Converting an old industrial bakery into a modern café was my first business venture and longest running. Originally intended to be a New York deli style operation, the café soon morphed into a hybrid of ‘Prêt a Manger’ and ‘Harvester’. I opened 3 Stores in Sussex under the CJs Deli Brand.As the successful café grew, I was inundated with requests from local businesses for us to deliver to them, so I created: -‘CJ’s Deli On The Move’ - using mobile heating and refrigeration technology, van travels around various building sites, warehouses and work yards in a 20 mile catchment of base.‘CJ’s Deli @ The Office’ – Weekday office delivery service of fresh produce. This became the jewel in the crown as we gained large blue chip offices, and are able to supply their working lunches and buffets.

An opportunity arose due to change of legislation by the Indian government, regarding the shipment of scrap metal, to set up a PSI company (pre-shipment inspection). Together with a contact in the scrap and recycling industry, we set up an ‘Inspections’ business. We provided inspectors to check entire shipments and carry out sampling, radioactivity testing and tallying on a wide variety of metals and scraps when cargoes are shipped, or loaded into containers. Initially, work was local to Lewes, Shoreham and Hastings but quickly expanded to larger distances from home. I took the decision to walk away from the project and sell our client base on to a third party.

After extensive research and development, in the winter of 2010, I opened the first Garra Ruffa Fish Spa in Hove. I created a strong high street brand and had additional revenue streams such as manicures, pedicures and party packages. The enterprise was a phenomenal success and generated great cash flow at high margin. I was able to harness the power of social media to drive revenue and exposure. Plans were implemented to expand the model into further stores in Eastbourne and Haywards Heath. However, due to adverse front page headline from The Sun Newspaper on October 29th 2011, the whole fish spa industry in the UK collapsed overnight. I made a decision to re-brand and reinvest into the project and turned it into a top end salon. The business was then sold for a profit.

After extensive research and development, in the winter of 2010, I opened the first Garra Ruffa Fish Spa in Hove. I created a strong high street brand and had additional revenue streams such as manicures, pedicures and party packages. The enterprise was a phenomenal success and generated great cash flow at high margin. I was able to harness the power of social media to drive revenue and exposure. Plans were implemented to expand the model into further stores in Eastbourne and Haywards Heath. However, due to adverse front page headline from The Sun Newspaper on October 29th 2011, the whole fish spa industry in the UK collapsed overnight. I made a decision to re-brand and reinvest into the project and turned it into a top end salon. The business was then sold for a profit.