Tips for Success in 2021!

By Rory Ireland who is the sales director of Bristol Twenty Coffee Co.

What are your  top marketing or PR tips for 2021?

1. Keep it up. I know social media feels like a second job but having that presence has helped us hugely

2. Keep it relevant but also personable. Throw in some pics of the kids or the dogs, it keeps people interested. 

3. Create the ‘brand’ not just a great product, become something that people recognise as a brand they love. You can also add new products to it as you grow, and it won’t look out of place. 

What are your top financial tips for 2021? 

1. Keep a close eye on not just your profit & loss but cash flow too, we have seen a lot of small businesses think they are doing fine cause their P&L tells them, but just run out of cash.

2. Keep on top of your debtors and do not let them slip into bad habits.

3. Stress the small things; £50 here and £100 there is far easier to get out of control than the big bills

Who are your top business buddies in your corner going into 2021? 

• @iamnotabarista a great supporter of the industry
• @rileynthomas responsible for our brand and marketing
• @beyondthebean our supplier of syrups and chocolate

What are your ethics for 2021?

• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Know where your products come from and how they are produced
• Treat everyone as you would like to be treated

What top attributes you are looking for in staff/suppliers in 2021? 

• Small independently owned
• Stand for the same things we do
• Understand our business

What is your take on the word ‘free’ in business? 

There is no such word as free these days, everything has cost implications. Even when we use it when referring to our packaging being ‘free’ from plastic, there are costs involved in making it so.

What will you be investing in this year? 

• Electric vehicles
• We would love to bring our compostable cup production inhouse

What are you doing for charity or community this year? 

We will continue to work with Above & Beyond the Bristol Hospital Charity. We made our 21 Ten blend in partnership with them and £1 from each kilo sold goes to supporting our city centre hospitals

What are your  ‘absolute no-nos’ for 2021 in business? 

We don’t feel we are just suppliers or clients to people, we like working ‘with’ people and if people don’t feel the same way it's probably not going to work. 

Any special offers for January or February 2021 you’d like to mention? 

We will be starting up our month ‘discovery’ promotion where we highlight a different coffee producing area and offer a discount on webshop sales. We’re trying to get people to try something new and step away from their usual brew.

For more information visit www.bristol-twenty.co.uk