Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

We ignored advice to walk away and now we’re stronger than ever

Shelley and Steven Robertson aim to keep the Collie Butchers in Kemnay in the family for generations. Picture by Kami Thomson / DC Thomson.
Shelley and Steven Robertson aim to keep the Collie Butchers in Kemnay in the family for generations. Picture by Kami Thomson / DC Thomson.

Every week The Press and Journal features a thought-provoking Q&A with a small business owner who makes a difference to their local community. Here we speak to Shelly Robertson, who with her husband Steve overcame challenges to ensure a much-loved butchers remained the lifeblood of the Kemnay economy.

How and why did you start in business?

It’s been a challenging 2.5 years since my husband Steven and I started to run Collie Butchers. The shop has a long history, and for 25 years Steven worked alongside brothers Jim and Graham Collie, and latterly Graham’s wife, Annie. When Graham announced his retirement it seemed like the perfect opportunity for us. Steven could take the next step in his career as a butcher, and I could use my previous management experience to run the business side. It seemed like a logical next step.

Husband and wife team Shelley and Steven Robertson said taking over Collie Butchers was a ‘logical step’ -but not without challenges. Picture by Kami Thomson / DC Thomson

How did you get to where you are today?

It’s taken a lot of dedication and hard work. We started our business right at the very beginning of the Covid 19 Pandemic. Actually, the day before we signed all the paperwork, we were advised to walk away because the whole business environment was so uncertain. Obviously, we ignored that advice! We knew we had a great business, and now we’re not only still standing, but we’re stronger than ever.

Who helped you?

Steven learned much of his butchery skills from the Collie Brothers, and their advice has been very important in running the business. Along with our parents, industry bodies like Scottish Craft Butchers and Quality Meat Scotland continue to give us important advice. We’ve been members of the Federation of Small Businesses since we started, and I’m sure their member benefits have saved us quite a bit of money over the last couple of years.

How are you managing rapidly rising costs, and how could the government help?

We’ve started to work more closely with our suppliers to keep costs down, and we advertise special offers in the shop to entice customers in and keep footfall up. We pride ourselves on employing local staff members, and we’re well aware that it’s not only the business that is affected by the rising costs. The government needs to do something quickly, but what they will do or can do remains to be seen.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?

Laying a good foundation for your business is very important. I think if you work hard in your first year in business, this will set you up for the future. You also have to be happy to move with the times and be confident in the decisions you make.

What is your biggest mistake?

Like I said, it’s important to work hard in the first year, but my biggest mistake was trying to burn the candle at both ends. It can be difficult, but sometimes you have to force yourself to take time away from the business and just relax.

What is your greatest achievement?

This is a family business, so our greatest achievements are our two daughters, Megan and Hannah, and our grand-daughter, Millie. Working alongside our great staff team, Megan and Hannah really pitched in during Covid. We had to be flexible and change the way we worked depending on the most recent advice, and we couldn’t have gotten through it without all of their support.

What do you still hope to achieve?

We want to build a business that can be passed on down the generations in our family; continuing to provide good quality, local produce to our fantastic local customers.

What do you do to relax?

I like to watch a good film with a glass of red wine, or I take our two Siberian huskies, Sasha and Kira, out for a long walk.

What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?

Give me a good book any day. Anything with a great story line.

What do you waste your money on?

I probably buy too many sweeties or sweet treats when I go into other shops.

What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?

The first thing Steven does is let the dogs out, while I put the kettle on and have a cup of coffee.

What do you drive and dream of driving?

Currently we have an Audi, but my dream car is anything that doesn’t break down!

Conversation