Let’s talk business with Clare

LET’S TALK BUSINESS WITH CLARE STRAIGHTFORWARD SOLUTIONS AND STRATEGIES

Hello, I’m Clare – your positively creative Problem Solver I’m at my very happiest partnering with business owners like you to strengthen and confidentialy move your business forward. When not working you’ll find me outside, rain or shine running or wild gardening! Clare Morris is the Parents in Business Magazines “business troubleshooter” answering your questions.

The Dilemma: Pivoting A Busines

Alex and Lindsay own Puddini. Parents to two lovely girls and wholly invested in their business. They own an innovative catering business based in Cambridgeshire. They provide the most amazing, creative, and beautiful bespoke catering services for weddings, parties and corporate events. But lockdown and ongoing restrictions massively impacted their core business. How could they pivot their operation to share their passion for Italian cuisine?

I worked with them to help find a solution to bridge their income gap. I also wanted to keep them well connected to their customer base. So, we took an in-depth look at the issues they were facing, helping them identify ways to diversify their offering. And meet the evolving needs of their customers.

The Challenge Happy Customers Needed

The Puddini team had been furloughed. And the business had just taken on bigger catering premises. What could we do to keep the business name at the forefront of people’s minds and get back to delivering delicious, memorable suppers?

Knowing how well Puddini were known for catering the Arts Theatre, weddings, corporate events and more, gave them a strong reputation.

As it wasn’t possible to service any of these areas now, we drew a line out to the edge of Willingham village. Talked to the team about moving into the delivery arena and started testing meals.

A. did the food stay hot until it reached the perimeter of destinations. Some very lucky villagers were asked to help out! B. was the timeframe for delivery achievable. Could the team cycle with the number of deliveries needed to make it pay and get there on time?

C. how many people would be interested. Well, a lot, as we found out. With such positive feedback with so many wanting food to their door, the supper club was more than a takeaway.

The Ideas: Cycling, Stamping and Collaborating

Puddini Caterers is well known and loved.

Alex and Lindsay’s passion for food and being genuinely lovely people meant that we had no problem with our foodie community. But how did we get the message out there?

Flyers were printed. The cycle team were primed, and house numbers counted. The flyer was perfect, but the reverse was blank. What if it fell face down? During lockdown, everyone had a message, so we knew it would be challenging to get noticed.

We needed a cunning plan.

Alex and Lindsay decided to go sustainable from the outset, and one of their investments were paper bags to hold the delivery suppers. And a stamp had been purchased to show their lovely logo on the bags.

So, one very hot afternoon, Alex sat and stamped over a thousand flyers, with their logo on the reverse. What a great chap and what a success.

We would distribute flyers in the village and surrounding area and ask some of their local suppliers to collaborate. By putting the supper club flyers into their orders as well, the busier Puddini got, the busier their suppliers were.

The Results Bigger and Better

The outcome was the Italian Supper Club. A delivery service where the team provides high quality and delicious Italian food delivered directly to the door. And it is very, well received. Already incredibly popular with existing customers, the supper club has also broadened its fan base. They regularly bring on board new customers. They are partnering with more and more local businesses to complement their supper club.

And finally, they are deservedly busy. Alex and Lindsay have achieved so much in such a short time, helped by our amazing brainstorming sessions.

"The solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle." Richard Dawkins

“Clare has been the breath of fresh air that we so desperately needed! Always a pleasure to speak to and immediately able to offer such practical and creative advice.”

I am ready to answer your questions, which can be anything business-related, but don’t restrict the situations to just inside work. If they are affecting your life-work balance, I would love to address these.