Meet Dan, 24, to find out more about life as a kitchenware maker and business owner. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
I found maths really interesting back at school and that's definitely helped us whilst running our own business.
Hi I'm Dan, I'm 24 and I make professional kitchenware.
We create handmade bespoke chef's knives selling to chefs all over the world. Me and Justin, my business partner, we're both chefs for many many years which meant we've used so many chefs knives, we decided to make our own.
We forged out our first knife in his back garden using a rock as an anvil and a really dodgy hammer, and after that we both learnt that rocks do explode so we learnt very quickly that making chef's knives wasn't as easy as just whacking a bit of steel with a hammer.
I cut out the steel I also do all the forging, the grinding going through the inventory and work out what stock we have and order all the materials. Measurements are really important because for what we do we need complete precision.
Me and Dan both have our own strengths he's very very quick off the mark soon as we've got an idea, he's straight on it he's very creative, comes up with some really really cool designs. If we didn't work well as a team we just wouldn't be able to have a business.
So I found Maths really interesting back at school and it's definitely come to help us whilst running our own business. We need to work out all of our income, our outgoings it can have massive implications on the tax and even worse we can lose our business.
Running your own business is the most amazing feeling as long as you keep on track of all the ordering and the accounts and have some sort of schedule it becomes a breeze.
- Dan was a chef and now runs a kitchenware business called Pareusi with one of his friends, Justin
- While a chef, he started making his own knives
- They decided to set up their own business
- Dan liked Maths at school and that's been useful in many ways: doing the company accounts, ordering correct quantities of materials, dealing with customer orders, taking measurements etc.
- Dan and Justin learnt a lot about themselves and how to work together and collaborate. Both have different skills which make the business work.
What to expect if you want to be a business owner
The salary and working hours when you own a business can vary enormously but what's most important is that you work hard and love what you do.
Working for yourself looks different for each person and each business, but in general it means you:
- run your own business and are responsible for its success
- can decide how, when and where you do your work
- charge an agreed, fixed price for your work
- sell goods or services to make a profit
- can hire people at your own expense to help you or to do the work for you.
You can be both employed and self-employed at the same time. You can work for your employer during the day, for example, and run your own business in the evenings and at weekends. It’s important to contact HMRC for advice if you’re not sure if you’re self-employed.
You can get help with setting up or developing your business, through the government’s business support services, for example, for advice about tax or about how to find funding to start your business.
This information is a guide (source: GOV.UK).
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
Work experience in your area
Find work experience placements with Workfinder.
Tips and advice
Help with interviews, writing a CV and all things work experience related.
Gemma: fashion designer
Gemma launched her own fashion brand.
Tom: pizza business owner. video
Tom's entrepreneurial journey started when he was just 15.
Poppy: beauty retail business owner
Poppy runs her own skincare business online.
