One graduate boldly turned down a job offer from a top company to open a hot dog business in the heart of the city.
Sam Walford, 21, graduated from Nottingham Trent University two months ago but has already found his way to success.
With investments in the thousands and ambitious plans for the future, he has just secured permission to open a new store in the city.
The graduate economist turned down several job offers to start his dream business on Clinton Street on September 9th.
He will have the stand set up on the street three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
It all started in his senior year at university, says Sam, when he prepared food for “all the boys” he lived with.
Sam said, “It all started in my house last year when I was living with six other guys.
“One day I was making steak, nuggets, and chicken wings and we were just having a big old feast.
“And I thought I really liked this idea of making food for people, and I wondered if I could make money from it.
“I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would like to run my own business so that I wouldn’t have to work for anyone for a while.
“I started an Instagram page and started cooking different types of food, and every week I advertised to my followers.
Sam graduated this May.
(Image: Sal Walford)
“I had a different menu every week and then people started messaging me to order.
Having knowledge of business and investment, he then began selling up to 20 fresh meals once a week.
In addition to working on his dissertation and studying most of the days, he devoted his Fridays to cooking.
He set up his little improvised restaurant in his kitchen and customers came and picked it up through the window.
Sam recalls, “I took all of my roommates out of the kitchen and cleaned the kitchen thoroughly before I started cooking because it was a student house, so it needed one.
“I had this little window that looked out onto the street and people would come and knock on my window and I would just pass the food through the window.
“Actually, it was pretty cool.”
However, the small start-up did not prevent him from achieving a 2: 1 in his studies and immediately being spoiled with job offers.
However, Sam’s dream was to become his “own boss” and become an entrepreneur at a young age.
“I have work experience in places like Spotify and have been offered positions such as training as a financial advisor and more.
“But I just thought that I would really enjoy it and that I would like to go ahead and be my own boss for the next few years while I can still afford to take risks.”
Without disclosing too much information about the cost of starting a new business, he said the initial investment is “in the thousands”.
One of Sam’s classy hot dogs.
(Image: Sam Walford)
He added, “The initial investment is a decent amount of money, but if I worked for a company it would be just a few months ‘rent or a couple of months’ salaries and I would get it back.
“So I thought it was a pretty good return on investment when things went well.
“It’s something I’m passionate about – cooking certain foods and then seeing everyone react as they eat.
“Because I studied economics at university, I can apply my degree and then other skills that I learned to the food industry that I do, so it all goes very well together.”
With plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them, he set up an Instagram page for his company and signed all the documents to secure his posh hot dog spot in the heart of the city.
About his dream business, which should soon become a reality, he added: “I have also just set up on Deliveroo.
“I had a couple of meetings with the manager of Deliveroo Nottingham.
“I got everything in order and will be ready to trade soon and hopefully the orders will be flooded.
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“I also have an online presence, which is so important to me.
“I mainly attack Instagram and Tik Tok.”
Sam aims to “bring life back to Clinton Street” and create the perfect hot dog spot where people can enjoy their food at an affordable price.
“You can get a nearly a foot long hot dog with a variety of toppings, and prices start from £ 3.50 to £ 6.50.
“You can get small mac and cheese pots and canned beverages too.
“My idea was to offer something that everyone can afford.
“For example, I would expect to pay around £ 10 for a takeaway, so I have food specials for £ 9.50 and if you order it on Deliveroo you pay no more than £ 10.50.
Sam imagined the business of his dreams and its development over time and said, “This is just the starting point, it will be good to have a facade, a pavilion on the street.
“Then people will know who I am and hopefully I’ll be able to move into a real large kitchen in a few months.
“I’ve already chosen my pitch, registered with the council so I’m ready to get started.”
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