ANGELA REDFERN, RIPE DELI

We recently celebrated 15 years in business and what a journey it has been. Over the years I have experienced a number of factors that have increased the pressure on my business, from increased competition from some amazing businesses around me who are offering superb food to noticeable increased costs. With me stepping out of the day-to-day running of my business to have my 2 children (now 5 & 7), I knew I needed to gain some perspective and discipline to keep in the game! This is where Zac came in as my business mentor and things really stepped up a notch.

Zac helped me to understand my numbers better and as a result my GP % grew nicely and I got my wages % more under control, leading to increased profits. He also got me to understand where my sales were coming from and what impacted them, which gave me huge understanding on how I could increase sales and plan better for those troughs.

I went to one of Zac’s two-day planning workshops with some of my team and finally created a business plan, fourteen years into business ownership! Having my senior people involved in that process really helped get them all on the same wavelength, which is key for moving forward.

It’s been awesome having him there to bounce ideas off and run decisions past – it makes business ownership less of a lonely journey. Zac is also great at encouraging me to have a go, holding me accountable and teaching me how to hold others accountable!

Until a couple of years ago, Ripe Deli was in Grey Lynn only but now we have three stores. New projects, new challenges. I’m really enjoying this stage of my business: learning how to grow something bigger and manage it, with Zac’s knowledge and advice.