Shropshire mum’s maternity leave sparks buffet business » Communities » 24dash.com

A young Shropshire mum changed her business life while on maternity leave and has launched her own catering company.

26-year-old Kate Mitchell decided to make a big change in her life by starting ‘The Wenlock Buffet Company’ helped by Business Link West Midlands (BLWM).

Having worked for others in catering since her teens, she saw an opportunity to work for herself while spending more time with her new family.

Kate, who lives with her partner and two-year-old daughter, launched the business in September 2008 and hasn’t looked back since.

She said: “I have always loved cooking and I previously worked in a kitchen preparing food for events. When I left to go on maternity leave, I decided not to go back but to take the plunge and see if I could do it myself.

“It was a bit of a risk moving from full time employment, but I wanted the chance to see my daughter grow up and working from home has allowed that.”

Whilst on maternity leave, Kate looked at buying a small café in the local area but knew that it wasn’t the right opportunity for her, so she sat tight and enjoyed the first six months being a full-time mum.

When the idea came to her for the company, she worked part-time in a restaurant to gather funds and plan the business before finally turning it into a reality.

The family allotment also provided inspiration and gave her the idea to use fresh produce that could be sourced from around the area offering her customers a taste of Shropshire.

Only nine months in, business is good with a turnover already of more than £7k and they’re gaining a quality reputation, not only for catering for private functions but also for corporate events.

She provides buffets for all kinds of events with prices ranging from £4.55 to £14.95 per person but also offers tailored menus to fit in with a particular budget or different occasions.

Kate continued: “Business has been steadily growing and although people are cutting back they are still willing to splash out on a special occasion such as a christening, birthday or wedding.

“BLWM really helped me to understand what I needed to do to get started and outlined how businesses work. It was great to speak with advisers who had actually been through the process themselves.

“As I had always worked for other people I had no idea about the financial side of things or even how to set the business up but their continued support has been great.

“I’m really looking forward to the future and growing the company, I would like to invest in a larger van next year and maybe look to taking on an employee.”

Working mainly in Shropshire and using suppliers on her doorstep Kate also includes seasonal vegetables grown from her own allotment in the menus.

Business Link adviser Jim Lindsay said: “We worked with Kate to provide her with support based around set-up, marketing and how to generally promote her company.

“Being completely new to business she started on the BLWM half day Awareness and Planning workshop and then moved on to take part in the more in-depth three day course to give her an insight into tax, VAT and national insurance issues.

“Via one-to-one contact, we are helping Kate to raise the profile of her business and move forward an extremely viable company.”

Visit Kate’s website at www.thewenlockbuffetcompany.co.uk