Published: October 2nd, 2018
A Shropshire entrepreneur is enjoying the sweet taste of success after successfully launching a new doughnut shop thanks to help from a scheme funded via the Marches Growth Hub.
Duncan McGregor launched Planet Doughnut in Shrewsbury in May and has already seen the business boom as customers flock to sample his home-made, handcrafted treats.
Now he’s planning further growth as he targets the corporate market – and even has a doughnut subscription service in the pipeline.
Duncan said: "I’ve always been an entrepreneur and dabbled in side projects whilst working full time. My dream has always been to be my own boss and when my wife started making doughnuts to make a few pounds while she was on maternity leave I saw an opportunity which I thought could put my entrepreneurial and creative skills to the test.
"We handcraft our own yeast-raised doughnuts from home, hand decorate them and sell them via our new shop and stock other cafes around Shropshire."
Duncan said the one of the biggest challenges was juggling the start up process.
He attended a free Start-Up Workshop run by Shropshire based Good2Great, which is funded jointly by Shropshire Council and ERDF funding accessed via the Marches Growth Hub.
During the workshop, planning, marketing and, most importantly for any new business, time management and prioritising were worked through.
"Now I have opened, the challenges seem to be about planning ahead to deal with the busy times. The advice given by Good2Great’s Deborah Isis helped me plan my priorities and signposted me to help and advice that I didn’t even know about. Deborah was really motivational and an excellent soundboard for my ideas and plans."
Emma Chapman, Marches Growth Hub Shropshire manager, said: "We are delighted to have been able to help Duncan with the successful launch of Planet Doughnut and look forward to working with him further on the exciting plans he has for the future."
Duncan was thrilled with the reaction when Planet Doughnut actually launched.
"The first day we opened our shop, the queues were down the street and the feedback was amazing. It was a really emotional day to be honest."
He’s now looking to grow an offer to corporate clients with the ‘Diddy Doughnut’.
"These have gone down so well. They are the perfect ‘bite sized’ doughnut which can be branded with logos and company livery.
"We’re also about to launch a new doughnut subscription service where you can get doughnuts delivered straight to your home or office and pay for them on monthly Direct Debit. With new flavours every month it’s sure to go down well with busy offices all over Shropshire."
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