We heard from a range of speakers (from a single-site operator to one with 250 pubs and bars) about the opportunities and challenges that face their businesses.
But two of them really resonated with me for exemplifying a couple of classic growth dilemmas that many of you might recognise.
The first — whether or not to take on a second pub — came in a presentation from the current BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) Licensees of the Year, Ashley and Kelly McCarthy, of Ye Old Sun Inn in Colton, North Yorkshire.
These multi-award-winning hosts originally entered the trade with a pubco tenancy and quickly got to grips with the business, soon reaching a point where they wanted more.
Refreshing honesty
What followed was, thanks to a combination of factors that included the onset of recession and parenthood, as well as some unfortunate timings and over-confident decision-making, an unsuccessful foray into multiple retailing as the McCarthys took on a second pub.
With refreshing honesty they describe how the experience nearly brought the whole business crashing down.
They admit they were overstretched and underprepared. And it took a strict focus on their core skills, prioritisation of business essentials and consolidation of their brand offering to allow them to emerge from the near wreckage of this failed experiment with the freehold of their original pub, and — just a few years later — to be judged the best in the profession.
The McCarthys say they have learned valuable lessons, including the following gems: build a passionate team who care; train team members and delegate, don’t work with friends; and don’t live someone else’s dream.
Look out for a Big Interview with the pair in the PMA in due course.
Tipping point
The second growth dilemma explored at the MA300 conference was explained by Christian Townsley and John Gyngell of Northbar, a chain of six bars in and around Leeds. They have reached the tipping point in their business development when they need a head-office function to free up their time to work ‘on the business’ rather than ‘in the business’.
But while hiring new HQ personnel enables the smoother running of the business and allows the management team to focus on strategic, rather than tactical, matters, it also adds costs to the bottom line — which goes against the instinct of the entrepreneur.
It’s easy to measure the value of a bar manager, says Townsley: you use metrics like sales, costs, profit and customer satisfaction. But a head-office team? Try a manageable in-tray, a tidy desk, better relationships with staff and suppliers, more creativity in the business, and the ability to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.
All intangibles, but all essential for a business entering the next phase of its development.