Name: Gaynor Salisbury
Age: 48
What is your business called? Loopy Lorna’s Tea House
Where is it based? Edinburgh
What does it produce, what services does it offer?
Loopy Lorna’s quirky surroundings provide a fun atmosphere while offering a range of specially blended loose leaf teas and cakes, all baked on the premises. We also serve breakfasts and light meals.
To whom does it sell?
A wide customer base which includes: ladies who lunch of all ages from 12 to 100; mums, dads and babies; families; students and men who appreciate tea and cake.
What is its turnover?
Around 500k. I’m delighted to have achieved this level of turnover as I think it is a reflection of our customer’s satisfaction with our concept and it is necessary to fund the ongoing costs. Although we have not made a significant profits, I am confident that by diversifying into other income streams and finding larger premises, the concept can grow into a successful long-term business.
How many employees?
Twenty-three and rising …
When was it formed?
Loopy Lorna’s opened her doors on 17th October 2008 and was full within 15 minutes. I had to close for two days the following week to recruit and train more staff.
Why did you take the plunge?
An upmarket “trendy” tea house had been a dream since I was a teenager. Loopy Lorna’s is affectionately named after my late Mum, Lorna, whose delicious baking was a real treat when growing up with little money in Liverpool.
The combination of my marriage breaking up and going on a goal mapping course gave me the push I needed. I’d had a business go bankrupt several years ago and also had a business when my children were very young and I was nervous of failure and the impact on my family. I’m delighted I took the plunge as I would have hated to see the growth in tea popularity and not been part of it.
What were you doing before you took the plunge?
I’d had previous businesses in retail and also a restaurant, but when I sold the restaurant I decided I needed to spend more time with my children.
I worked as a business advisor for The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce for three years and loved it, but left as I knew my heart was still set on a running my own business.
How did you raise the start-up funding?
I had some money from the sale of a flat in Edinburgh and had a great bank manager (RBS, Andrew Brown) who was very supportive. I also used credit cards for those unexpected purchases.
What was your biggest break?
There were lots as I really had to jump through hoops to get the premises and the funding.
I guess the bank agreeing to lend was my biggest break and I also had to practically beg the people who were selling to sell to me as they had another offer on the table.
Eventually they said yes and this was so exciting as I had a very strong vision in my mind how the premises would look and feel, and at that time felt that no other place would do.
Getting Loopy Lorna’s opened and running smoothly without my having to be there was a huge positive when I was diagnosed with breast cancer just two months after opening. My fab head chef, Michelle Phillips, won Scottish Casual Dining Chef of 2009 during the time I was going through gruelling chemotherapy and this gave me a big lift as well as attracting more customers. It was great that when I was feeling down with the treatment another wonderful review would come along and cheer me up.
What was your worst moment?
Again many. The first Saturday we opened I didn’t have enough staff and customers were complaining of wait times. After closing for two days the following week for recruitment and training, things went much smoother until Christmas Eve, when I had the cancer diagnosis. I have been very lucky to have great staff, family and a wonderful friend, Collette, who stepped in to look after me, my children and Loopy Lorna’s.
What do you most enjoy about running the business?
Receiving great reviews and feedback from customers is worth more than any amount of money. Being listed as No 1 for Tearooms and Coffee Shops in Edinburgh by Peter Irvine in Scotland the Best is fantastic. Putting the concept together and working with Elke, my designer, was tremendous fun as I could see my vision becoming real. Being able to support local good causes and charities through fundraising at Loopy Lorna’s has been a major source of satisfaction. My mum died from lung cancer and we do a lot of fundraising for Marie-Curie as well as buying our china from local charity shops.
What do you least enjoy?
Receiving complaints, although we don’t get many. I do always ensure complaints are acted on though and I have learned a lot from my customers. In the last year I haven’t been able to spend as much time at the tearoom and working on the business as I would have liked to and this has been extremely frustrating. However, I’m now well on the mend and really enjoying getting stuck in and improving and growing the business.
What is your biggest bugbear? VAT. VAT can be crippling for small businesses. Parking restrictions and meters also severely affect businesses.
The nearest parking meter to Loopy Lorna’s is often broken, yet wardens still issue a parking ticket.
What are your ambitions for the firm?
I gained an MSc Entrepreneurial Studies at Stirling University and studied franchising in depth. My plans are to grow Loopy Lorna’s organically and to franchise to franchisees who have the same commitment. It’ll be a challenge to grow and yet keep the individuality of the original tearoom, but I do have ideas to keep the brand strong and continue the quirky feel in the different locations.
What are your top priorities?
In life: my children, my close friends and family and my health and Loopy Lorna’s success, travel and new adventures.
In Loopy Lorna’s: customer satisfaction beyond their expectations, happy staff who feel a real part of Loopy’s success and enjoy their working environment, trading ethically and having great relationships with my suppliers, learning from mistakes to make Loopy’s as good as it can be and making my mum proud.
What single thing would most help?
Focus. I learned to listen to my instinct and follow my dreams on the goal mapping course and I firmly believe that anything is possible. During this last year it has been hard to maintain focus, but I think I have learned to value what’s important in life and prioritise better. More cash would certainly help too.
What could the Government do that would help?
Get rid of VAT and encourage lenders to give more assistance to small businesses. Get rid of parking meters.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?
That everything doesn’t have to happen now. I am very impatient and I have had to slow down this year. It’s been good for me to see that Loopy Lorna’s has become a success despite the fact that I have so many other ideas to improve on the concept which I haven’t had time to implement. Of course, I also realise how important good health is and I live a lot healthier than I did.
How do you relax?
I drink a lot of tea. I was brought up to believe in the magical qualities of a good cuppa. Having my own bakers is a way to indulge my sweet tooth and I must have eaten a mountain of cake this year. Generally I’m not good at relaxing, so I’ve booked myself on to a meditation course in the hope that it is an acquired skill.
