
Our Digital Champions programme is designed to find small companies across the country that recognise technology can be transformative for an operation, even if the business doesn’t revolve around digital.
Alastair MacFarlane, co-founder of coffee shop chain The Counter, told Real Business how an innovative approach site openings – storefronts are set up in police boxes – could be complemented with a speedier service. (1) Please give us a brief introduction to the business? We run three coffee shops from police boxes in Edinburgh, which are based in Morningside, Tollcross and Usherhall. We were truly inspired by the food truck and takeaway scene when we were travelling in California and wanted to do something similar in Edinburgh. We’ve been running for 15 months and just love serving high quality products to the locals on a daily basis. (2) What have the significant growth milestones been in the last few years? We started off operating from one police box and in 15 months we tripled the size of business. Opening a new shop is a huge milestone in itself, so we feel we have hit three major pinnacles since we launched. Every year brings something different but we have set a real benchmark now. If the next year or so can be as exciting as the last then we’ll be over the moon. It’s our job to make that happen. We also won the “15 Seconds Of Fame” competition which saw us get advertising space on national television. Seeing our business on TV really was an amazing feeling and it certainly helped raise our profile. (3) What inspires you as an entrepreneur, and how does that come across with your company? As an entrepreneur passion is very important and is my biggest inspiration. We are extremely passionate about what we do. It comes across through our contact with customers and our products.I am intrigued to see how technology changes the future of work. It seems that remote working is becoming more and more popular, however, I can’t see it having a huge impact on our business nor is it something we are really looking to implement. (8) What kind of technology tools can you not work without? iZettle. Its reporting system allows us to track our sales in real time and gives us access to analytics that were seemingly impossible for small businesses like us to afford. The speedy and seamless card transactions mean the queues move quickly, and with more and more people paying by card these days, it is vital that we make that option available to our customers. Also, having mobile WiFi is something we rely on massively, as being in a police box restricts us from having hard wired internet systems. (9) What kind of technology would help you better compete with larger rivals? Electronic loyalty cards are brilliant for small business. Adding to the customer experience is imperative not only for retaining clientele but for attracting new ones. It’s often the small things that make the biggest difference, and getting the intricacies right massively helps small merchants compete with bigger names on the high street. (10) Where do you want to take your business in the future? We have experienced exceptional growth in the last 15 months and are very settled at the moment. We love our police boxes but they don’t give us a lot of storage or preparation space, so we’ve bought a canal barge! When a commercial mooring on the Union Canal came on the market we leapt at the opportunity. Our production kitchen, office and another takeaway coffee spot are heading onto the water. By Zen Terrelonge
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