Lisa Cathro bought her business We Are Zest in 2008, just days into the financial crisis.
After a tumultuous start, she braced the steep learning curve and has constantly improved her skillset.
Her St Andrews social enterprise cafe helps young people with disabilities and additional support needs get into employment.
She talks us through the running of an award-winning business in a tough economic climate.
How and why did you start in business?
I was managing Zest in 2008 and the opportunity arose to buy it from the owners. It was right at the start of the global financial crisis, recession was ramping up and I was a complete newbie to business, so It was a very steep learning curve!
We didn’t start out as a social enterprise – I didn’t even know what that was at the time. Becoming one dedicated to helping young people with disabilities get meaningful work in hospitality happened organically.
How did you get to where you are today?
By keeping learning – being aware of my strengths and weaknesses and constantly upskilling to fill the gaps.
Most recently I completed a Graduate Apprenticeship business degree, which has really helped me take the business to the next level, better develop our team and help more people.
Who helped you?
My family have been super supportive right from the start, along with a few staff who have been with me more than 12 years. I couldn’t have done it without them.
I’ve also been lucky enough to have mentors to bounce ideas off – you need someone outside the business who can give you honest feedback.
The FSB’s member resources have been very useful when I’ve needed to turn to them for information and support too.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
Not to try to do it all – delegate!
What is your biggest mistake?
Trying to do too much myself and not developing my team to help. People are your biggest asset, but trying to do it all is a rookie mistake most people make.
Now we’re all about people development and the team bring brilliant ideas and feedback which helps keep the business improving. It also enriches their work experience, brings the team together and makes people feel valued when they’re involved and heard.
What is your greatest achievement?
Recently we won the Community Partnership Award at the Fife Business Awards as well as being a finalist in the training and development category – the latest in a long line of awards for our work.
But our greatest, and ongoing, achievement is how many people we’ve helped get on their feet and move into sustainable employment.
We’ve only managed that by working over the long-term with great community partners, including Fife Council Supported Employment Service, the DWP, HMP Castle Huntly, BRAG Enterprises Crosshill and the brilliant Rose and Thistle Markets.
How are you managing rapidly rising costs, and how could the government help?
I was recently a panel speaker at an event hosted by the Scottish Union of Supported Employment and this was a question posed by the Scottish Government.
Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to start as there’s so much more that could/should be done to help socially-responsible businesses and disabled people into meaningful employment.
Hospitality is an amazing learning environment for so many life and social skills. It would be nice to see that better supported.
The rising costs (still rising) are a daily struggle and it makes me sad to see so many great businesses which do everything right, including looking after their people, have to close due to costs making them infeasible.
What do you still hope to achieve?
Our passion is helping people and our business is all about doing that, so I want to build on our community work by using the cafe in the evenings to run support groups and learning spaces. There’s still a lot of work to do with community partners to achieve that.
What do you do to relax?
I spend time with family and friends. I’ve had long Covid since 2020, so having hobbies is difficult — with the brain fog and fatigue I suffer from it takes everything I have to be able to work, so there’s not much energy left in the tank for anything else. I’m lucky I have friends who understand what’s going on and a family who support me.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
I still struggle to read a book, which is something I used to really enjoy, but you have to have decent memory to follow the story from one reading session to the next.
TV series are great when you have cognitive issues because they have episode recaps, so I’m open to suggestions for new series!
What do you waste your money on?
Who has money to waste right now?
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Make a really great batch of brew coffee! Speciality coffee is a passion as well as one of the café’s key offers and I love experimenting with new season single-origin beans.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
Right now I’m a Swifty (car, not the pop star), but I think I need to upgrade to James Bond’s Lotus Esprit – a car that transforms into a submarine would have been particularly helpful in last year’s storms and floods!
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