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Man: I have in the studio with me today Olivia Peyton, who set up the Pacific Bar Sc Grill with her brother Tom in 1994, when she was 30. They now have a restaurant chain with a ￡220 million turnover. Olivia, what gave you the drive to achieve so much at such a young age?
Woman: Well, our parents taught us the important lesson that you should never be afraid of failure. But really, it was when we moved to England from Australia when I was a teenager. I felt like an outsider, because of my accent and interests, so that gave me a strong desire to do better at school than those who’d always lived here. 1 felt the need to be educated. I was more likely to take chances...
Man: You didn’t study catering at university though, did you?
Woman: No. I’d never thought of that as a career. l studied English Literature. My parents tried to persuade me to take up a career in finance - my best exam results at school were in Maths. So they were disappointed when I did Literature ... but I wanted to be a writer regardless of whether I could write! I didn’t do fantastically well in my degree, though.
Man: So, what do you think has made you successful as a businesswoman? What is it that makes someone able to progress as an entrepreneur in the business world?
Woman: Well, in my case, I think it’s more a reflection of my mental capacity than all the books I’ve read and the skills I learnt at university. I mean I can write a good letter now but that isn’t going to make me successful. But I’ve got a fundamental understanding of business. I can see very easily in my mind how things are going to go.
Man: OK. Let’s move on now to talk about your career. First, you got into the soft drinks business...
Woman: Yes... in the late eighties. But we soon found that importing drinks is a bit of a dull business - nothing much was happening, so we sold up in 1991 and thought ’What shall we do now?’ We decided to go travelling for a year, but we wanted to work while travelling. Then when we were in Australia, we met someone ill the drinks industry who had a chain of restaurants there. He took us on. My brother was a waiter and I was working in the office, doing a lot of the day-to-day running of the restaurant, and in doing that I learnt the basics, such as what to buy, how many chefs to employ and so on.
Man: And you stayed there until 1994.
Woman: Yes, then we came back here and started the Pacific Grill straight away.
Man: You and your brother must be a good team.
Woman: Well, Tom and I always discuss things but he’s more creative and comes up with all the ideas while I look after the business side. The thing about working with family is that you know they’re going to be there tomorrow. You can employ other key people, but then if you upset them, they’ll probably leave.
Man: Sure. People say it’s tough work.
Woman: There’s no doubt that it is. Some staff don’t go home until 4.30 in the morning... but then they might not be on until the next evening. I only work during the day I might add! I like to have some time to myself but most people in the restaurant business aren’t like me. People in the business tend to be outgoing, sociable types - the sort who enjoy an environment of constant activity and tight deadlines.
Man: What would you say to anyone who’s thinking of going into the catering business?
Woman: I’d say, start at the bottom. Interestingly, one of the institutions here is developing a recruitment technique based not on degrees and work experience but on the ability to learn. The food industry still maintains the idea of apprenticeship. Running a restaurant, working with the public - these are very complex skills and you must be prepared to start at the bottom and learn quickly.
Man: Well, thank you for coming along to the studio today, Olivia, and I wish you every Success . . .