QANTAS Talking Business Interview with Peter Switzer and Katherine Strong

   

Katherine was interviewed for October 2009 QANTAS Radio Channel 'Talking Business' hosted by Peter Switzer.

The audio has been promised, but until then, the transcript can be read below:

Katherine Strong and her husband entered the world of business when they purchased a UK Subway franchise. Since then the pair have moved to Australia and purchased a Blue Mountains Guesthouse and Restaurant.
Katherine joins us to talk about the importance of reinventing business ideas and strategies to suit markets.

PS After losing three Subway franchise stores almost overnight in the UK, Katherine Strong and her husband Gareth decided to move to Australia and start over. Following three months of travel around the country they bought a Subway franchise in Sydney and set out to buy another cafe or restaurant, that’s when Glenella in the Blue Mountains turned up. They refurbished the site and reopened the restaurant which had been closed for eight years. Welcome to Talking Business Katherine.

KS Thank you.

PS So many people on the plane would have remembered the name Glenella because it was a famous restaurant, and was it a guest house in those days as well?

KS It was, yes.

PS So it’s a guesthouse and a restaurant, but people would be thinking to themselves, what kind of restaurant background does Katherine have? So would you share that with us?

KS My experience is purely ascent. I’m a mechanical engineer by trade and my partner Gareth, he’s an electrical engineer.

PS So you’ve got a couple of engineers and you’ve opened up a guesthouse and a famous restaurant, but you’ve had some experience in food because you had three Subway franchises in the UK and one in Balmain...?

KS Yes we did. That was to break away from the engineering fields, we decided to look into franchise systems to learn about business through hands on experience, and that’s when we found Subway.

PS Okay, how did you lose three Subways in the UK? It’s an unusual thing to do, to lose a franchise.

KS It is. We were given the rights to open the stores in the locations that we chose in the UK and Wales, and due to clash of heads on terms, Subway’s a very strong company and our leaser was as well, they refused to budge and ultimately we couldn’t open the stores.

PS So it was a battle between two big businesses and you were the small business casualties...

KS Trying to run a business, exactly right.

PS Okay, so you got cheesed off and you went on a travel around the world, but you still must have liked the Subway franchise to buy one here?

KS We did. The system in itself is great, it teaches you how to run a business, not only how to work in it but also allow other people to manage it for you when you’re not there.

PS Okay, so did you have a good experience in your Subway franchise in Australia?

KS We did. I only have good things to say about Subway. I learnt a lot about running a business and the importance of systems and understanding figures in the background.

PS Okay, now then, you and your engineer husband decided it was a good idea to open up or re-open a famous guesthouse called Glenella, and also be a restaurateur at the same time. Did you think that maybe you didn’t have the skill set to do this?

KS It did cross our minds, I must admit a glass or two of wine might have helped influence to buy it. I just think spirit, passion, and drive is the strong forces behind any success, and as long as you do your homework initially, then I think you can’t take that away from anyone.

PS We’re talking to Katherine Strong who owns the guesthouse/restaurant Glenella in the Blue Mountains. Now a lot of restaurants are actually owned by a restaurateur or a chef, you’re obviously not a chef, has that been a challenge for you?

KS It has partly because I have to trust someone else to do something that I have no experience or skill over, and can’t take over the role if ever he was to choose to leave. But on the other hand it’s great as a business owner because I can concentrate on setting up a module for the business and I’m not detracted by the day to day running of things.

PS I guess one of the best things that could have happened to you is the Sydney Morning Herald gave you a massive write up? That must have been a fantastic turning point for the business, because once you get a write up in a newspaper like that, it does help the bookings and things like that doesn’t it?

KS Oh most definitely. On the phone where I normally get five bookings a day turned into 45 to 50, so it was unbelievable the response.

PS Was it something that happened by accident or was it a strategy to get the key person to the place and hope that they wrote something nice about it?

KS We’d always kept the Sydney Morning Herald and the Good Food Guide up to date with our movements with the hope of getting in the Good Food Guide this year, but his trip to Glenella, his visit to us, was completely luck I suppose.

PS Yeah okay. In a sense, was he a mystery shopper and he came through with flying colours? It can be very dangerous to have the opposite effect can’t it?

KS Yes, well my head chef is much more familiar with the key players, so to speak, of the culinary scene, and he had offered to show me photographs of people. I’d actually declined because I believe service should be the same for everyone, be you famous, be you our next door neighbour. So it was a great write up and very true.

PS Look, what you’ve done a lot of people want to do, like you often hear the stories of, I’d love to have my own restaurant, and the success of all these restaurant television programs indicates how silly we all are, that we must think it’s easy. How easy is it?

KS It’s not easy at all. When people say it’s hard work they’re not lying. It’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I’m on call 7 o’clock in the morning till midnight, and it is hard. The rewards however far outweigh the pain and suffering in the initial starts. I’ve been trading for just one year now and I can come down to the city for three or four days, take time out and also know the business is operating to the level I would operate it myself when I’m not there, so put the hours in initially and the rewards are great.

PS Because you come from a systematic background and engineers clearly are systemised, has that been a help to you in making the chaos which is the restaurant/hospitality scene a little bit more manageable?

KS It has, most definitely. If people love to cook, be a chef, if people want to own a business you have to love the system, the finances and the background information which isn’t as regarding as producing a gourmet meal for 60 people, but it is critical to running a business. However, with my experience of engineering, it’s also taught me that being your own boss you can get away with things which you normally shouldn’t, and that’s where it’s quite important to have people to talk with and a good team behind you to support you in your actions and keep you on track as well.

PS Now, the man who made Glenella famous, of course, was Michael Manners, the famous chef. Has he got involved or has he given you any sort of mentoring influences?

KS We have met him for drinks and he is coming to stay with us this month actually, to enjoy dinner with us. He’s been the best marketing tool we could have. His wife and myself have discussed maybe doing a project together. He’s just been more of an inspiration and that sort of icon to hold with Glenella, as opposed to hands on experience with us.

PS One final question. You are Welsh people living in Australia and you’ve taken on the challenge of opening up a restaurant. Being from Wales, was that a challenge in its own right, to understand the Australian psyche?

KS Slightly. People over here are much happier and friendly, the glass is half full, she’ll be right for example. I find it as positive as anything else, I’ve got surrogate mothers and grandparents dotted throughout Blackheath where their children are in Britain and they have adopted me, and I just find it a very, very, positive experience.

PS Well it’s been great to meet you and good luck with the enterprise.

KS Thank you very much, thank you.

If you prefer to read the transcript on QANTAS web site, please click here.

 

Glenella Guesthouse & Restaurant is your best Blue Mountains accommodation choice in Blackheath with comfortable guest rooms and quality touches that are ideal for those Blue Mountains romantic getaways or weekend escapes. Located at the summit of the Blue Mountains in Blackheath, Glenella also offers guests, and all visitors to our remarkable region, one of the leading Blue Mountains restaurants with exceptional dining, quality Australian contemporary cuisine and warm and friendly service. Close to all the Blue Mountains attractions and things to do, Glenella is also perfect for your Blue Mountains wedding reception venue and is one of the best Blue Mountains venues for corporate events, conference or gala dinners. Check out our Blackheath hotel and restaurant packages and deals and Contact us today.