TGt Meets ... Toby Brett

As part of our Entrepreneur Week Specials, we've been speaking to Toby Brett.

Tell us a little bit more about your business?

I run and own a pub business.  Within this there are many different ways that my companies maximise profits.  I own four freehold pubs and one leasehold restaurant.  Out of the four pubs I manage three of them with managers and tenant, one of them without.  The restaurant is a new city centre venture which specializes in Pizza and Craft beer.

In addition to this I do a little bit of consulting to other pub owners, I am a director of an IT & Marketing business, I arbitrate in pub matters and am a trustee for a Charity.

What inspired you to set up your business?

I have always worked in and loved the pub trade.  In 2010 I had been working for a big pub company.  Unfortunately many of the pubs were beginning to struggle in the recession and many of the tenants who were renting the pubs from the pub company were getting into financial difficulty.  I was no longer doing a job of helping people grow their business and at times I felt the company I worked for was contributing to the demise of many pubs.

At this time there were a number of pubs that were put on the market by various pub companies at low prices due to the difficulty to borrow from banks.

I managed to get private investment and purchased my first business.

What do you think attracts people to starting their own business?

The same thing that attracts people to their own business is often the same reason some fail at it.  Starting up a business gives you the freedom to think for yourself, make the decisions you think are right and even work the hours you want to.  This flexibility is liberating and work for those who are driven and motivated.

If you are doing it for an easy life, it may not be the right option.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

I was always told that opening your second pub was the hardest thing to do, for the reason that you try to be in two places at once.

I took this advice and went straight to three pubs.  While I understood that there was no way I could be in three places at once and recruited managers for each of them, refurbishing and launching two places simultaneously, was a strain and I may have over looked certain elements that would have got more attention otherwise.

Do you have a motto or favourite motivational quote?

I have a few, which my staff continuously mock me about:

“Don’t worry about what you can’t influence”
“You can’t always for the same thing and expect a different result”
“Don’t go looking for problems”

What advice would you give someone looking to take the plunge and start a business?

That’s a really easy question to answer:

Do what you know and are good at.
Work out what will make you different from everyone else doing the same thing.
Make sure you are well enough funded to start.

What’s the biggest challenge facing business leaders today?

Certainly in my industry, continued red tape is putting a massive burden and cost on businesses.  While much of it is necessary too much is not.

We pay a huge amount of tax that pushes up the price of our products and services to the customer.  Whether this is business rate, VAT, alcohol duty, Employers National Insurance Contribution.  I cannot help thinking businesses should be encouraged to grow not inhibited.

What’s been your biggest achievement to date?

I would like to think I am still waiting for my biggest achievement.  I enjoy what I do and love growing businesses.  In my mind entrepreneurs are people who build a business, sell it and then start all over again.  I have not done this yet.

When you’re not busy running your business, how do you like to spend your down time?

I love going to watch rugby, I enjoy the pubs and restaurants Bath have to offer.  I play golf although play may not be the right word for it.