“Imagine, its 1988 and the songs in the charts in the UK include, Kylie Minogue’s – I should be so Lucky. I step in to a tearoom in Harrogate, North Yorkshire; hear piano music; it’s a Sunday morning; there are clouds in the sky but its relatively sunny; I have my first taste of smoked Scottish salmon with soft creamy scrambled eggs; I even remember what I was wearing; and I think to myself, I’d love to own a business like this tearoom one day – by the time I’m 50…
that was 30 years ago. 30 YEARS AGO! and I still remember the day, how it made me feel and exactly what I ate…that’s the most amazing thing about being a tearoom owner – we get to create memories which last a life time. I never dreamed I would be doing it here in the States. And yes, I feel very Lucky!”
This was the opening to one of the sessions at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas in June 2018, as British Tea Room Owner, Tina Jesson, shared her pivotal story.
Tina is on a mission to help tearoom owners to build their businesses and get their lives back, based on her 20 plus years in business both in the UK and USA. She has seen many tearooms, cafes and bakeries close over the years due to owners illness, burnout and not having the skills to delegate and it’s such a shame. She wants to make sure that others don’t make the same mistakes she has made (and she will openly admit she has made many), and share the insider secrets that have made her Indiana tearooms go from survive to thrive.
Tina is the owner of Tina’s Traditional Old English Tearooms in Carmel and Columbus www.TinasTraditional.com and has set-up a closed facebook group called Tea Room Secrets, where she regularly post tips and video presentations on what’s currently working and what’s not, in her business for other owners to share. It’s also a place where you can see a full version of her talk as she steps you through each slide with video.
Over the years, Tina has developed a number of training programs on business growth & development (www.VisibilityCreator.com) in the form of business retreats and now for tea business owners includes British baking, recipes and menu creation, how to leverage multiple streams of revenue, marketing & visibility strategies for your business growth, how to grow beyond just you so you can take time off, still run your business and reduce your stress & improve your health. She is now adding in tours of her own business operation and tours to the UK to see how British tearooms have inspired the tearoom movement in the USA.
If you own a tearoom owner or aspire to be (or have a cafe or tea shop), you can get further information and a free business growth kit at www.TeaRoomSecrets.com