Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)

Hey Pesto
Word Count =

Small Business Growth Strategies

Curtin University
7 October 2011
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
Table of Contents
1.0 Foreword.................................................................................................................................................................................3

2.0 Introduction and Summary of agreed Project Objectives.........................................................................................................4

3.0 Project Case Study of Hey Pesto..............................................................................................................................................5

3.1 Historical Account of the Owners and the Business..............................................................................................................6
3.2 Future of the Business and Personal Goals of the Owners..................................................................................................12
3.3 Expected Focus and Objectives of Report...........................................................................................................................14

4.0 Growth Strategies of Hey Pesto...................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.1 Topic 1 – Family Business (Prepared by: Anika Gunawardene)...................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.2 Topic 2 – Human Resource Management – Management (Prepared by: Tegan Symmington)......Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.3 Topic 3 – Human Resource Management – Staffing (Prepared by: Corrine Sherwood)................Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.4 Topic 4 – Information and Communication Technology (Prepared by: Tim Lewis).......................Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.0 Recommendations.......................................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.0 Foreword

We would like to thank all the different parties that made it possible for us to complete this growth portfolio for Hey Pesto.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
First and foremost we would like to thank Matthew and Anna Williams who were gracious enough to let us into their business. We are grateful to Mat
and Anna for providing us with the information and time that we needed to complete this report successfully. In addition we would like to thank the
staff at Hey Pesto who helped us further understand the business. We genuinely hope that we have been of some benefit to Hey Pesto and wish them
the best of luck in their future endeavors.

We would also like to thank the experts who provided us with professional advice in order to help Hey Pesto with the growth of their company. The
experts consulted for this report were: Donella Caspersz, Danny Breckler, Lee Reed, Lorraine Wills, Malava Oza, Nichole Huthchings, Yann Cabaret, Janet
Cooper, Julie Sultmann.

Lastly, we would like to thank Paull Weber for not only providing us with the opportunity to complete this report but also for guiding us along the way.
It has truly been a wonderful project to undertake.

2.0 Introduction and Summary of agreed Project Objectives

For the purpose of this report and the overarching objective of the unit Small Business Growth 302, small catering and café business Hey Pesto has been
investigated and analyzed with focus on specific topics that relate to the facilitation of growth.

After an initial meeting with Mat at his Manheim premises - and subsequent meetings thereafter - it was clear that there was a wide scope of potential
areas to concentrate on. At Mat’s request, however, specifics such as awareness, efficiency and staffing issues were mentioned as topics of particular
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
relevance that he thought were not so much problematic, but more so potentially improvable. With this in mind, Information Communication
Technologies (ICTs), Human Resources, Management and Staffing, and Family Business Dynamics have been investigated.

Family Business issues have been dissected with careful attention paid to sensitivity considering the highly personal nature of the matter.
Communication issues have been found to be potentially difficult due to pre-existing and complex family dynamics. As such, resolving conflicts can be
potentially ominous and must be navigated with systematic care.

Human Resource Management and Staffing and surrounding issues have been studied. Devising and documenting policies and procedures has been
shown to be an important part of laying solid foundations for future growth. This also aligns with certain aspects of ICT implementation, such as
automation and specific software choices.

Finally, ICTs specific to awareness and efficiency have been explored to ascertain the most relevant and cost effectives strategies that will enable
smooth growth. Social media strategy, overall internet strategy and enterprise wide software have been covered and commented on by experts.
The aforementioned issues correlate well with concerns raised by Mat and Anna and are arguably common amongst small business owners across the
nation.

3.0 Project Case Study of Hey Pesto

Hey Pesto is a small mobile catering and café business, owned and operated by husband and wife, Matthew and Anna Williams. It offers a variety of
food, including hot meals, snacks, healthy alternatives as well as cold and hot beverages. For catering events, Hey Pesto works closely with clients to
provide them with a personalised menu to suit their specific needs. The business is included in the Heart Foundation’s list of Vendors with Healthier
Food Choices at events in and around Perth. In Anna’s own words, “We don't cook posh food but we cook damn good casual food”.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)

3.1 Historical Account of the Owners and the Business

With an extensive professional background as a chef, Matthew Williams (Mat) possesses the necessary culinary experience to operate Hey Pesto. After
graduating high school, Mat decided not to attend university and instead chose to pursue a career as a chef. He spent the next 15 years working in the
culinary industry, both overseas and in Australia, from which he gained invaluable knowledge and experience. Throughout the years he worked for the
Duxton Hotel, the Loose Box, CoCo’s, Queens Hotel and a range of establishments owned by the Australian Leisure and Hotel group (ALH). Mat was also
the head Chef at The Saint George in Innaloo before he resigned around November 2006. He had been with ALH for around five years at that time. In an
early meeting with Mat, he commented, “I was fed up of being the nurturer, parent, counsellor and trainer for the staff at the places where I worked.”
This is why Mat believes, when the opportunity presented itself, he was more open to the idea of owning and running his own business. Anna, Mat’s
wife, mentioned another notable experience of Mat’s was when he “made an advert on TV with Con the Fruiterer.” She further added that Mat had
been featured in a few magazine articles that showcased the techniques he used to train his kitchen staff at his previous places of employment.
Anna is a window dresser by trade and a qualified therapy assistant in Occupational Health. In addition to these
qualifications, Anna has developed a skill for producing professional Mat with Con the Fruiterer
quality baked goods and various other treats that are sold through Mat worked with Western Potatoes and ALH Group
advertising campaign. He has also been in a few
the café and the catering van. Mat and Anna first met in 1997 while magazines with articles on his training and his
previous places of employment
Anna was on holiday in Australia. She then moved to Australia from
England in January 1999, the two were married in 2004. In 2006 they had their first child Jed, and in 2008 their second
child Mack was born.

It was in 2008 that Mat’s family friends had decided to move back to Ireland and were looking to sell their mobile
catering van, which had been briefly operating at Challenge Stadium. They offered the van to Mat at a price below market value, and without much
thought, Mat and Anna took them up on their offer. The van did not have any branding attached to it and Mat stated that it was not being offered as
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
Anna moved to In Anna’s
Matwords
2004
and Anna Jedgot
wasbored
born with the commercial
2008
Catering van was Started
a business, it was just being sold as a catering vehicle. “He [Mat] had kitchens, the late trading
hours asand all
Australia, from were married Mack was born bought a cafe at
the problems lack of staff bring. He wanted something more challenging and this opportunity came up with
England the truck
Started tradingand
as we thought we'd
Manheim Car give it a
Hey Pesto Auctions
go.”
1999 2006/2008 2010

Mat and Anna’s history at a glance

To fund the purchase of the van Mat subdivided his property and sold part of the subdivision. Immediately after the purchase of the van, Mat and
Anna added some modifications to it and promptly entered the mobile catering industry. Mat admits that this was not the ideal process by which to
start a small business, as they had put in no prior thought to how it would operate and what path they would like the business to follow. He further
added that he still has not found the time to step back from the business to create a business plan for Hey Pesto.

During the initial stages of the business, food

preparation was undertaken at a separate location in
Midland. Mat carried forward with the arrangement
that the previous owners of the van had with Challenge
Stadium, which now allows him to provide his mobile
catering services for all events held there. Business
operations soon
The Hey Pesto van at Circus
Quirkus at Challenge Stadium

The Hey Pesto mobile catering van

 food which enables Mat and his team to
provide freshly made steak sandwiches and
burgers to clients at catering events.
Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
branched into catering for birthday parties, private events, car auctions, music festivals, weddings and rural trade shows. Car auctions are a big event
for the Hey Pesto mobile catering team with clients such as Pickles and Smith and Broughton Auction house. Another well-known event that Hey
Pesto has catered for, is the Thomas the Tank Engine Day at Whiteman Park, which Anna states is usually one of their most profitable events. They
also cater for the Kings Park Wildflower festival, which is held in September every year.

In 2010 one of Mat’s key clients, Manheim Car Auctions, offered him the opportunity to open a café in their newly developed premises, which is
located near the Perth International Airport. This enables Mat to cater to the staff working at Manheim, as well as the clientele on auction days. The
agreement, albeit informal, is that Mat does not pay any leasing fees or utility costs; in return he provides Manheim’s staff with a 20% discount on
their purchases. The Hey Pesto café at Manheim is open five days a week, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 2pm, with auction days, Tuesday and
Wednesday, being their busiest.

Along with the hours that Mat and Anna invest into the running of the café, and at catering events,
they currently have four employees that work for Hey Pesto. Mat’s mother manages the Manheim
café along with some help from his Aunt. His father helps with the operations for the Pickles catering
events on Tuesdays. Mat also hires three casual
employees to help with the catering events.

All food preparation has now been relocated to the

However, one of the disadvantages of this
unable to make any modifications to the
the barriers that this limitation creates for
Manheim premises.
Manheim car auctioneers
For our team’s first meeting location is that Mat is
with Mat we all had difficulty
finding the café due to the lack
facilities. An example of
of signage in the surrounding Hey Pesto was that the
area as well as the inside of the
building.
Gorgon Road (view from Manheim building)
Most businesses are not allowed to have their
own sign boards up on the road.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
café was unable to prepare hot chips on site, until a few weeks before our initial interview was held. Also, Mat is limited with the amount of
advertising he can display around the external infrastructure and on the road side, due to the geographic area falling under federal government
control. First impressions of the Hey Pesto café leave you with a feeling of apathy. As Hey Pesto is hidden within the Manheim building, which
resides between the Perth International Airport and the Forrestfield industrial sector, it would be easy to travel Grogan Road every day in search of
food and not be aware that there was café available to service your needs. With no roadside signage, or external advertising, the Hey Pesto café
could comfortably continue in its existence with a large degree of anonymity. However, exist it does, and with a few uncomplicated directions which
lead you to and through the sliding door entrance to the Manheim building, you find yourself standing in the hidden gem that is Hey Pesto.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
At first glance you have all the workings of an extremely functional café/lunch bar. The café at
Manheim has seating for approximately 40 people, including a designated children’s corner, an
extensive cool drink selection, a freezer serving popular ice-cream varieties and a coffee machine
ready to dispense your desired daily caffeine hit. Yet,
there isn’t a discernable difference between Hey Pesto
and many other venues catering to everyday working
people looking for convenience. In addition to these
faculties is a display case full of fresh cold food
selections and tasty baked goods, a bain maree
Children’s play corner at Hey Pesto’s Manheim
café offering plenty of hot food choices, and service
It is evident that Mat and Anna’s main concern is
to ensure a better future for their young family offered personally by the owner/creator Mat. It is
and that they are determined to stabilize and grow
the business to achieve this. here, standing behind the counter, that we find the
Inside the Manheim Café
hugely unnoticed and extremely under-utilized point of This simple layout is convenient for the
local clientele.
difference to your usual café/lunch bar offering. It is Mat’s extensive experience in the culinary industry
and his admitted enjoyment toward being creative with his offerings that is largely unseen to the everyday clientele.

This begs the question of why such talent is not more extensively incorporated into the cafés operation. The answer becomes apparent after even
the shortest amount of time spent surveying the surroundings. The fact is that the majority of Hey Pesto’s clientele are frequenting the café during
their everyday allocation of a lunch break. They aren’t there looking to sit down to Duck a la Ronge or steak tartare. They’re looking to grab a quick

and convenient sandwich, a pie, or some hot chips with a cold drink or a hot coffee. They come to eat wearing their personal protection equipment,
including bright orange safety vests and steel-toed boots. As such, Mat has had to refrain from providing more extravagant offerings, which are well
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
within his professional repertoire. He went on to comment "I don't see the need in buying expensive coffee beans because past experiences has
showed me that this extra cost will go unnoticed and unappreciated”.

Hey Pesto signage located inside the café

Mat working at the Manheim café

Business started well at Manheim, with a heavy traffic flow of clientele. Mat believes that this was due to the hailstorms, which meant that hail
damaged vehicles were being sold for a lesser price and people were purchasing replacement cars. Since then, the café has experienced a decline in
customer traffic. Manheim has also began to lay off some of its staff due to the lack of sales at their premises, which in turn has had an effect on the
sales at the Hey Pesto café. Mat has also experienced a drop in sales at catering events as well as a decline in the number of private functions that
Hey Pesto has been asked to cater for. Mat believes that this is mostly due to the global financial crisis and that people are being more cautious of
where they spend their money.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)

Mat has been occupied with juggling the conflicting efforts of offering good quality, simple food, and providing a more specialised menu as a point of
difference that would still be considered acceptable by his repeat clientele. These desires have proven to be a double edged sword. If Mat offers a
wider, more creative choice of food there is a chance that it will be destined for the skip bin if it is not favourably received. On the other hand,
without providing a diverse and unique range of options it is difficult to attract new clients. Mat and Anna do not let this conundrum deter them from
offering good quality food, as simple and everyday as the choices may appear.

3.2 Future of the Business and Personal Goals of the Owners

With regards to the future of Hey Pesto, Mat feels he is stuck in a ‘’Catch 22’’ situation. He realises the need to further invest to be able to grow the
business and to make more money, however, according to Anna he is “reluctant to spend the money to advertise…but [agrees that] if you don’t
advertise you won’t get noticed.” Furthermore, Mat is admittedly very uncertain with regards to which direction he wants to take Hey Pesto. As such,
he seems very open to suggestions.

Both Anna and Mat are aware of this dilemma; yet seem to have slightly differing
opinions on how to overcome it. Mat’s reluctance to further invest is understandable,
especially given the current financial uncertainty surrounding Hey Pesto. This
uncertainty is intrinsically linked to the nature of the mobile catering industry. The
amount of available job opportunities vary, the fees to work at these festivals fluctuates
considerably depending on the event, and of course, there is no guarantee on how much
revenue any festival is likely to bring in. This ambiguity could garner stress in even the
most steely of business owners. With this in mind, the Williams’ have not ruled out any
possibility for the future of Hey Pesto. They concede that growth of the business is of

What each owner values as success

Number one being the most valuable success variable, and
number ten being the least. When asked to rank these success
 month but at the moment this is the order”.

Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)
paramount importance to facilitate any genuine form of future success – be it profit, work-life balance or salability potential. Mat recognises that
strengthening the Manheim and Pickles operations would serve to form a solid revenue stream, from which they could base Hey Pesto’s other
operations. Consistent revenue from the Manheim Café could supplement the mobile operations, and not least of which, provide a buffer zone to
insulate them from the uncertainties of festival work.

The strengthening of Hey Pesto seems to be the dominant emerging theme from our primary investigation. Mitigating the risk of uncertainty of the
festival industry and bolstering all other aspects of the business, will hopefully lead to more revenue/profits. This would assist in the ability to employ
more staff, and help to improve Matt’s work-life balance. In addition, this will bolster the attractiveness for any potential buyers to purchase it as a
going concern, should the Williams’ decide to sell.

Mat implies that there is a strong correlation between his personal goals and those of the business. Attaining a certain level of personal success will
likely be hinged on the success of Hey Pesto. Achieving a ‘healthier’ work-life balance is of critical importance to Mat, so as to spend more quality
time with his wife and young children. He acknowledges that his current level of output (hours worked) is likely to be unsustainable in the long term,
and definitely undesirable. Furthermore, Mat stated that he loves cooking, and would ideally be more creative on a daily basis. Lastly, and
understandably, the Williams’ aim to be able to provide themselves and their family with a certain level of financial security and comfort.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)

3.3 Expected Focus and Objectives of Report

At this initial stage, certain topics stand out to be of particular

relevance; namely, Human Resource Management (HRM),
Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Family
Business. The topic of franchising does not appear to be relevant
to Hey Pesto at this stage considering that it does not have
standardised systems and operations, thus making replication
unsuitable. Further, Mat explicitly stated that he does not
consider franchising as an option.

Mat has expressed a reluctance to hire additional/new staff for

numerous reasons. He repeatedly expressed that “it's very hard
to find trustworthy staff". However, he demonstrates a
willingness to take on new staff – even trainable unskilled staff –
should the need arise. Hiring additional staff would be likely to ease
the workload burden on Mat in the long term. Also, as the business
Results of a Google search for mobile catering vans in Perth
When searching for mobile catering vans in Perth, Hey Pesto appears close to the
bottom of the list on page three of the Google search. This, and other observations
made it clear to the team that Hey Pesto would benefit from some advice in the
area of ICT.

grows, it will become impossible to do everything himself. So whether

he acknowledges it yet or not, successful growth will be hindered without some form of recruitment.
 Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)

Solving Mat’s ICT issues could help economise his time quite substantially. As the backbone of the business, Mat is central in all operational tasks,
from ordering, cooking and cleaning to marketing and acquiring new contracts and jobs. Mat says "I spend hours on the Web looking for upcoming
events to apply to cater too". And Anna stated "I would be so happy to get out of doing the wages manually". Shrewd use of available technologies
could greatly enhance the operational efficiencies of Hey Pesto. This would in turn, likely save money, and positively affect Mat and Anna’s work-life
balance. Furthermore, strategic ICT implementation will likely increase customer base, something that Hey Pesto could benefit from – particularly at
the Manheim facility. ICT could also facilitate a smoother ordering process.

Currently, Hey Pesto is a family business. At this stage, the family is the core of the operation, and as such, certain dynamics exist. Some of these
dynamics are positive for the business, and some are without doubt negative. The relationships within Hey Pesto could be analysed and potentially
improved by some fresh and objective points of view. Should the business grow to a substantial entity, succession planning and/or exit strategies for
the family will need to be considered and arranged. There is also the potential for the business to grow to a point where other partners may become
involved. At that stage, formal ownership and operational positions should be solidified.

All three topics, HRM, ICT and Family Business, are strong topics that can be analysed for this case study. Due to the nature and the size of the
business, Mat and Anna’s minimal business experience and lack of clear direction, there is much scope to devise some strategies to enhance the
strong points and minimize the weaknesses of Hey Pesto. The topics to be covered and the direction of the report are to be confirmed after further
investigation into the specifics of Hey Pesto and its owner/operators.
Prepared by: A Gunawardene (1430 3366), T Lewis (1455 7956), C Sherwood (1428 1886) and T Symmington (1202 7318)