Andrew Carey
OVER 300 University of Limerick students at the Department of Management and Marketing, heard from local entrepreneur, Dave McCaffrey of Sally Mills bakery and cafe on how he has carefully managed his business from seedling project, through financial issues to having double digit growth currently, despite the biting recession in Limerick.
Celine Ryan, lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation explains that every year in Ireland, thousands of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) provide the backbone of the economy; offering products and services, and providing thousands of jobs for people. These businesses strive to survive, despite the harsh economic conditions, limited resources and in the face of tough competition.
“The owners of these business have a tenacity and creativity behind them that is helping the economy recover. The module, which is offered to BBS students, International Business, Engineering, Erasmus, Study Abroad along with some other courses linking in, aims to offer the students a starting point to consider the entrepreneurial mindset, innovation in action and how to develop a business idea from concept to opportunity stage.
“Dave from Sally Mills, a former engineer turned entrepreneur and baker, happily attended to give the students a snapshot of his experience living an entrepreneurial lifestyle from the stage of the concert hall in the Foundation Building.
In his address, Dave gave candid, applied advice to the class regarding managing customer requests and expectations, listening to feedback, working through money issues in business.
He outlined how businesses in Ireland are built incrementally, “built on grains of sand or grains of sugar… every single transaction, no matter how small, is important to establishing and sustaining a business”.
Sally Mills Cafe in the Milk Market in Limerick is growing from strength to strength with careful management and strategic vision of where the business should go next. The cafe was named after Dave’s Quaker great-grandfather’s flour mills in Co. Kildare. The Quaker family have a great tradition in flour milling and baking, and it was something that Dave always had a passion for, but was only ever a hobby while in his engineering career.
Students received advice on how to keep their positivity levels high and create a true ‘retail therapy’ experience for future customers, so that the customers return and become loyal to the business.
Celine Ryan, Lecturer of the module, was impressed with Dave’s presentation to the class, noting “Individuals such as Dave really bring the lecture content to life for the students. His ‘can-do’ attitude and positive customer focus helped to remind the students what is important in business, engineering and other real-world applications. It comes as no surprise to me that Sally Mills is in the Bridgestone Guide for the fourth year in a row, and has won awards from Limerick City Enterprise Board for their vision and business development.
“To quote Simon Sinek, “People do business with people” – Dave is certainly the kind of business person who embodies that approach”. His business has built steadily by word of mouth, and he now has his customers sending referrals and new business contacts his way as they love not only what he does, but also why he does it”, she added.
