Who are you?

We are Richard Naismith and Sharon Campbell, owners of The Wee Bistro.

What does your business do?

The Wee Bistro is a restaurant serving fresh quality food, a wide range of wines and top Italian coffee.

Where are you based?

It took us a few months but we found our ideal location on Eaglesham Road in Clarkston.

How did you get started?

We already had experience of running a restaurant as Richard has owned his own ventures previously in New Zealand and in other parts of the UK.

We wanted to settle in Glasgow and launch a restaurant which sources the highest quality local produce.

Once we created the menu and found our location we personally selected our staff from the local area.

What is your background?

Our own experience has been a lifelong journey and passion for excellent food and customer service.

Richard is an award winning professional chef and for the last 26 years has worked with some of the best cooks in the world.

Sharon has an interior design background and together we have travelled and worked all over the world.

The Wee Bistro allows us the opportunity to combine our skills and experience.

What is your top business tip?

Define your product or service and ensure you do it well.

How long has your business been running?

Since October 2015

Has anyone helped you get started and how?

Business Gateway East Renfrewshire and adviser Colin McNally in particular supported us with initial premises searches, the development of our business plan and financial forecasting.

Going forward we will seek Business Gateway’s advice on elements including marketing strategy and our social media presence.

What was your biggest mistake/what would you do differently?

Make sure that everything being sold as part of a going concern is working properly and has the correct certificates. The previous owner had closed the restaurant before we had a chance to work with them so it was only later that we realised a lot of the equipment was faulty and did not have the relevant certificates in place. It was a schoolboy error on our part and thankfully wasn’t as costly as it could have been.

Who was your mentor and is your inspiration?

We continue to inspire each other. We also believe in the old saying that every day is a school day.

Where do you plan your business to be in five years time?

We hope to use this business model to roll out similar sized restaurants in the future.

Useful contacts:

Business Gateway East Renfrewshire 0141 530 2407 / www.bgateway.com/east-renfrewshire

Contact Details:

The Wee Bistro, 09 Eaglesham Road, Clarkston, G76 7BU / 0141 644 0373