THE NURTURER
PAUL CASTORINA AT THREE BEANS, NSW
Long-term franchisee Paul Castorina knows that enjoying the lifestyle is crucial to success in a hospitality business.
For Paul, his love of the cafe culture began way back in 1997 but it wasn’t until he got to know the founders of Three Beans that he could see a way to fulfil his dream to buy his own business.
“I had always wanted to do something. I knew the franchisor James as a customer at another food outlet I worked at, I started talking to him. It was a good step out. I didn’t have the confidence to go out on my own – he made it easy.”
Paul loved the concept of the cafe brand which focused on simple, healthy eating.
“It’s a good-food model, a good concept, the menu’s good, the coffee is great. I’d worked in Manly for 10 years and I was hoping that with my experience and their model we would make something pretty good.”
Although he had a hospitality background, he found it quite refreshing to learn new ways to do things. The franchise model allows for some flexibility in design and processes. Paul has been able to pick the best from his methods and from the Three Beans system.
“The franchisors are very approachable, they’re very supportive, so that makes it easy. They are welcoming and very calming when they need to be. They try out new things and offer advice about profitability,” he says.
Paul and his wife Jenny invested in a brand new cafe, starting up the Manly store from scratch with new staff.
While it’s definitely a family business, today Jenny’s role is focused on paperwork and admin.
FRANCHISING CAREER PATH FOR STAFF
Three years ago the couple were ready to take on a new store and bought the existing Warriewood Square cafe.
“We had become very comfortable; the Manly store has been steady for five years. I’m hands-on in the shop and we’ve had a lot of long-term, loyal staff, and the same chef, Lincoln Brazier, for the nine years.
“We started to get too many big fish in one shop. So we thought we might as well utilise that and go to a second store, and it’s just as successful as the first.”
Long-term staffer Chris Noble manages the second franchise.
Paul reflects on the valuable input Lincoln and Chris have made to his business: “It would have been a lot harder without them,” he says.
The foundation of success is good product, but Paul know it takes much more than this to build a sustainable business.
“We know what we do works – focusing on customers becoming family and regulars, creating a place where people feel so welcome so that the cafe is about more than just coffee, it’s a meeting place. That’s something we try to put into our work ethics in both our stores.”
Satisfyingly, within weeks of taking over the Warriewood outlet there was a dramatic improvement in turnover, profit and overall functionality at the store, Paul says.
“We spend a lot of time training, mostly hands-on, and we try to manoeuvre new staff into our existing style of service. It’s important to be streamlined and keep everyone happy with their roles and their hours.”
He’s keen to point out that expansion has been measured, based on his principle that the business foundation needs to be solid and growth steady rather than too fast. Now, however, Paul and Jenny are starting to look for a third outlet. “I’d like to have two more shops, maybe go into partnership with Chris and Lincoln and see them develop.”
MEASURING SUCCESS
“I am way ahead of where I thought I would be when I first started. Of course I’m after financial success but there’s more to it than that. There are other ways I measure success. We’ve been consistently busy for nine years, we have a very low turnover for our main staff – we’re a family.
“We’ve remained a top coffee shop in the Manly area, which even though the area is a tourist attraction, more than 60 per cent of customers are regulars. We sponsor school and sports teams, and help fundraise in the community. That has helped our success,” he says.
As a business owner Paul is able to adjust his workday to spend more time with his four children. That’s all made a lot easier with staff who are reliable and treat the business as their own, he says.
Life as a multi-unit franchisee is busy. But of course he loves the work: “Hospitality is not just about coffee or food, we enjoy it. I think the industry needs to be part of your life for it to flourish.”