Esther Sefaah is a very familiar face around town, particularly if you’re a coffee drinker. In 2022 she opened the Ground Up Coffee Shop on Fishmarket Road. More latterly, she can be found at the head of a very long queue, on the last Sunday of the month at The Aubrey Halls on Rock Channel, surrounded by croissants and cakes.
If you’re an early riser, she’s your host for monthly networking sessions at her Ground Up Business meetings. And now, her latest business is a collaboration with the owner of The Landgate Bar.
Over the course of a year of conversations, they decided to share the premises, with the coffee shop running from 9.00am to 4.00pm, at which point it reverts back to a bar for the evening.
The pure logic and pragmatism of shop-sharing is undeniable. Though not a new idea, it came to prominence in the 90s when named chefs were offered restaurant sites within five star hotels. The chefs found themselves in premium locations and the hotels gained a celebrity attraction within their estate. One of my favourite blended businesses in London is a florist by day and a Thai restaurant at night. Closer to home, in St Leonards, food, design and hospitality businesses share shops creating interesting, economically viable spaces.
Running your own business can be a daunting prospect and the struggle to keep your head above water can blind you to innovation and progress. But not Esther; she believes in always taking an opportunity when it’s presented to her. “As my mother always says, ‘Say yes, deal with the problems after’. You learn as you go along.”
When times are tough, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you lose your ambition. Pooling your energy, expertise and resources, and sharing the load and the risk is an even more sensible way to progress. Working together and entering into collaborations with others makes not only for personal growth, but undeniable business sense too. “Be a WE not a ME” has never been more apt.
Image Credits: Natasha Robinson , Carolyn Gould .