A woman who opened a cafe for the first time and thought she would be rich in six months has revealed where she went wrong with her business.
Sally Paton, 61, decided to quit her job in London and open Sally Sue’s Sandwich Bar in Dartford, Kent, with the intention of getting rich quick.
However, Ms Paton says her store is now on the brink of closure, with sales down 50% and the cost of supplies rising.
Prior to opening the sandwich bar, Sally had worked as a wholesaler in London’s Covent Garden for the previous 25 years and admits that her sudden choice of career change left her ill-prepared for her new challenge.
She says she even bought the premises for the sandwich shop without informing her husband of her decision.
Sally Paton, 61, decided to quit her job in London and open Sally Sue’s Sandwich Bar in Dartford, Kent, with the intention of getting rich quick.
Ms Paton said: “I’d always wanted to have my own shop. One day on my way to work I saw this empty one and thought I’d open it. I didn’t even know what I would sell.”
‘I thought I would be rich in six months. I had a lot of plans about what to do with the money. I was going to buy a new car.
“I was just going to buy a kettle and do it myself.”
However, the new shop owner was shocked by the amount of money she had to spend just to get her dream site up and running – the combined cost of a coffee machine and fridge set her back a whopping £7,600.
He also admitted that his lack of experience in the position worked against him as he earned just £23 on his first day.
Sally added: “I didn’t know what I was doing. As it got more people, my friends would come over and end up staying to make me sandwiches and help me out.
“I worked sixteen hours a day. I lost 12 kilos in three months.”
She then asked her husband to help her boil eggs and prepare sandwiches for the next day before finally turning to suppliers for her fillings.
This got the business taking off as Sally began receiving orders for corporate events, along with a reliable flow of local clients.
Sally says she has seen the number of clients halved after people returned to working from offices, while the cost of supplies has doubled.
Over the past 11 years, she has grown her staff to eight people, including her daughter Sasha, and says she loves her job.
“I love everything,” she said. “I love the customers. They’ve become friends. I love the staff. We laugh a lot.”
She even says that the pandemic did not affect her much as she received money from the government and made profits from sending deliveries to furloughed customers and locals working from home.
However, Sally says she has seen the number of customers halve after people returned to working from offices, while the cost of supplies has doubled.
It has had to lay off half of its staff, but is reluctant to raise prices.
He lamented: “If I do that, people won’t come. I understand that. We’re all in the same boat.”
“People don’t have any money, but I ask them to come and buy a packet of crisps, just to keep going.”
Fighting back tears, Sue added: “I’ve been here 11 years and I don’t want to close. It’s like giving away a baby. If I had to lose this, that’s exactly how I would feel.”
“I don’t want to be rich anymore. I just want to stay open.”