Review: London Coffee Festival

For those following me on Twitter you will know that last weekend I took a trip to our capital to visit the London Coffee Festival. Last year this was the first festival I went to in the name of Ginger Sky and was the first I looked for this year.

The festival itself is held over the last few days of UK Coffee Week and is the venue for the UK Barista Championships. With stalls from many of the big chains as well as up and coming independents there is something on offer for everyone in the great surroundings of The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

I have to admit that this trip is as much for personal pleasure as it is for business. I love trying all the weird and wonderful coffees on offer. However, watching the experts do their thing with the latest in coffee gadgetry does give a great insight into what the consumers will be using in a few years’ time. There are also some great smaller designers and distributors to network with. And that’s not to mention the great artisan café section with loads of fantastic food on offer, couldn’t resist treating myself to a nice home baked loaf.

What always pleases me about these kinds of events is the wonderful people there, and it’s not all about selling. This year was no exception, like the people at FruitBroo (@FruitBroo) who, despite knowing we aren’t going to be stocking drinks, still entertained us. In all fairness they did have some great funky flasks that I just had to know about, the free samples were a bonus too J.

If you’re interested in learning more about the festival their website is http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

Why it pays to plan

It’s been a year this week since I first registered Ginger Sky Ltd and set out on my mission of creating a retailer of unique, quirky and fun kitchen accessories. I’m getting close to launching the site and starting to trade but as this is my first venture into business I have spent the past year planning every part of my company.

For me, planning means that when I start to trade I have as many bases covered as I can. There can always be surprises around the corner but having sound contingency plans ready means that I should be able to respond effectively to these challenges. These contingencies have been thought through following research into other local businesses, speaking and networking with other business people and learning from their experiences.

Recipe: Chicken Jalfrezi

A spicy and tasty traditional Jalfrezi

This is a great dish with some wonderful flavours. It can be made in just over an hour and is a great alternative to a takeaway.

Recipe: Spicy Chorizo Soup

A zingy, spicy soup that’s full of flavour

This recipe is a personal favourite of mine and makes enough to cover a couple of working lunches through the week or you can always freeze any extra for later use. The chorizo and the curry powder really give this soup a good kick while it maintains bundles of flavour.

Ginger Sky Update - March

It’s been a while since I’ve given an update on how things are going here at Ginger Sky so I’m going to do just that now. Last time I updated you I’d just been to Spring Fair International and the plan from there was to review all the brochures and information I’d picked up at the NEC.

 

Since then I have drawn up a shortlist of the products I am going to order. This was no small task given the size of the event at Spring Fair. I met loads of great suppliers with loads of great products to offer, so choosing which ones to focus on did take a lot of consideration. I have now settled on a good mix of products that compliment each other and fit the mission statement of Ginger Sky which is to provide fun, quirky and unique kitchenware and gadgets. I’ll be ordering my selected products over the next couple of weeks so stick around to find out what I’ll be stocking come launch day.

Mentoring the Next Generation

I’ve been fortunate during my time working for Esteem in Hull in that they have given me great opportunities and fantastic support while setting up Ginger Sky Ltd. One of these opportunities is sharing my experiences with the next generation of entrepreneurs through Young Enterprise.

Young Enterprise are a business and enterprise charity helping over 200,000 young people every year in the UK. Their mission is to “inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.” By focussing on learning by doing Young Enterprise are able to offer an alternative method of preparing the UK’s youth for the world of business.

 

Is Cloud Storage the Answer?

If, like me, you are forever emailing documents backwards and forwards, carrying around flash drives or just lugging your laptop everywhere, then you may be entitled to ask, is there a better way? In this week's blog entry I am going to look at Cloud storage, and whether this is a viable alternative.

The Challenge
I like to get second opinions on many of my ideas and a fresh pair of eyes on a document never hurts. To do this at the moment I email my minions with the documents, they suggest changes and email me back. This normally goes on 2-3 times at least before I am happy with the outcome. Another solution is to physically hand over my flash drive to them and then the same pattern occurs, much to-ing and fro-ing before I'm happy with the finished article. Both of these tend to get messy, clog up my inbox or require plenty of legwork. They are also both very time-intensive which, when you're running your own business, is not something you look for in a process.

A Bespoke Kitchen with Some Useful Gadgets

The kitchen is the heart of your home and the best place for the family to get together, eat and chat about their days. The kitchen is not just the place to cook but also a place for the children to spend time with their parents. By creating a bespoke kitchen that’s tailored to your family you can enjoy precious moments together.

Recipe: Sweet Roast Pork Chops

 Homely and sweet roast pork chops with parsnips and apples

This is a great dish, easy to make and so warming in the winter months. The honey and apples give a sweet flavour to the homely roast pork and parsnips. A great alternative to a Sunday roast this can be on your plate within an hour.

Our Day at Spring Fair International

All this week at the NEC in Birmingham is Spring Fair International and yesterday I went along to see what all the fuss was about. Dragging a friend along with me and sporting our new Ginger Sky fleeces, the aim was to meet in person many of the suppliers we’ve been in touch with over the last few months. It was also a chance to get our hands on some of the products we want to stock.

The first thing that struck us was just how big this event is, spread over 20 large halls at the NEC, there was no way we could fit it all in in one day. For the purposes of Ginger Sky we focussed on the Kitchen, Dining & Housewares and Contemporary Gift & Home halls. Having said that, I couldn’t resist a little peak at the Christmas Gifts and Children’s Gifts, Toys and Gadgets sections too.

One of the suppliers that I had been in touch with before the fair was Cubic Uk. I’ve been interested in stocking a brand called Fred and Friends from the very start of this journey and Cubic UK are the exclusive UK distributor. Meeting them in person re-affirmed they are the type of company I wanted to work with, so friendly and welcoming. Being able to get my hands on their products, understand how they work, how they are packed and to talk through their new ranges was also invaluable. This experience with Cubic UK was repeated with other suppliers I had been in touch with previously, such as

Finding your Style

Like a lot of entrepreneurs out there, I had not had any previous experience working for myself before starting out with Ginger Sky. With that in mind, over the past 12 months I have been taking it slow and learning as I go. I have learned so much and as I always like to share my experiences this week I thought I'd pass on one of my tips for working for yourself.

My tip this week relates to some work I've been doing over the weekend and is all about learning how you work best. By finding out what factors return the most productivity from yourself it makes it easier to manage your time and workload. For me, I discovered I work best in short but intense bursts and finding this out has worked wonders for my productivity.

Changes are Afoot

With my proposed launch date fast approaching I've been doing a review of my plan and of my current strategy. With that in mind there are going to be a few changes to this blog and some big strides to setting up Ginger Sky.

I'll start with the changes that I'll be making to this blog. I'll be reducing the number of posts to around 1 per week rather than the 2 at the moment. This is because I am stepping up work in other areas and in order to maintain the quality of the blog entries I thought this would be the best solution. So I'll be providing regular updates on Ginger Sky weekly, mainly on a Monday depending on what is going on that week.

The Pros and Cons of Healthy Competition

Last week I spent most of my Ginger Sky time doing further research into the competition. Having already researched the market when I was developing my idea, I am now adding to this research ahead of my launch later this year. I'm not going to divulge my research to you in this blog but I do want to discuss the pros and cons of healthy competition.

The biggest con of having competition is losing existing and potential customers who can get the same products and/or services through another company. If more than one retailer stocks the same or similar products the customer has a choice to make and either way at least one of the retailers is going to lose out. This week in my research I learned that a big name retailer has recently started to carry one of the product lines I am looking to stock myself. As one of my unique selling points is to sell items that are unique or hard to come by, this news has meant I need to re-think my strategy, but this leads nicely onto the pros of healthy competition.

 

Recipe: Chicken Fajitas

A delicious fajita dish to impress your friends

These fajitas are great for when you have your friends round. It’s quick to make and you can put it all out on the table for people to help themselves. It can easily be bulked out with some extra veg and extra toppings can give more flavour combinations for people to try. This can also work served on a bed of rice or salad

2013: A Preview

It's the start of another year, they seem to be flying by at the moment, and the plan is to make 2013 a big one. I thought I'd start it with a look at the plan for Ginger Sky for the coming months.

It is important when planning anything to remain flexible and adaptable. Therefore, although these are my current plans, this does not mean they will all come to fruition. The industry and economy are constantly changing and as a result the needs of the business will evolve. I periodically review my plans to make sure they are still relevant to the current climate and make any changes where necessary.

Recipe: Pork Teriyaki

Really simple, really quick and really tasty

With barely a handful of ingredients this tasty pork dish can be thrown together in next to no time. Although best if prepared the night before, so long as you leave it for at least an hour to marinade the flavours will come out in the pork fillet.