Trailblazing innovation within the hospitality industry with Mark Cribb, Urban Guild, Managing Director #14
With the hospitality sector in a state of relative disarray in lieu of the past year’s developments, and the government’s somewhat misguided response trying to help the industry, there are swathes of people begging to return to the kind of experiences and venues that incubate moments of genuine human connection. One man who hopes that his brand, and sector as a whole, emerge stronger than ever with a focus on facilitating the ‘touchpoints of humanity’ is Mark Cribb, the Managing Director of Urban Guild.
Joining Lee Cooper to detail the steps on his business journey and years of travelling which renewed his interest in creating moments that people cherish and enjoy, Mark shares his entry point to business ownership and the lessons he carries forward from running a market stall at an early age. He also elaborates on some ‘creative’ business expansion methods, and the importance of taking the first step into entrepreneurship without fear or, as Mark calls it, ‘the paralysis of analysis’.
Lee & Mark discuss:
The valuable business lessons learned from running a market stall
Feeling permanently out of your comfort zone when travelling
The difference between customer service and true hospitality
Creative methods of business expansion
Being motivated by ‘the touchpoints of humanity’
Support needed to alleviate the difficulties faced by the hospitality sector
Overcoming the ‘paralysis of analysis’
Links & references:
Lee Cooper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/
Mark Cribb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markicribb/
Urban Guild: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theurbanguild/
Get in touch: lee@extrology.com
Episode highlights:
“I remember when it became odd that at the end of the day, you didn't have more money than at the start of the day. My businesses now are very seasonal, so I can lose huge amounts of money for months on end going through the winter, but you have to look at it as this annual cycle of making money in the summer, losing it in the winter.” - 7:20 - Mark Cribb
“I bought a one way ticket to Bangkok, and a one way ticket out of Bali into Sydney. Those were the only two things that I planned. The rest of it was just to work out as I go. And I had this incredible adventure traveling the world, I ended up being gone for nearly two years.” - 11:05 - Mark Cribb
“The key bit of advice that I always give people now is: if you want to be self employed, if you're entrepreneurial, probably at some point practice with somebody else's money.” - 13:00 - Mark Cribb
“Genuine hospitality is like ‘Welcome into my space, can I get you a drink, have a seat’. It's not customer service, it's hospitality. For me, there's a big difference.” - 19:20 - Mark Cribb
“The bit I say to my team a lot is that I expect a lot, but I don't demand a lot. And my parents were the same for me. They never demanded anything from me, but they just had high expectations. And that expectation was fundamentally to be a decent human being. ” - 25:05 - Mark Cribb
“It sounds cliche but I sell time - time for people to spend with families or their loved ones, or in a business meeting, graduation or whatever it might be. That definitely goes back to my time traveling, falling in love with the touch points of humanity, and that gratitude. When I was kneeling down in a paddy field in Indonesia helping a local kid in the fields, it was just for a bit of fun for me, but it was this guy's life.” - 40:35 - Mark Cribb
“Good restaurateurs were failing before we went into the pandemic, which is where I sympathize with the government, I suppose. Having said that, the people coming off the back of this are the big companies, that in many ways have raised a lot of money. It was very depressing to read this week that McDonald's had actually grown their sales this year by 0.9%, and KFC had grown the sales in the last quarter of this year by 14%.” - 53:05 - Mark Cribb
“Does the government really understand how on its knees the sector is? It's no good coming out and saying you can have a 5% VAT rate for a year, and then us not being able to trade for that year. We’ve only actually been able to trade for nine weeks of this financial year properly. Nine weeks. ” - 56:09 - Mark Cribb
“Hospitality as an industry itself has done a wonderful job of shifting the dynamic, raising its profile and making a hugely viable career choice for so many people. And to your point, I just think the government needs to support it better as it does in many industries.” - 1:05:15 - Lee Cooper
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