All Posts in "Frank Weeks"

1. Saying no

I’ve recently understood the power of a simple ‘no’, and drawing boundaries. Relationships formulated on trust and mutual understanding are the ones that take you forward. It is important to remind yourself of why you’re doing a certain job, or why you’d take on a certain client assignment. It needs to add value and not drain you out. There are times where you may choose to say no. Relationships that are trustworthy and strong will not get tarnished by this. Talking to another entrepreneur today, she said simply, “I can’t work with people that I don’t like”.

While this person has been in business for a while, and not every Startup founder can say that (especially when it’s a B2C business), it made me think. We spend a lot of energy trying to convince people of our ideas at times. Sometimes, it is indeed better to stay within the niches where people love our work and collaborate in a way that helps us stay more creative. Although this might sound like HR metric manipulation, it’s important to stay true to ourselves and say ‘no’ where we feel our ideas will get compromised in ways that we don’t like. After all, I thought, even when I am a founder and taking the big risk, why do I need the experiences of the usual 9-5 job where I can’t control it? I am a “yay-sayer”, but every now and then, saying ‘no’ is a good step to keep up … READ MORE ...

Frank Weeks by — September 1, 2018 in Economics Business Mathematics

Many of us take regular train journeys for work and probably don’t give the catering a second thought. Taking a trip on a train for pleasure, on the other hand, means a much keener interest in the dining carriage.

What railways need to know about on-train fine dining

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For the train companies, that poses a potential problem; when it comes to food, consumers are usually very quick to complain, so it’s really important for the caterers to get it right, or face adverse publicity very quickly. Poor food or service of food is one of the quickest measures to affect over passenger satisfaction, and it seems that there is a significant variation between operators – everything from Michelin-starred chefs right down to a lonely vending machine.

Some operators have taken the dining experience to the next level and gone to town with that as the USP, and the food is the reason for buying tickets rather than to get to a specific destination.

The Great Western Railway example

The Great Western Railway (GWR) is one operator that has really upped its dining game in recent years, engaging Mitch Tonks, restaurateur and chef, to create menus for the London to Penzance journey, specifically incorporating ingredients from local producers along the route.

What railways need to know about on-train fine dining

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GWR have made public their intention to recreate “the good old days” of luxury train travel as an experience in its own right, and they have incorporated all the details from linen tablecloths to silver service.

Start with the basics

All catering requires a behind … READ MORE ...

Frank Weeks by — July 27, 2018 in Culinary Business Ideas