Hi, Max, thanks for having us
here today at Tukk & Co.

- Welcome.
- Things are all going well?

Oh, it's going really well.

But I'm really interested
as to how you got started.

Because cafes are not
your background, are they?

No, it's not.

I was a design architect and
graphic designer for a few years.

I suppose I got to learn
to love Melbourne

and the street food culture
and the cafe culture.

Eventually I decided to create
something from scratch

for my own self.

CRAIG: One of the keys
to any successful business

is the people, right?

You've got to find people that
tap into your vision

and sort of feel the passion
for your business like you do.

- Absolutely.
- How hard has that been
to get the right people here?

It has been quite a long process.

Because this was
completely empty shell.

When the renovation was happening,

that was the time
that I was looking for

the right people to join the team.

- CRAIG: And it's worked out well.
- MAX: It has been so far. Yes.

So, Max, you've been in business
about four months, is that right?

- Four months now, yes.

So what would be your biggest
challenges you've faced

over the last four months?

MAX: Everything.

'Cause I have zero experience in
this kind of hospitality industry,

coming from a design background.

I learnt everything from scratch

and with the help of a lot of people
as well as the help from NAB.

So in the very beginning

the bank has actually played
a very important role

for a small business starter
like myself,

to actually get everything organised
and start from scratch.

Brilliant.

What's the growth been like?

It has been quite a gradual
but steady growth.

We use a lot of software to measure
our performance down to the hour.

And it has been showing very kind of
optimistic trends so far.

I would like a 100% satisfaction
rate from my coffee drinkers

and burger eaters around here, yeah.

CRAIG: Brilliant.

So if we look at your business,

you've created a terrific ambience,
great atmosphere.

Lots of loyal customers, great food.

You've got great people.
What's next?

MAX: That's something
that I want to know.

I have always been
thinking about expansion

and develop it into something else,

but I probably need
a bit of guidance.

One of the things
I'm a little bit concerned about is,

if you're looking
to expand too early,

you've only got four months
of cash flow.

It's really good to get 12 months,

because then you can see
the seasonal flows.

You'll certainly see
an uplift in summer,

but also over January,

because you're exposed to
a lot of office workers,

you'll see a big downturn

as everyone disappears
for Christmas holidays.

Because I'm not very experienced
in the business background area,

what's your kind of view on
this kind of small business?

Yeah, look, it's a great question.

A lot of our customers ask us that

and it's not an easy one
to answer, actually.

It's a little bit of the instinct,

and balanced by I guess
research and some facts.

I've actually got an acronym which
is fairly apt for your business

which might just help us with going
through some of those things,

and it's called RECIPE.

MAX: RECIPE?
CRAIG: Right? RECIPE.

So the R for RECIPE
stands for replicate.

If you think about all the unique
factors you've got here

that are working for you,

how easy would it be for you
to sort of pick that up,

and place it somewhere else
and be just as successful?

So that's a key one.

Another one,
the E is external factors.

So they're the things that
you don't directly influence,

but have a massive impact
on your business.

Now, it could be anything.

Could be local regulations
or council by-laws.

It could be what's happening
in the cafe industry -

is there something innovative
and new and great

that's sort of taking customers
in that direction?

And can you flex to meet that need?

The C stands for cash...

Well, in fact, there's two Cs -
cash flow and capital.

Obviously, when you open up
new premises you need capital.

You're gonna buy another
coffee machine or two.

Your furniture and fittings,
that sort of thing.

And cash flow - cash flow's key.

As soon as you unlock the door,

you need to pay, as you know,
for your employee's salaries,

your stock -
all those sort of things.

And the key to that is to make sure

that the ability to cash flow
the new premises

isn't too much of a draw
on this place.

You need to be confident enough
that this is producing enough

to finance the next one.

Next, the I represents individual.

So that's you.

So how important are you to this
place in terms of its success?

And how much time would you have
to dedicate to the new premises?

A lot of people underestimate
just how much time is involved

with making the new premises
or the new business work.

So you need great people here
that can step up and take your role,

in ensuring that
the ambience here continues.

And the P is people. Which sort of
leads off on that, right?

You've got great people here.
Great talent.

People that do share your vision
and the passion for the business.

How easy would it be to find them
again? Because that's critical.

And, look, the last one, the E,
is external advice.

And again, don't underestimate
the external advice.

So, good legal advice
if you're looking for new premises.

A great accountant that can help you
with your cash flow forecast,

your financials.

And, of course,
your terrific NAB banker.

If you get those three
fully informed,

they'll really help you.

NAB.com.au under small business

has some terrific tools
and products and guides,

and business.gov.au also
is a great source of information.

- Fantastic.
- Max, thanks for chatting to me.

It's been absolutely fantastic,
and you should be very proud,

as we are at NAB,
of what you've achieved here.

- Thanks very much, Max. Cheers.
- Thank you a lot.

I love Max's passion and creativity.

And I also loved Craig's
RECIPE acronym.

Is it important for every small
business to do something similar?

I think the RECIPE acronym
is a fantastic example of

some bullet points you can hold
yourself true to and accountable,

so that you can keep yourself
on the path to success.

And I think that's really critical

when you're starting out in a
business and you're inexperienced,

because you're learning
every day on the job.

So something like that RECIPE
acronym can really, really help.

And a key to success is the passion
of the business owner, isn't it?

You've gotta love it.
Max was a graphic designer.

Had a passion for a cafe,
so he started it.

This is a fascinating story.

This is someone that moved from
something completely different

to start their own
small business dream.

But I think it's really important
you continue to learn,

because you're learning on the job
every day in small business.

So you need to make sure that you've
got your business bedded down

and operating the way
that you need to,

before you think about
future expansion.

Because an untimely expansion
can put pressure on you.

Yeah, that's for sure.

I mean, cash flow is absolutely
critical to small business.

So if you're setting up and looking
to expand into a new business,

that can have a real drain
on your cash flow

and that can actually impact on

the business that you've already
set-up and got operating.

That is a great tip, Tim.

Thanks for joining us.
Good to see you.