Launched in Lockdown: from the hospitality industry to the bakery of dreams
Pobi Bakery should have been a project for decades down the line. A struggling hospitality industry and suffering jobs market have prompted Jake Jones and his partner James to make it a reality
The business idea
When Covid struck in March, James’ partner, Jake Jones, was made redundant.
The increasing support that James and his partner felt for small businesses, coupled with the difficult job conditions and the long-cherished dream of opening something of their own, brought the founders to make their dream a reality.
After two weeks in the lockdown, they launched the website, applied for all the relevant licenses to bake from home, and literally the next day they were baking, the business had been set up and they were going.
The results
"Thanks to the people that have supported us, Pobi’s become a flourishing bakery! It’s spiralling out of control, but in the best way, and we’re really happy” said Jake.
In Jake's mind, there is no better time to start a small business: “Everybody is switching to ‘support local’, everybody wants to see your face and your business and your ideas, and people go to the high street for a completely different reason now. Bigger brands are closing down, but those that are thriving lean into smaller units, are local and provide a service that is slightly different to what you’ve already seen.”
Lessons learnt
1. Plan really well
While it could be daunting to write down what you have to do on a piece of paper, it is invaluable to have something written down, also to understand how to change things on the fly from the starting point
2. Find support from incubators or partners
For Pobi Bakery, the support received by Virgin Start Up was precious in so many aspects: not only financial, but also in terms of practical guidance
3. Be ready for a financial roller coster at the beginning
If you want to start your business, whatever it is, you need to take into account that the first years will be uncertain financially
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