In our latest ‘What’s Cooking’, we hear from hospitality consulting specialist, Sohani Bitton of Bitton Consulting. From advising on supply chain to product development to marketing, Sohani’s consulting business perfectly complements Bitton Gourmet, the cafe she launched in 2000, in Alexandria NSW.
Sohani explains the beginnings of her business, what it took and how long before the business paid her a wage.
From the challenges of setting up her next cafe and the good and bad of social media, Sohani has met them all, so much so, today she’s thriving.
Sohani’s passion for food and admiration of women in business and the wisdom she has acquired are some of the secrets to her success.
Your business name: Bitton Consulting
How would you describe the business you are in? hospitality and business consulting
For me and my business, inspiring and promoting women in business is extremely important.
What do you love about your work?
Food is my passion. Coming from an Indian family and marrying a Frenchman, the love for food is in our blood. I love assisting other businesses with their challenges and giving back to an industry that has given us so much!
What part of your job would you gladly give away?
Dealing with everyday reviews on Social Media, everyone thinks they are a food critic. Social media plays a huge part in instant gratification. Both positively and negatively!
If you were starting out in business again today, what piece of advice would you give your younger you?
Trust your gut. Have a business mentor. Have a solid financial plan and recruit people that are smarter than you. Sorry that is more than one piece of advice!
Women start business 41% of the time to solve a problem. Sometimes this means we have a great vision but don’t have enough resources to sustain our business for the long term. Tell us what resources you started your business with.
My husband and I started our business with $10,000, which we’d saved. This included set up and renovation of the premises. We didn’t have a financial plan and assumed our business would just take off, which it didn’t for some time. We only started paying ourselves about a 1 year after opening.
As you know we are passionate about women #backingthemselves. So tell us about a time in the last twelve months that you’re really proud of.
Our flagship cafe in Alexandria is now 17 years old and we have always wanted another one, however somehow we didn’t have the confidence to do it all again. We opened up Bitton Oatley just over a year ago and are so proud of ourselves for taking the leap! It has been hard, with another set of challenges yet we are now reaping the benefits and are proud of our achievements.
As we are always growing and learning, what is the one thing you would like to take time to learn more about?
I love to hear entrepreneurs speak, regardless of what industry they are in. Especially when they have built a business from the ground up, I love to hear what has inspired them and what drives them. Learning from others is the best way to grow.
The world is changing so fast and technology enables us to do so much more. We’re interested in which app you could not live without and why?
Whatsapp is the way we communicate as a team internally, I think this is a better and more efficient way of corresponding between each other.
Why did you decide to become a member of Females in Food®
I was recommended to join from a friend that was part of the network. For me and my business, inspiring and promoting women in business is extremely important. Especially now more than ever, women deserve to be treated the same as men across all industries!
We love to celebrate the successes. Can you give us an example of how VIP Membership to Females in Food has positively impacted your business?
Reading about the inspiring women at Females in Food has helped me grow as a person.
Thank you Sohani for your sharing your story with us. It’s so inspiring to read of a woman growing her businesses through trust and by taking calculated risks. You are a true entrepreneur and we love that you are inspired by other entrepreneurs and are so incredibly supportive of women in the industry.
Interested in joining our community but missed out on becoming a Females in Food VIP Member in 2017? Make sure you are the first to find out when enrolment opens again. Join our waitlist here.
Want to read more about another successful Females in Food VIP Member? Check out our ‘What’s Cooking’ interview with founder of Eat Organic Yoghurt, Chauntelle Ready.
We’d love to hear your comments about what’s inspired you in this ‘What’s Cooking’ interview or any one of our other blog posts. At Females in Food we believe in many voices and know the importance of building a community. Your comments are important for women who may be feeling alone, just so they know they aren’t and that in fact there is a big #empoweredcollective right behind them.
The Females in Food team