Owners of new Elgin business Mini Bakes have encouraged entrepreneurs bursting with ideas to take the leap and open their own firm.
Couple Ruby and Lewis Smart have been busy every day since opening six months ago while also juggling being parents to Euan, 6, and Rohan, 2.
Mini Bakes itself began life several years ago in the family’s kitchen in Kinloss before opening in Elgin town centre.
With significant pressures at home, it could have been easy for the couple to focus on what was a small home business.
However, they made the bold decision to take the next step with Mini Bakes and give it a physical presence in Elgin town centre.
The Press and Journal stopped past Mini Bakes to ask Ruby and Lewis about why they chose to take the company to the next level, including;
- The reasons why they think the future for Elgin town centre is still bright.
- How they juggle life building a new business while looking after two young children.
- And what makes Commerce Street the perfect place for Mini Bakes to offer their sweet and savoury treats.
Growing Mini Bakes step by step
Ruby started her small cakes business Mini Bakes during Covid in 2020, initially selling treat boxes from home and having stalls at markets.
Having her own business has been a burning passion from a young age, and she dreamed about having her own shop.
Last year she was presented an opportunity too good to turn down when The Bake Project, which occupied the unit previously, offered them a chance to take the keys.
Naturally, Ruby and Lewis were wracked with doubts about whether they should jump at the chance.
What if it doesn’t work? What if nobody comes through the door? A lot of “what ifs”.
Ruby said: “The money side of making it work was the biggest worry. We had a bit of help from parents to get us started.
“Fortunately we’re doing quite well so far, so it’s working.”
So what advice would they give people facing the same doubts about starting in business?
Lewis said: “The cheesy one liner is: Every opportunity you don’t take is one you’ve missed.
“My late grandad, who was quite an inspiration to us, told us ‘You’re never going to be rich enough, you’re never going to have the time, so you may as well just do it.’”
Ruby replied: “I remember Lewis’ mum just telling us to just go for it because if you don’t try then you’ll never know.”
Why Elgin town centre is still place to be
Elgin town centre is undoubtedly in flux at the moment following the closure of the St Giles Centre.
However, demolition work is well underway at the former Junners buildings on South Street to bring long-term empty units back into use.
Before the shopping centre closure Elgin had a town centre vacancy of 11.4% that was the envy of many, well the UK average of 14%.
Both Ruby and Lewis insist there are still reasons to be positive about Elgin as they aim to grow Mini Bakes, which has been boosted by the arrival of a new coffee machine last week.
And both believe a lot of the local negativity surrounding the town centre is misplaced.
Ruby said: “When the St Giles Centre shut it felt like there was a lot of doom and gloom about the town centre.
“It felt like people were saying ‘Alright, the shopping centre’s shut, so that means there’s nothing in Elgin.’
“But actually, there are so many business still here.”
Lewis added: “We were speaking to the ladies from Yeadon’s and they said someone had told them they assumed they shut down years ago. Really? Where did that come from?
“Big chains are needed because they’re maybe more affordable, but small businesses can fulfil the same need.
“And if you look for them, they’re all over Elgin.”
Juggling family life and Mini Bakes
When you’ve got young children it can be easy just to focus on just getting through the day and not adding any more pressures to daily life.
Ahead of opening Mini Bakes in Elgin, Ruby quit her job in a school kitchen so she could devote her whole focus to the business.
It’s a brave decision the mum-of-two has been able to take with the support of close family.
However, she believes making the jump into being self-employed has given her the flexibility to manage the competing priorities of work and home life.
Lewis said: “Luckily my mum had just taken early retirement as a teacher. It just happened at the right time for her to help us with childcare, and she loves spending time with the kids.
“The other side of it is one of us will do a full day and one of us will go home at lunchtime.
“It doesn’t particularly matter because, as we’re self-employed, we’re the one making the decisions.
“If someone who has got children wants to go self-employed, obviously if it works ok for their family, then they’re probably going to get more benefits from making that change than if they didn’t.
“Being self-employed makes balancing work and family a little bit easier in some ways.”
Is Commerce Street ‘forgotten street’ of Elgin town centre?
When you think about Elgin town centre, you perhaps think of the High Street, South Street and Batchen Street in the first instance.
Commerce Street as well as Thunderton Place and the various tight closes with the businesses on them don’t always get the brightest of spotlights.
For Mini Bakes though, Commerce Street is a busy place to sell sweet treats and sausage rolls in Elgin town centre.
Ruby said: “It’s actually been really good, because I was worried when we came in here about whether this was a street that was busy.
“I’d been down it a few times, been into the fabric shop and things like that, but I wasn’t sure if it was busy.
“Actually, once we’ve been here, we’ve realised it’s very busy. There’s a lot of passing trade, we see people looking in the window, having a nosey and popping in.”
Read more from Elgin
- How the St Giles Centre could be key to winning the fight against retail parks: Experts on what the future holds for Elgin town centre
- An incredible 2,500 new homes, more schools and a potential traffic headache: Big questions answered about Elgin South housing
- Five years after listed Elgin High Street building was demolished: Will it ever be rebuilt?
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