Story so far

You probably don't want a history lesson, but sometimes you get a feel for what a company is all about by knowing a little of its background and origins.

Jon Shilling, founder and director of the company, takes up the story

It all started back in 2004 when I was at a career crossroads and trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. I’d spent years working as a Chartered Marketer in the professional services sector, which was interesting, challenging and demanding. What I was looking for was something which I could feel passionate about and truly enjoy.

After a lot of soul searching I realised there might be an opportunity to match my business skills and desire to learn with an interest I’d had for decades - good food. There were some obvious trends such as the increasing interest in organic produce and local farmers markets, but also a challenge in the high street, where independent shops were being squeezed out of business by the major supermarket chains and convenience stores.

It struck me that while people seemed interested in good food and might well be prepared to pay a bit more for quality, it wasn’t easy to find local shops providing what they really want. I looked around my local area and found very few outlets selling the sort of product range that matched expectations. Everyone I spoke to knew of a deli somewhere, but nothing quite matched what I had in mind. The supermarkets all have deli counters, but poorly stocked and often staffed by people with little interest or knowledge of the produce.

So I embarked on some serious research ...

Without boring you with all the details, I felt I could spot a gap in the market for a shop selling high quality local food. I also discovered an amazing range of independent local producers who would be able to supply everything from cheeses and chutneys to chocolates and cakes. Add to that a wide range of specialities from other regions around the country plus some delicacies from independent overseas producers, and it looked like Goujons could establish a unique offering. Now we had to establish if the idea was financially viable.

Several spreadsheets later it looked as though we could make the numbers work so we took our figures to the bank manager. To our great relief he thought they made sense and agreed to lend us the money we needed to get the business off the ground. Goujons Limited was officially incorporated in December 2005 and we started 2006 with high hopes.

Things are never as simple as they first seem ...

We knew that if we were going to stress the high quality of what we were selling then we would need a high quality environment and image to match. That meant establishing our core values and building a corresponding brand image. It helps when you have a friend who runs his own marketing agency. Once we had sorted our corporate identity we turned our attention to the regulations.

The initial reaction of out local environmental health officer was encouraging: “You must be masochists”, he cheerfully exclaimed when we explained what we had in mind. Undaunted we took on board the requirements for food safety, hygiene and licensing (including all the necessary training courses), while continuing to search for suppliers of both food and equipment. By May 2006 we felt confident we had addressed all the issues, appointed the advisers we needed to help us, and were ready to launch. All we needed was a suitable shop. Finding a shop can’t be that difficult ... can it?

We had decided the ideal location would be a market town with an established shopping centre. So we looked around our local area and came up with three or four towns we felt had potential. We put together a brief for property agents and sent that to all those operating in our area. Then the fun and games really started. The success of the whole concept depends on finding the right shop in the right place - not as easy as you might think. We found several retail units we thought would work, and a couple were really well placed. However, finding a shop and securing a lease are two completely different things.

After several months of making enquiries and offers we knew where we would really like to be – and where we could afford to be! We just couldn’t seem to find the right match of location, size, price and suitability for food premises. Even when we thought we’d found the right place we weren't able to agree terms with other parties for one reason or another. We were advised to be patient and the right deal would emerge eventually, but by the end of 2006 we were suffering a combination of frustration and impatience.

2007 - a new year brings new hope

Early in 2007 things suddenly started to click. We'd spoken to so many people and explored so many possibilities that when an opportunity arose in Chalfont St Peter we were there to take it. As we'd already learned, property matters are always more complex and time consuming than you expect, and now we had some planning issues to deal with. The main thing is we were moving forward. By May we had an agreement in place with the landlord and the planning applications were with the local council.

Now the rest of the planning needed to be implemented - fitting out, stocking up, employing staff and opening. Plenty to keep us busy while waiting for the necessary planning consent to upgrade the front of the building.

July 2007 and we finally have a home!

On 6 July we signed the lease on 5 The Broadway in Chalfont St Peter and suddenly it all felt real. We had a shop. Not only that, we had already started to fit out the unit with air conditioning, flooring, new shop front and internal walls. The pace of life really picked up and the adrenalin started to pump. We were determined to open later in the month, so all sorts of deadlines had to be met. Builders, plumbers, electricians and carpenters all had to be briefed and coordinated. Working out what order to do things was enough of a headache.

Then there are all the regulations to comply with - building control, licensing, fire, safety, the list seems endless. There were times when we got the feeling that you're not really meant to start a new business there was so much stuff to wade through. But we made it in the end, and almost opened by the end of the month ... almost. The opening was set for Wednesday 1st August, and we almost made it. The last two things to put in place before the sho was ready were the sign and awning. We had decided we needed an awning to provide shade as the shop faces south and the sun can be fierce (when it actually shines). It sounded simple enough but the building structure made it very difficult to mount, so the whole of Wednesday morning was spent getting it fixed in place, then half the afternoon fitting the shop sign above. By 3.30 we decided to postpone our opening by one more day.

Open at last

So the opening date turned out to be 2 August 2007, which we're sure will go down in history ... well we'll remember it. We opened the door at 9 o'clock and waited with excitement and anticipation of the flood of people we expected to overwhelm us ... and we waited ... and we waited. At 9.30 we were beginning to think everyone in the area must have gone on holiday. But then a few people started passing by, and eventually coming in. Our first customer bought a jar of jam (more out of sympathy than necessity) and the second customer asked if we did decaff coffee. We don't. But after this rather slow and inauspicious start more and more people looked in and by lunchtime we were serving a steady flow of customers, all of whom were very positive and complimentary about what we're doing.

So we're hoping as more people find out about us, and we find more suppliers and products, our little business will grow. If you're in the area do pop in and see us.