in our kitchen in Kilcoole," she says.
While her two businesses are very different, Hanley has found the experience of running the two businesses similar.
"Timing is key," she says. "Finding the best suppliers, that you can rely on - people that you want to surround yourself with is absolutely one of the biggest things - I know them all on a first name basis - those kind of things make a huge difference."
To ensure her competitive edge in the grazing platter market, Hanley upskilled herself in all aspects of her business including improving her photography skills.
"It's starting to get more competitive, I did courses in photography, Facebook marketing and Shopify," she explains. "I really armed myself with as many courses as possible.
"If you can keep learning and adding to the stock in your own head, and your ability, that's crucial, because that's going to help carry me through when it starts getting a bit quieter in January and February," she adds.
Education also plays a huge role in the life of Co Clare business owner Hannah King. She owns Glas Grazing, which delivers food platters in Lisdoonvarna and the surrounding areas.
King who is studying a masters in occupational therapy, started her business after coming up with a few plans during the first lockdown.
Initially she was looking at the corporate market and producing large tables full of food but the more Covid impacted the corporate world her attention turned to platters and boards for smaller parties.
"In Co Clare we have a lot of artisan food suppliers and food producers here," she explains. "I combined them with my love for hosting, and all that kind of thing, and Glas Grazing came out of that.
"Glas is the Irish word for green which is a take on the fact that all my produce is all locally sourced, and my packaging is compostable – we are environmentally friendly," she says.
With the busy lifestyle of working, studying for a masters and running her first business, King is certainly learning a lot from the whole experience but it sounds like it’s all worth it.
"I have learned that you get out of it, what you put into it," she says. "Time management is obviously super important too."
"It is hard work but it’s just so nice when you get an order from someone because you know that they have obviously admired your product and looked through your website - it's such a buzz," she adds.
