Growing up, Paul Shorter made an early start in butchery at the age of 11 in London.
On Saturdays, he was showed the ropes by his father David William Shorter, who managed a butchers in North London.
Five years on and with a good knowledge of the trade under his belt, he left school at 16 and worked in shops across England’s capital.
Fast forward to 2003, he joined the well-known RG MacDonald Butcher in Elgin after moving to the town.
After a few weeks, he became the manager of the butchers on Lossie Wynd.
Then 18 years later, he took the plunge to buy the business.
For him, it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
It was a matter of pride to take on the business.
Paul said: “My dad taught me everything from an early age.
“I was quite happy with the manager job at R.G MacDonald Butcher, so when the opportunity came up to take over the business, I could have said no.
“However, I felt I could improve the business and I didn’t want to let myself and my family down so that’s why I did it.
“At times, I wish I was 10 years younger in running the business, but I thought no just get on with it.”
How he found the switch from manager to owner
It was been far but easy, however Paul has enjoyed running the business so far.
He praised his employees for their work ethic.
Paul said: “It has been a massive learning curve.
“There’s been some days that I have been kind of exhausted, but to me, it’s been worth it.”
He added: “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and the team behind me is brilliant.
“Owning the business can bring a lot of stress, just getting things organised. getting the right products you want and ensuring everything is right.
“However, I have really enjoyed it and you do get some freedom to try out different things.”
Why is it important to embrace the changing times?
Paul believes it is important to evolve with the changing times for the business to continue to be success.
This has included a range of homemade ready meals which include sweet and sour chicken with rice and curry.
Paul explained: “I think if we hadn’t diversified and just stuck to the basics of a butchers, we wouldn’t be here anymore.
“We have just bought a new blast chiller for our ready meals which is very important thing to have.
“These meals are made on site in the butchers by a chef with fresh products.
He added: “We aim to produce a ready meal which is full of nutrients and better than what you get in the supermarket.
“They have been popular with the customers and we are always looking for new ideas to innovate every day.”
Quality products and customer care is at the heart of the business.
He said: ” It is important we make the experience enjoyable when people come to visit the butchers.
“Word of the mouth is the most important way of awareness for us.
“We want to people to be happy with the products they get and tell others about it.
“There are some elderly customers, who we might be the only people they see that day. It is key we have a chat and get to know them.”
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