5 Years / 5 Lessons
This week was our 5th birthday as a business! It seems like no time ago that we were opening our doors in the middle of the second covid lockdown, not knowing if anyone would show up (and then being blown away by the queue down the road)! We’re still a young business, but here’s some lessons we’ve learned between these 2 photos being taken…
1. Hospitality is everything
We’ll forever work hard to make sure every cup of coffee is delicious, every croffle made and presented to perfection, and every bouquet stunning. However it wont be product that keeps people coming back - it’s always hospitality. And by hospitality we mean the kind of welcome, conversation, kindness and care that feels more like you’ve stepped into our home than into just another coffee shop.
2. Growth is relative (and often distracting)
Did we get a bit ahead of ourselves after a busy first 6 months? Probably. Did we add another shop, events, training services (and a whole lot of other stuff) quicker than we’d planned because that seemed like the natural progression we saw others taking? Definitely. Growth is relative for every business - sometimes it looks like continuing to do one thing better and better and saying no to ‘growth’ opportunities. Sometimes it means pruning back the distractions, even if it lowers revenue. Sometimes growth is personal and intangible - we had to step back a little when our third child was born (and the business suffered), but our marriage and family life blossomed. That’s not the kind of growth that looks good on a P&L but will have a lifelong impact on us.
3. Running a business with your partner is hard (but wonderful!)
We get asked all the time what it’s like to run a business as a couple. It’s often all-encompassing we wont lie! There have been seasons where work has overflown into home (especially when we lived above our shop!), where our kids have asked us to stop taking calls and sending emails at the table. We’ve had to set some boundaries, cultivate interests that have nothing to do with work, and daily protect our kids from work stress. But the flip-side is that it’s also unbelievably rewarding. We have been sharpened as a little team, learned how to ask for help, and we have moments where we get to sit back and remember we are doing what we love for a living and we get to do it together!
4. Not everyone will love what you do (and that’s ok)
Our first couple of months of business were amazing, but we also had more complaints, negative feedback and difficult customers in that period than in the 5 years since! We do florals a little differently to traditional florists. Our cup sizes and roast levels are different to Costa. We stick to our philosophies on things and don’t always bend to people’s demands. Not everyone loved it, and those people moved on - that’s ok! Others got it, and they’ve been with us ever since. A big part of building a business is finding your people, and not worrying when others stare at you blankly or tell you that you wont last long!
5. Running a hospo or retail business in the UK gets harder each year
We’re not ones to complain, or to get political publicly, but you’ve probably seen a plethora of posts this last year from operators describing just how hard it’s getting. We’ve ridden Covid, Brexit, a fuel crisis, a dramatic cost-of-living increase, a near recession and some disaster-Budgets. The honest reality is that if things continue as they are we wont have nice independents on our high streets in 5-10 years. Let that sink in! Doesn’t bare thinking about does it? Right now we don’t have decision makers who understand how small business finances work, and it’s wild to be saying that in 2026. What can we do about it? That’s one for another post, but for now keep supporting the hell out of your favourite small businesses. Every time you step into LP and choose to spend your money here, it means the absolute world to us and keeps us here serving beautiful things for a little longer!