earnest

When I met with Mike and Lara they were busily preparing to launch Dela Bristol, their Scandi-inspired café-bar-restaurant that is located on the bottom floor of a studio full of artists and creative businesses.…

When we met the owner, Chris Wildman, in his butchery on the farm he told us about his dreams for the future and the importance of keeping up with current trends and moving with the times. “I was born a butcher’s son, so I was born a butcher. It’s what I’ve always known. It’s born into you, so I don’t see it as being anything out of the norm. We used to have a long running family business until changing…

We met Iain in his office surrounded by videogaming memorabilia – heaven for nerds like us –where he told us his story and his encounter with near failure. “The biggest thing you think about when you start your own business is what’s the worst than can happen. And then the absolute worst does happen and it’s a strange feeling. It’s sort of like you’re watching a film with yourself in it and thinking ‘I wonder what he’s going to do…

In 2008, Netty opened Shop Reddish as a wood- and metal-working shop with a social purpose at its heart. She would use it to educate people, bring them together to learn new skills and, on the odd occasion, sell (or give away because she is so nice) personalised items for gifts. When we sat down with Netty and Marlene with a good old Yorkshire cuppa, they told us about how they have grown their business through the support network of…

Martin told us over a cup of coffee how the idea for the business came from what he’d seen while travelling in Thailand. As a café-cum-bike shop, it was certainly the first of its kind in York, and one of only a handful in the UK. But despite being an innovative new venture, the commonly-held narrative of small business failure proved to be a big obstacle getting it off the ground. Funding was hard to come by and support was…