IN this week's SME Focus an adaptable food and drink entrepreneur highlights some of the pleasures and challenges involved in running a business that is based close to a beach.

Name: Claire Rennie.

Age: 38.

What is your business called? Summerhouse Drinks.

Where is it based? On the beautiful Buchan coast near Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire.

What does it produce?

Summerhouse Drinks artisan lemonades and Walter Gregor's Tonic Water. All are produced with natural ingredients using as many from the garden of our Manse Farm as possible.

Whom does it sell to?

We sell through distributors to the speciality and independent retailers and on trade establishments. We also sell direct to consumers via our online delivery partners Fresh Food Express.

What is its turnover?

Approaching £100,000.

How many employees?

Four.

When was it formed?

Summerhouse Drinks was launched in January 2015 as a new product range within the business we then ran, Berry Scrumptious Ltd. Berry Scrumptious specialised in fresh chocolate covered strawberries and berry infused confectionery and was formed in 2006. In order to concentrate on making the most of the opportunities for our drinks, we sold the Berry Scrumptious brand to new owners and Summerhouse Drinks Ltd was officially formed in October 2014.

Why did you take the plunge?

We took the plunge into soft drinks based on push, pull and passion! The push came from pressures being placed on our fresh chocolate covered strawberry business. Primarily, this was the increasing difficulty in getting a reliable, next day delivery courier from our relatively rural location at what we felt was the right price, essential for delivering a very perishable product in the best condition. In direct contrast, the long shelf life of soft drinks was a major pull factor, as well as moving into a product which was not as niche. Driving both of these was a passion to find an all natural, soft drink that I could enjoy when I was the designated driver on nights out. I was fed up with gassy, preservative filled and artificially sweet options that really made me feel like I was missing out.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

Before I started Berry Scrumptious, I worked in the Scottish seed potato industry. Firstly as a fieldsperson and then Scottish area manager for IPM, based at Letham, Angus. I worked with over 60 farmers to grow and export Scottish seed potatoes to more than 30 countries worldwide. I then met my husband, Ross, and moved up to join him on the family farm here near Fraserburgh. Not keen on spending three hours a day in traffic to commute to Aberdeen, I decided to start my own business using fruit that we were growing on the farm.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

We started Summerhouse Drinks using funding from the Berry Scrumptious side of the business. We also successfully crowdfunded over £5,000 for a 'Summerhouse Van' which we use to sell and sample our drinks from at shows and events. The crowdfunding campaign ran last March and we were 50 per cent funded in the first week and we exceeded our initial target by nearly 10 per cent.

What was your biggest break?

The response from customers and consumers to Walter Gregor's Tonic Water. We are delighted with the demand from within Scotland and the opportunities that are presenting themselves to us from further afield.

What was your worst moment?

Last summer, we had an issue with the consistency of our Scottish Raspberry Lemonade recipe so we stopped production of this flavour and took the product back into development to resolve. We're delighted that the new recipe is finding favour with our consumers and it is a finalist in the Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards this year.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

I love being my own boss and the flexibility of working hours that suit me and our family. If the sun is shining, I'll quite often head to the beach with our daughter then work on later in the day. I also love the new product development process and the creativity involved in that. Anything is possible. The best thing about the process is that I am able to put my ideas into practice without having to go through committees or deal with any internal company politics.

What do you least enjoy?

Managing cash flow, especially as Summerhouse Drinks is essentially back to being a start up company. The timings of payments in and out are therefore a finely balanced juggling act.

What is your biggest bugbear?

That the majority of funding available to companies from the public sector comes in the form of grants. As a business you are required to prove that there is a need for the grant assistance and prove that the project would not go ahead without the grant funding. However, in order to claim the grant, the company has to pay the invoice in full and then claim back the grant after that. Depending upon the size of the project, if you need the grant, how can you afford to pay the invoice in full? A low interest loan option would be more suitable and this could be paid back to be reused by other companies once the company was generating the profits to allow this.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

My ambition for Summerhouse Drinks is to grow sustainably and be able to take full advantage of all the opportunities that are open to us at home and abroad.

What are your priorities?

Make consistently great tasting products that our customers love; create a place where people love coming to work each day; invest in equipment to make achieving these priorities easier; develop our walled garden to produce more ingredients for our drinks; spend more time at the beach.

What single thing would most help?

More automated production equipment. We have a shopping list of items and are sourcing the best fit for our products and production methods.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

Both could make a greater number and range of low interest loans available to businesses instead of the pre-occupation with grants. These loans could act as the catalyst for getting capital projects off the ground and a driver to securing further financing or investment. Importantly, they could be paid back by the receiving firm and be out back into the pot to help another company.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Trust your own judgement, 'experts' are not always expert.

How do you relax?

I relax by spending time with family and friends, ideally in a location with no WiFi or mobile phone signal.