Each week, we ask small businesses key questions.
Here we speak to Fenella Renwick, partner in The Seafood Shack in Ullapool, along with Kirsty Scobie.
How and why did you start in business?
I grew up in Achmore, Loch Carron, and from a very young age helped my mum out in the kitchen of Waterside Seafood Restaurant in Kyle, which she has owned for nearly 30 years. My dad is a fisherman and I would often join him on his boat, so seafood is in my blood.
I started washing dishes to earn money before progressing to waitressing, and I spent my teenage years working in the Waterside, or other restaurants and pubs in the area. I was then promoted to head chief in the Waterside for a season.
I met my husband, Mark, who is a commercial and scallop diver, in Ullapool and in 2009 moved with him to Dundonnell on Little Loch Broom, where he was raised. We then moved to Leckmelm on Loch Broom and, on July 23, 2012, I gave birth to our wee boy, Liam.
At the time, I was working as an auxiliary nurse at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. I found the work extremely rewarding but, with Mark working offshore, it was better for me to be at home with Liam, so I left in 2013. I wanted to get back to cooking seafood, but I also wanted to look after our son when he was tiny and I was lucky enough to be able to do so for two years.
I met Kirsty Scobie, who is from Ullapool, in 2014 and we became firm friends. She also has a background in cooking and her passion for seafood started when she met her partner, Josh Talbot, a local fisherman.
We saw there was a gap in the market for top quality, sustainable, freshly-cooked, Ullapool-landed seafood, and The Seafood Shack idea was born.
We formed a partnership, and at the end of 2015 we acquired a new trailer and kitted it out just the way we wanted, but only after supplementing our savings with £7,500 of crowd-funding to help pay for it.
After a lot of blood, sweat and the occasional tear, we opened The Seafood Shack on May 3, 2016, and we haven’t looked back.
How did you get to where you are today?
By loving our product and the area that we live in, being passionate about giving our customers only the best and believing in ourselves.
Who helped you?
The support from my family and Mark’s has given me immense confidence, and I know Kirsty says the same about hers and Josh’s.
Our friends and the local community have also played a huge part, and Josh’s mother, Laura, has had a few late night calls for help and never let us down.
We also joined the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and have benefited from a lot of useful advice and guidance on how to start our own business.
What has been your biggest mistake?
None yet, though it was a close call when we both suddenly realised that we’d put everything we’d got into the business without first trying each other’s cooking.
What is your greatest achievement?
Meeting Mary Berry when she filmed in our shack for her recent TV series was a huge honour, but being nominated for the 2017 Scottish Food Awards and 2017 BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards in our first year has got to be our greatest achievement. It’s humbling to know that people took the time to nominate us.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
As a start-up business, we had amazing support from groups like FSB but very little from government agencies.
Starting a business is daunting and to know that loans or grants are available would really encourage young people to set up for themselves. We couldn’t have done it without crowd-funding.
What do you still hope to achieve?
The shack has been the perfect start but we would naturally love to open our own seafood restaurant. If mum can do it, so can I.
What do you do to relax?
Mark has a boat, and I love going out fishing with him and Liam in the summer. I also love river fishing – I’ll often drop Liam off at nursery and fish for an hour before going to the shack.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on the TV?
Cooking programmes, though I do love Peaky Blinders.
What do you waste your money on?
Lego.
How would your friends describe you?
A hard-working and caring mum.
What would your enemies say about you?
Kirsty and I are both pretty chilled and we just get on with our own lives, so I don’ think that we have many enemies – but I could be wrong.
What do you drive ?
An Audi A6. It’s great for the Highlands.
