An Aberdeen cafe owner has said the past four years of losses have meant he can’t afford swimming lessons for his kids.
Sandy McKinnon built Foodstory Cafe on Thistle Street 11 years ago with the help of a crowdfunding campaign.
Expanding over the years with the help of the local community, he is now targeting a return to profitability after a challenging few years for the “hardest hit industry”.
Sandy answered our questions on his biggest struggles, achievements and more.
How and why did you start in business?
Foodstory was set up through a crowdfunding campaign.
We built the cafe ourselves and with the help of our community we were able to open our doors on November 11 2013.
We created the cafe to bring people together through healthy veggie and vegan foods, great coffee and to provide a place where everyone could escape for a moment from the day-to-day.
How did you get to where you are today?
We have expanded organically over the years, following demand and adapting our business to suit the economic challenges of the time.
Who helped you?
Our community helps us. Although we are a limited company, we have a great following, fantastic staff and wonderful customers.
We also benefit from the support of skilled members of the community, from tradespeople to accountants and lawyers and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
You will fail at some point in your life, so you might as well fail at something you love to do, rather than waste your years working at something you hate.
What is your biggest mistake?
It’s difficult to answer that, as when you make a decision, it’s usually the right decision at the time.
I have no regrets, but knowing how the last 10 years, especially the last four, have played out, I would tell my younger self to stay out of the hospitality sector.
It is the hardest hit industry today, holds the lowest profit margins, and carries the financial burden of the economy.
What is your greatest achievement?
Reaching our 10-year mark back in 2023, employing hundreds of people over the years and watching them develop, as well as expanding our cafe and our community reach.
How are you managing rapidly rising costs, and how could the government help?
Our costs are rising between 10 – 15% per year. Given that a good cafe business makes about 10% profit annually, we have been running at a loss.
The government can help massively by reducing business rates, but more importantly, by reducing VAT for the hospitality sector.
You can raise the minimum wage and even the tax on staff, but let people have more spending power.
Reducing VAT would allow us to keep costs down, enhance sales, and make people’s income go further.
This would encourage more spending and could potentially create an economic boom.
What do you still hope to achieve?
Hope is a powerful word. When you lose it or it’s taken away, it can be dangerous.
Unfortunately, the last four years have been a fight. The “hope” has been to ensure we can continue as a business. We still hope to achieve this.
What do you do to relax?
I have a young family, so spending time with them is my escape from the normal world. I also meditate and exercise.
My priority has been and still is to ensure the survival of the company, so anything that contributes to that and my own mental strength is what I do in my spare time.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
I don’t watch much TV at the moment, but I am studying a lot through audiobooks. I’m currently “reading” books by Robert T. Kiyosaki.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a must-read. I’m currently on his Cashflow Quadrant book, which is fascinating.
What do you waste your money on?
Personally, I don’t have enough money to waste. I would love to waste money on swimming lessons for my kids, but I currently can’t afford this.
Business-wise, we’ve been trying to reduce our expenditure to ensure we don’t waste money.
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
The first thing I do is exercise, meditate, and write in a gratitude journal before the kids get up.
I then take the kids to school and head into work for the day. I have a rule that for the first hour after waking, I don’t look at my phone.
Once I do, I’m on it a lot throughout the day. Answering emails, messages from staff and managers, and doing photography for the business.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
Currently, I drive a long-wheelbase, 16-plate VW Transporter. However, it’s two months too old for the LEZ zone in Aberdeen.
My dream drive would be a car, as I’ve always had vans. One day, I’d like to treat myself to a yellow, 1960s Fiat 500 with a picnic basket on the rear boot.
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