Be Your Business

In this episode of Be Your Business I meet Chef and owner of Lions Den Mushrooms, Ollie Hunter. Lions Den is an innovative food business that promotes the benefits of a plant-based diet through its range of mushroom based sauces and condiments that are nutritious, sustainable and tasty. Lions Den is a combination of Ollie's background, career journey and unique energy. Brought up in a farming family he’s had a love of food from a young age as well as an appreciation for its provenance. Ollie’s food career began when he was a contestant on BBC’s Masterchef! Progressing all the way to the semi-finals, it was the catalyst for an exciting period working as a professional chef which included a spell travelling around Europe as a private chef before running a gastropub which became a champion for sustainability.  While running the pub Ollie’s focus started to shift more towards plant-based cooking and it was lockdown that gave him the opportunity to learn more about food systems and creating positive change. It was during this period that a chance meeting led him to the wonderful world of mushrooms and a lightbulb moment. Ollie realised mushrooms were the answer. Healthy and nutritious, good for the planet and tasty! It was the impetus to start his own business and Lions Den Mushrooms was launched. Based in Hastings the company focuses on its retail products as well as pop-ups which showcase the benefits of mushrooms.

In this episode of Be Your Business I meet Artist and owner of the Big Yin Gallery, Euan Roberts. His gallery sits in the heart of St Leonards and is notable for its distinctive style of art as well as championing local artists from the surrounding area. Here, Euan talks about his path to becoming an artist and how he didn’t start to paint until he was 25 or 26. He talks about unblocking himself by setting himself the target to paint 20 paintings. We also chat about how it can take a long time to find what you love. Euan has a burning desire to change the world of art which he describes as exclusive. Here he talks about wanting to create an inclusive space which makes art accessible for everyone and how the magic of art lies in being seen. Euan also talks about what’s involved in running a gallery and describes a gallery as an in-between space with multiple functions; the business side, making the art and being a gallery.  He also talks about how art is the least most important thing and that it shouldn’t take itself too seriously, how he tries to get that across in the gallery and brings artists in who aren’t too serious either. 

In this episode of Be Your Business I meet Ben Goodman, owner of Goodman's Barbers in St Leonards to talk about his career and his journey to establishing his own thriving business. We talk about his love for hip-hop music, how he enjoyed going to college to learn more about the industry and becoming a DJ in Brighton's club scene, with a regular slot at one of the major clubs. How it was un for a while but that eventually the lifestyle that accompanied the job wasn't sustainable. We talk about how he got into barbering, how the industry has changed for the better since he started and opening his own barbershop in St Leonards. Ben talks about how much the town has changed since he first opened business here, and the excitement of being part of a community which is constantly evolving and his contribution to this change. He tells me about the business he has created, how he has assembled a like minded team of barbers, who all have a laugh together and enjoy what they do. Finally, we talk about being from the same small town in East Sussex, Heathfield and what life was like there growing up. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Ben, learning more about his journey and why he made the decisions he did.

In this episode of Be Your Business I meet Christian Hayles, co-owner of Bolthole Coffee in St Leonards and a self confessed coffee nerd. Christian talks about his relationship with coffee and how time alone in a coffee shop became an important ritual for him to connect to himself and spend time alone, and time with his daughter.  He talks about meeting his partner Rhianna through coffee and how they went on to set up a coffee business together. Now open for just over a year it has become a thriving hub of the community.  In this episode he talks about the art of coffee making and the variables that go into making the perfect cup. We also talk about what the magic number is and why it's important. He also talks about growing up in St Leonards and how it has changed dramatically over his lifetime. From an amazing place to live when he was younger with a fantastic community of people, to a place which was completely unrecognisable a few years later, with many social and drug problems. And how the town came back up over the last 10 years to become a trendy and thriving community once more and a lovely place to live. 

Hello and thank you for listening to this latest episode of Be Your Business, the podcast where I meet local business owners to find out what they have learnt in their career and why they do what they do! This week I was excited to meet up with traditional signwriter and generally good bloke Charlie Nelson. I first met Charlie while he was up a ladder, since then I have bumped into him on a regular basis and slowly learnt more about his life and been intrigued by the choices he has made. I must confess I have a personal interest in Charlie’s line of work as both my dad and grandad were signwriters. Stepping into his studio for the first time was like stepping back in time for me. I was looking forward to talking to him about the traditional craft which has seen a revival in recent years. In this episode I find out that Charlie has always been passionate about food and left university wanting to be a chef, inspired by the TV programme Masterchef and celebrity chefs such as Heston Blumenthal. However, he quickly found he couldn’t cope with the unsociable hours and headed in a different direction. We talk about him landing a great job as a Graphic Designer for a food and drink magazine in London, how much he enjoyed it and why leaving to be a research analyst for more money was a mistake, but how it turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons of his career. He tells me about feeling the urgent need for change and moving to Mozambique to work at an eco lodge, an experience that gave him a completely different perspective on life. It was there that he experimented with wood fired cooking which sparked a business idea. On his return to the UK he started Fundi Pizza, a street food business with his brother. He describes how it was great fun and successful to begin with, but as it matured became more complicated and serious. Charlie tells me about making signs for his food business and then making signs for other food businesses, a thread he picked up after selling their food business at the start of the pandemic, using his contacts in the food industry to start his sign writing business, Fundi Signs. Finally he tells me that starting again has meant learning again, something that he has missed as an adult. How he has always loved lettering and the enjoyment he has got from becoming more immersed in his craft.

Hello and thank you for tuning in to this latest episode of Be Your Business where I meet local business owners and find out how they created their business and what they love most about it. This week I travel by bicycle (and up a very large hill) to meet the fabulous Brewing Brothers, Ned and Charlie Braxton at their sparkly new brewery up on the Ridge in Hastings. They talk about their first job as publicans, managing their family owned pub in East Sussex and the fondness they have for those formative years, where they made more than a few mistakes but had so much fun. We discuss how those mistakes taught them invaluable lessons when it came to setting up their own business, and the West Coast road trip they embarked on in 2014 that inspired them, opening their eyes to the concept of micro-brewing, which celebrated the craft of beer making and the brewer.  They talk about how their friend Bill, an amateur brewer, who joined the team right at the very start and how they started brewing their own beer shortly afterwards, before opening the doors to their first pub, The Imperial on Queens road in 2016. I find out how the business was extremely well received in Hastings before the lockdowns, and how they pivoted the business model overnight to a delivery service, quite literally getting on their bikes and personally meeting customers.  They discuss the fantastic bond they have developed with their customers and how a creative crowdfunding campaign enabled their latest move to the new brewery site and tap room.  By their own admission Ned and Charlie had no idea what they were doing when they first started their business and they’ve winged it on more than one occasion, but good fortune has followed them and they’ve had a fantastic time in the process. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and catching up with one of the most fun businesses in Hastings, we hope that you enjoy the show..

In this episode of Be Ypur Business, I meet Jennifer McNeil and Hayley Roe, founders of the wonderful Plant the Seed, an exciting new vegan food business based in Hastings. In this episode we talk about the rise of veganism and how to do it in a balanced way. How Jen became a vegetarian at 16 before going vegan in her twenties and how Hayley converted after they met. I find out how Plant the Seed was born from a passion to make vegan food more healthy and accessible and how starting their business in lockdown meant that furlough from their old jobs gave them a free hit at an idea they’d had. Jen and Hayley speak about starting the business in London initially as a vegan sandwich delivery concept, where they hand delivered the sandwiches and later how they developed the concept into toasties and brunch as well as the original sandwiches. I get to try one of their sandwiches live on the podcast and we discuss their move from Walthamstow to Hastings and how they have integrated into their new life by the sea. Finally we talk about working with your partner and how they’ve invented the vegan fried egg! It was great to meet Jen and Hayley and hear their story, how they have followed their passion to create a business they love and enjoy.

In this episode of Be Your Business, I meet local baking legend Michael Wooton, owner of Judges Bakery in Hastings old town, to explore how he fell in love with bread from a young age and being the custodian of one of the country's oldest working bakeries, which first started baking loaves in 1826. We talk about growing up in Hastings and the special community it has, why the old town feels like a village and his passion for his hometown. We explore Hastings` unique culture and why he thinks the influx of people coming to the town is a good thing. Michael speaks about not knowing what to do with his life when he finished his A-levels until he saw an advert for an apprenticeship as a baker and decided to do it until he found a proper job. We discuss baking and the 30 different types of bread that are made by Judges, making everything from scratch and why the acid test of a bakery is their sausage rolls. We talk about the team of 28 people he employs including eight bakers and the pride they take in their baking. I find out about Michael’s passion for bread and the sadness that he felt when the baking industry went through its darkest years and how he came to buy Judges and share the bread he loved. We talk about the historic building that Judges Bakery has operated from since it opened 194 years ago and how the timber used to construct the tudor building has been carbon dated to one-thousand years ago and the time of the Norman conquest. Finally I learn about the tradition of bread making and the rise of sourdough, why it is healthier and tastes better than yeasted bread and the etymology of the word barmy. Michael also tells me where I went wrong with my lockdown sourdough and how time is the secret ingredient in good bread. It was fantastic to meet Michael and hear his story about following his passion and creating a business which is truly loved and an integral part of the community.

In this week's episode of Be Your Business I meet Founder Corie and Distribution Manager Griffin from Hastings based mens grooming company 1 Society. A business with a fun culture and an uplifting story to tell. I speak to Corie about leaving his home in Peterbrorough when he was 18 and moving to the other end of the country, leaving everything he knew behind. Living for six years in a caravan in rural Sussex to be a farmer and his process of working with depression. I talk to Griffen about emigrating to souht coast England from Montreal via Italy with his free-spirited and entrepreneurial family and how a motorcycle crash 3 years ago changed his life forever. Coped with life altering injuries and moving forward to create a life he that works for him. Corie introduces us to the 1 Society product range which he developed after seeing a gap in the male grooming market. How a whopping 50% of men in the world have a beard, and the buzz he gets from making all the products by hand. We talk about creating a business which has been an antidote for Corie, a place where he works with his mates having fun and not taking things to seriously.  It was great to meet the Corie and Griffen and hear their story of friends working together and creating a business from their energy which suits them both and other people connect with. 

In this episode of Be Your Business I speak to Giles Perrin the charismatic owner of the St Leonards Grocery, a local fruit and veg shop selling fresh local produce, which has become part of the fabric of the local community. Giles wears several hats and is also the Principal and founder of Claremont school, an Independent Day & Boarding school. I find out about Giles` early life, and how he spent his childhood in and around the school that his dad set up, Bedes in East Sussex and 19 weeks of the year at their holiday home on the north coast of Devon, a place he calls his 'spiritual home'. When he finished school he embarked on a gap year to India and described finding a place which felt like home. There he met people who were outside of the demographic he had previously encountered and it opened his eyes to another world - He would return several times throughout his career. The following years took him to University which didn’t really work for him and then jobs on building sites and gardening work, where he was attracted to being outdoors. After another trip to India to set up a guesthouse, he returned to Bedes this time as a teacher. He was happy there but decided out of the blue to leave and took up the post of RE teacher at Frome school in Somerset, a tough comprehensive school. He describes himself as a maverick teacher who was very good with teenagers and got results - academically and pastorally. He returned to India for a third time when he was invited to set up an international boarding school, taking his young family to Pune where they stayed for over 4 years. He came home when he was invited to set up a new school in Sussex and follow in his fathers footsteps. The school became a success and is thriving 10 years later.  In 2021 he and his partner Gillian decided to buy their local grocery store after a chance meeting with Teresa, one of the members of staff who whispered in his ear that it was for sale. They bought it from the previous proprietor who had run it for 33 years. Giles has found a place where he can do the things he loves, being around people, getting to know them and providing an important service. Nowadays he spends most of his time off working at the grocery store, with his nephew Jack running the day to day. He has quickly improved the business bringing new products such as free range meat and eggs as well as other local produce and small changes that have made a big difference. Giles is honest about his work style and describes himself as a risk taker and a master of winging it, he has never had a career plan, but just done the next thing that looks good. He has had a varied career which has been led by his ‘gut’ rather than planned and it feels like it has a few interesting twists and turns left.

In this episode of Be Your Business I talk to Ed Johnstone founder of The Sussex Peasant about how he created an innovative Mobile Farm Shop business which champions and sells local produce from Sussex. Re-connecting people to the local food and food producers.  Ed started his career as a Headhunter in London and acknoledges that he followed his peers early on in his career. It didn't take him long to realise that he didn't like sitting at a desk all day and he started to consider what he would really like to do with his life.  Soon after Ed left his job to take a year out and play rugby in Argentina. A talented fly-half it was the perfect opportunity to re-connect with himself and he settled in a friendly community there. It was there that he noticed something, the people there had a connection to their food which was unlike anything he had seen back home. It really resonated with him and he decided he wanted to work in food and try to create something similar in the UK. Intially Ed wanted to start a Farm Shop but the start-up costs were prohibitive. He started to consider a mobile offering, supported my his family Ed bought a second-hand horse truck and started to contact local farmers.   Here we talk about his passion for good food and the importance of provenance in society. How he has created a relationship between the producers and the consumers through regular markets in local neighbourhoods, creating an experience where customers can connect to their food. Finally I find out that Ed has stayed true to his roots and still goes out on the van on a regular basis. From the start he has been aware of ensuring that he stays connected with the reason he started the business and not get detached in full-time management. 

In this episode of Making a business I talk to London-based entrepreneur Francisco Prieto about his journey to creating Machi's Barbecue a Street Food business selling authentic Argentinian Asado in the heart of London. Francisco left Argentina at 5 years old when his parents moved to London. But his family ensured that even though he was living in England he knew he was from Argentina and so made certain that he grew up with the culture and way of life of his birth, with home-cooked food and a life shared with family and friends.  Here Francisco talks about working with people from many other nations in London's restaurant scene, working for nig names like Pizza Hut and Pret A Manager. He talks about how he thought the the food was of a very high quality and always fresh but recalls him and his colleagues feeling isolated from the business they worked for and that the staff worked for each other rather than for the company. I learn that Francisco worked for the civil service because of his desire to make a difference and a strong social conscience. Here he met many hard working and good people who joined for the same reason as him but found many of his colleagues became disillusioned with politics. After 8 years he took voluntary redundancy and realised his dream of starting his own food business. Formed in 2015 the business was started by Francisco, his brother and a friend, but because of differences of opinion in how the business should be run they went their seperate ways. His focus with the business was always about providing high quality, healthy food at reasonable prices so that everyone can enjoy it.  The name of his business is an abbreviation of his childhood nickname, his family called him Machita, meaning little macho. Machi's only serve Argentinian beef and a specific cut, called the rump tail. I learn that Argentinian beef is so good because the cows there are British breeds but with much more space, 11 times bigger than the UK. They also have the best buthcers in the world because they were trained by the British before Industrial farming. Finally and very importantly we discuss Chimichurri! The much loved Argentine condiment and its origins, what his recipe is and how it compliments the meat perfectly.   I really enjoyed this podcast. Francisco is an intelligent and caring person who is proud of his roots. His personality shines through his business and food, he enjoys what he does because its fun and has meaning to him, it perfectly reflects who he is and where he has come from. He is an inspiration.

Now available! The latest episode of my podcast series ‘Making a business’. In this series I talk to local entrepreneurs about their journey to creating a business they love and how they’ve found themselves along the way. This week I speak with Olga Mamonova who runs Kino Teatr, an arts venue in the heart of St Leonards which opened its doors in 2014.  Olga talks about rescuing the old theatre which first opened as a cinema in 1913! When she discovered it, it was being used as storage space for a bathroom shop but now the Kino has developed into the cultural heartbeat of the local area. Olga talks about what life was like in 1970’s Moscow in the Communist Soviet Union - How she loved her life and fondly remembers shows at the Bolshoi theatre, music lessons and how easily accessible the arts were to her and her family. I find out how her father came from a poor background to become a novelist and a poet, that he shared his love of culture with Olga and it became her passion too. She talks about how she grew up with a desire to work with and in culture and so pursued a career in the arts at a contemporary gallery in Moscow where she met her future husband Russell. Finally we talk about the importance of culture to a community and what it was like starting an arts business not long after a recession.

Hello, I'm Damien from Beyourbusiness.co.uk and welcome to this episode of Making a Business where I speak to business owners about how they have created a successful business they love, what matters most to them and what they have learnt on their journey so far. This week I speak to Hassan Gemei who owns Liban Coast a very successful Syrian restaurant with his wife Sennah. The restaurant was founded in 2013 from Sennah’s love of cooking her native food and has grown organically from a market stall initially to an established and thriving restaurant on the St Leonards food scene. Hassan was born in Egypt to a multi-cultural family, his father was Egyptian and his mother Italian. By the time he was 5 he spoke 4 different languages and his early memories were shaped by very happy times in the kitchen with his Italian grandmother and regular community meals shared with family and friends. In this episode we talk about the culture shock of coming to the UK in the Sixties where he followed in his fathers footsteps to become an engineer. We talk about his relationship with his father and how he inspired him to explore throughout his career. I find out how Hassan turned a hobby into a business when he bought his local squash club, managing to persuade his local bank manager to lend him the money when his offer was unexpectedly accepted. We talk about how each new business venture wasn’t about the money but the challenge and how he got a thrill from succeeding in new industries. So far Hassan has been an engineer, a software developer, a sports club owner, a commercial chef and run several import/export businesses. All of his businesses have been successful and he has sold most of them for a profit, he is a born entrepreneur. Hassan is a highly intelligent and caring man with a natural affinity for business, throughout our conversation he recalls clearly the people who he has met along his journey and ponders often on how and where they are now. Throughout his life he has trusted his intuition and followed his energy to create. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about his journey and I hope you enjoy this wonderful podcast!

Imogen White is one half of Hello Polly Copywriters, a dynamic copywriting duo setup during lockdown to help businesses communicate their messages clearly and concisely through their written content.Imogen found her love of writing 15 years ago when she embarked on a personal project about a local historical object. The object captivated her imagination so much it became central to the first of her published children’s books.In this episode we talk about how her work was born from a love of creating something new which engages people through stories and I discover how it evolved naturally from her previous career in sales & marketing.I find out why Imogen enjoys being involved in lots of different businesses and how she captures the voice of local business owners` passion to tell unique and compelling stories.

Mia Preston recently opened her latest business venture Pod Central, a Japanese style compact hotel in the heart of St Leonards. Pod central provides high quality overnight accommodation at a budget cost with energy saving technology making it a more sustainable hotel model.Mia has had a fascinating career which has balanced a sharp intellect and keen thirst for understanding ‘how things work’ with a big heart and a desire to care for and help those who are less fortunate than her.She started with an engineering degree following her love of making and building things, where she found she was the only female on the course. Thereafter she became a design and technology teacher which she enjoyed immensely. When she started to have a family she changed career direction to find something that could fit around the demands of a busy family life and became a clinical aromatherapist which she worked as for many years working with hospitals and as a private therapist.More recently she completed a Masters degree in Attachment Studies before embarking on her latest project, Pod central.In this episode we talk about having an innate love of learning and enjoying new experiences but getting bored of sameness quickly and how our brains thrives on new experiences and information. We discuss how engineering combines science and art, two subjects she excelled at and how that there is great creativity within building a bridge or a road. We dig into the dogma of infrastructure and how things change but the bigger picture often stays the same, our brains like predictability.We talk about what it is like to literally step into somebody else’s shoes and when Mia spent a day in a wheelchair where she was deprived of her senses in order to really understand the experience of the people that she would be caring for and this helped to create a great sense of empathy.I found out that we all have behavioural adaptations in our life developed in childhood and that these play out in our adult life whether we are aware of it or not and how Mia explored this while doing her Masters in Attachment Studies.Finally exploring spirituality and doing a 10 day vipassana (silent retreat) and confronting hidden parts of yourself and understanding where we fit within the world and how attending Catholic school helped to nurture her ability to understand another.Plus a helluva lot more!! 

I met and interviewed Mary Barrett who is the owner of Little Fusion Kitchen, a fusion pop-up in The Jenny Lind pub, Old Town - Hastings. Mary bravely decided to start her own business in the middle of lockdown. As circumstances had it, she was working part-time in the pub and they realised they needed a kitchen to keep operating under the new government guidelines in Dec 2020.5 mins later the kitchen, which was a disused staff room had been gutted and fitted out with a kitchen and Mary was operating a take-away and eat in service for customers.I went along to try the food not long after I had interviewed Mary and to say it was exceptional would be an understatement. Mary is a talented chef and a brave business owner at a young age, definitely one to watch for the future.Listen to this podcast if you are interested in how to start up your own food business and want to hear a genuinely lovely human story. 

Nicki Oloyede is the founder of Missy Mop Fabrics, a sustainable fabric company based in Hastings. The business is named after the nickname Nicki’s mum gave her when she was a girl after her 'wild & crazy hair'. Launched in 2019 the company sources and sells leftover fabric from the fashion industry, which would have otherwise been sent to landfill. Nicki has Nigerian and German roots and had a colourful childhood surrounded by adults wearing clothes from these cultures with interesting colours and different styles.In this episode I talk to Nicki about her varied career and finding her passion in the thrill of seeking unusual ‘dead-stock’ fabrics as well as the great satisfaction she gets when her customers select a fabric they might not usually wear.We talk about how living in an entrepreneurial town has helped nurture her business and how Hastings is a place where people can and do re-invent themselves. We find out that our paths actually crossed in 2009 when we both worked for a large telecoms company, although we never actually met.We also talk about how she used a pop-up format to establish her business and why it was such a great way of testing the business concept. How pop-ups could be used to rejuvenate towns across the country to nurture startups and give towns a stronger identity & sense of community.Finally we talk about how the fashion industry is changing and why doing work that we really, really love is so important, that when we do this it gives us the energy and drive to succeed.

Alice Hull is the co-founder of 55 prints, a screen printing startup based in St Leonards. We met in her studio amongst the printing equipment and smell of inks to speak about how she started her own business & what her journey has been like so far.In this episode we talk about how she found screen printing and that initially she didn’t really know what it was or why she was doing it. She trusted it though and has since found that she loves it! Her daily work involves liasing with artists to develop their projects and bring them to life and working with different businesses making anything from tee shirts to purses. She has found that she now has an outlet being creative herself and has started to write and print her own poetry.Quite by coincidence Alice found out that she also has a family link to the screen printing through her grandad, Tristram Hull who set up a screen printing studio in 1960’s London which became a famous hub for local and international artists. Alice explained how she is becoming more accomplished at her trade but that it takes a long time to master it as screen sprinting is part art and part science. The skill of the printer is in getting the right balance between ink and materials to create a unique finish.For more details see @55prints on Facebook.

Lisa Driver is the founder and Managing Director of Booyah Vitality, a wellness drinks company based in Hastings. Booyah was born during in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, it was the impetus which enabled an idea to manifest. Lisa had lost a lot of her clients and her husbands work vanished overnight. I spoke to Lisa about what happened next and the inspiring story of what can happen when you take action and follow your passion.Lisa is a keen ambassador for “food as medicine” and has worked in the health industry since 1995 as a naturopathic nutritionalist and nutritional fitness consultant. She also runs a popular pilates class on Hastings pier and when Lisa started selling turmeric shots to her members, an idea was born.Booyah is a family affair and they each have roles within the business. Lisa is the guiding force while Phillip and their son are in charge of production and their daughter Phoebe looks after social media & logistics. In this episode Lisa talks about the story of her business being born from home initially and filling her sons room with boxes, finding the right branding for her packaging which has helped establish the brand and how Booyah is above all a community business.