Tales from the Pass: Sophie Gilmour

Sophie Gilmour is passionate about business, food, and hospitality. She has spent the past 15 years helping hospitality businesses thrive. She co-founded Bird on a Wire, co-owns Fatima, and leads Delicious Business where she guides operators towards sustainable growth. Sophie is also committed to community work and is a trustee of the Dine Charitable Trust. In this episode, Sophie shares practical and valuable advice on what it takes to run a successful hospitality business including the importance of having a mentor, managing costs, and understanding profit margins. She also reflects on current challenges in the industry and explains how good management and clear measurement can help operators navigate them with more confidence. The Restaurant Association is the link between good food and good business. It supports New Zealand's diverse and creative hospitality businesses to deliver first-class experiences to diners. Since its humble beginnings in 1972, it has worked to offer advice, help and assistance in every facet of the vibrant and diverse hospitality industry. The organisation now represents, advocates and cheerleads for more than 2500 hospitality businesses within New Zealand. It offers advice and assistance on key industry issues, from property lease advice to wellness in the workplace. The Association also provides its members with industry-wide accreditation programmes, which set best practice standards and help them measure how they're tracking. It also works in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development to deliver the Hospostart and Springboard training programmes.