A Slice of Life at Pizza Shed with James and Tando

You began the business in a shed in your back garden during lockdown. Today, you’re trading in two locations. What was that transition like?

We chatted earlier about how you put a lot of heart and soul (and sweat), into renovating and decorating the Observatory store yourselves. What did that entail?

As a small business grows, the role of a business owner evolves as you hire a team and have a little bit more capital to outsource things. What has this looked like for you?

It’s a big shift, and people management comes up time and time again as something that small business owners initially struggle with. How have you approached this?

Now for the million rand question: what’s the most challenging thing about running the business?

Loadshedding aside, you’ve also had to deal with a fire in your Observatory store; I think it’s easy for a business to be completely derailed when things go wrong, and you end up treading water instead of moving forward. How do you overcome challenges and make sure you’re still growing?

What are some lessons you’ve learned that might be helpful to someone who wants to take the leap and start their own business?

Let’s talk about your relationship with Yoco: what has your experience been like so far?