Redundency

Evel, i read your thread and felt saddened by your situation and the poor bloke who works with you ...i have a suggestion ..dont know if its any good for you but here goes .... most schools are changing over to what is known as 'Healthy Schools Status' this means cutting out all the saturated fats and bad foods from the kids diets whilst at school ...this means that local education authorities are sourcing healthier alternatives for traditional foods ... now i believe that foods bought for schools are done through central purchasing ...BUT... in some circumstances they buy locally ..now they dont have the time to go looking for stuff ...suppliers tend to contact the schools ..so .. its a long shot but ..if you could make some healty style sausages with low fat in them for example and push the fact that they are home made without preservatives, colours etc etc you may be in with a shot ...if this is of any interest to you i would be more than happy to help you draft a letter ( as i know all the 'in words' etc ) to your local schools to push your product ... if theres anything else i can think of to help i will do ...the very best of luck to you matey

Great idea Wobbly.

A contract like that for just a few schools could keep the business pretty well occupied.

Wow, really impressed with all the help that you have received. Best of luck in the future

Wobbley yet another great idea , there is a high school about 100 yards from my shop ,.I'm no good at the letter stuff so your help would be gratefully recieved , i shall certainley be in touch .
On another upside the West Midlands Fire Brigade Headquaters have just relocated ¼ mile down the road from the shop too , 500 staff apparently , also there is a new build of flats for students within a mile of me so hopefully things should pick up .

Although its the family business ive took on and been apart of for 20 years my stepdad never gave me any responsibilty for anything it was always his business , but he's run into the ground . Doing it for myself is completely new to me , ive been at it for 6 weeks now and sales have increased every week but not enough too support everyone , as soon as i'm back on my feet and got things straight at home i will certainly be putting Jim and Wobblys' ideas into play .

The chap came into work today and i gave him the bad news , you were right he was expecting it and took it really well , He accepted his redundency package and is working his week in hand , i think i feel more gutted than he does ,it was hard to do we've worked together for 20 years and never had a cross word with each other in all that time , he was 13 when he joined us as a saturday lad , ive watched him grow and have a family of his own . So from next week i'm a one man band .

I'm extremely gratefull for all the replies and suggestions you all have given , i wasnt expecting that sort of response . Its lifted my spirits believe me , i needed it .

And thankyou to AO its a fantastic community we've got here .

Good on you Paul.

The fire service is a great opportunity - try also your local fire station. My best mate is a fireman and each Watch does its own cooking (sometimes a part-time cook comes in) but they all pay weekly for grub. A delivery service might be just what they want.

Take a leaf out of Ramsay's book and take some cooked samples of home-produced sausages versus cheap supermarket ones for the night watch to try. Invest in a smart "traditional" butcher's outfit if you don't have one. Sell big on high quality, local produce, known farms and better than supermarket prices for better quality.

Offer them some discounted free delivery packages on (say) any orders over £20. Produce a flyer with this week's best deals etc.

Get the HQ and local police stations to put up a small poster offering them 10% off anything bought in shop on production of their warrant cards and again, the free delivery on orders of £20.

Layout on some nice artwork (could be a little more money but good quality works - again I know the company our people use if you want) and "design" various packs of meat with some cute names like "Hot Barbecue", "Family Feasts" or whatever and look to move several kilo's in each one at slightly better £/kg prices - don't forget to illustrate the cost if bought separately.

Steady the ship and get comfy running it by all means but don't hang around - it is down to you to build it up neyond the level where it just gives you a living wage - and that can be tough in private retail.

I'm also happy to help with letters if you want, as with Wobbly, or even to run a Buyer's eye over what you are thinking of sending out. Don't be shy of asking.

Sorry - my brain is in overdrive....I'll shut up after this.

When (not if) you get in contact with the local services; have a form for the various packages including joints/turkey etc and prices (fix these for approx wieight ranges) and design it as a list they can put individual names and order on. No minimum order for individuals - especially as you get going so they can just order some mince or steaks. Don't forget - a no quibble quality guarantee. You might get a couple of mickey takers but it won't be much or last long if they did test you.

Free delivery to the station/HQ/School for personnel orders on specified days & time (nb shifts) - if that day's orders add up to over £250 offer that you'll donate £25 to their Benevolent Fund each and every time (OK- you'll need to work out costs but advertising and offers can pay off if you pitch them right).

Many thanks again Jim , my brain is also in overdrive now , as they say

'' one door closes , another one opens ''

Best of luck , pm me when youre ready mate and ill knock something together for you no worries

Originally Posted by wobblyspoon

Best of luck , pm me when youre ready mate and ill knock something together for you no worries

Will do ,Thankyou





Paul

We do our best to support our local butcher here in Boston. There are three excellent butchers in the town, but its an uphill fight against the supermarkets, and a few have disappeared.

In the small dales village where I come from there are two award winning butchers. One of them has gone increasingly down the artisan route with superb game pies, pork pies with varied fillings etc. They have been able to charge more for these 'added value' products, and their clientele travels to them from quite some distance (they deliver as well). We give their pork pies as Christmas presents to our southern realtives, and they are always welcomed. (I call it missionary work to the deprived south

I wish you luck in turning the business around.

AlfaLincs