Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Rose Lee, founder of SaVeg Cafe, located in Calgary, AB, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a one-of-a-kind 100% plant-based cafe serving delicious coffee, smoothies, and, most importantly, food inspired by Korean and other Asian cuisines. We serve lovers of filling and flavourful plant-based meals, and we provide breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. Although we are a completely vegan cafe, our customers are not limited to vegans or even vegetarians. We have plant-based food lovers coming from all over the world to enjoy our simple yet delicious dishes.
Tell us about yourself
Before opening this cafe, I became a full-time vegan content creator on various platforms - mainly YouTube (under the handle Cheap Lazy Vegan). I was creating many different types of content and also promoting lots of different vegan products and brands. At the same time, my mother had purchased a cafe business which unfortunately wasn't doing so well after the economic issues back in 2015. This wasn't a vegan cafe but a regular cafe/smoothie bar in a gym. As I was helping out my mother on the side and still working on my social media career, I realized that I had a potential opportunity to turn this non-vegan cafe into a vegan business! I already had a successful business where I was promoting other brands to my audience, so why not promote my own business that I strongly believe in? So I pitched the idea to my mom and became a co-owner. We got to work and rebranded as a vegan cafe and opened it up after about a month. It makes me happy knowing that I helped save my mom's business, but I'm also feeding people yummy plant-based food every day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I think it's taking something that felt hopeless and creating something wonderful out of it. As mentioned in the previous answer, we were able to save the cafe from potentially shutting down because we shifted gears. Calgary was in need of more vegan cafes and eateries at that time, so we provided that. It makes me happy knowing we are the only Korean cafe in Calgary feeding people 100% plant-based Korean and Korean-inspired food. It's awesome knowing that I started two businesses (my social media business and the cafe) from something I'm so passionate about, which is veganism and plant-based living.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
There are about a million things that are difficult about running your own business. The most difficult part is that you are responsible for pretty much everything. You can't just call in sick and call it a day because you don't feel like it one day. You have to actually show up and take responsibility to make sure everything gets done. There are multiple problems and challenges that come your way when you are a business owner - you might get robbed, machines break, employees quit unexpectedly or don't show up, and of course, sometimes pandemics happen.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don't expect everything to be smooth sailing all the time, and always be ready for challenges and problems. Owning a business is never smooth sailing (at least not for a long time). Even if you have great systems in place, you'll end up running into problems and things out of your control. So you have to be ready to adapt at a moment's notice!
- Hire the right people, train them and treat them well! I find that finding the right team of people to work for your business will make things so much easier (and vice versa - find the wrong employees, and you'll have a much harder time!). So I would focus a lot of effort on the hiring and training process and also treat your employees well, so they are happy (and also that's the decent thing to do!).
- Learn to delegate. This is something I'm still working on, and it's not easy. As business owners, often we think that we can do everything ourselves. But in order to grow a business or even just for your own mental health, it's a good idea to try and learn to delegate from early on so that you aren't stuck doing everything yourself.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.savegcafe.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savegyyc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savegyyc/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.