A Barnham café owner on being nominated for a business award and why 'hard work counts for a lot'

Ricky Corbin, owner of Baps 'n' Buns, Barnham, with labrador Bella

Vicky Edwards meets Barnham café owner Ricky Corbin

You were nominated for a Federation of Small Business award. Will you tell me more? We were one of five finalists in the South East Region at the Micro Business of the Year Awards. There were 3,800 entries, so I’m pretty pleased with the result! At 24 I was the youngest there, so I was very nervous. But I really enjoyed it.

How did you start out? I was 13 when I went to Baps ‘n’ Buns, which was then a bakery and sandwich shop. I did my work experience there and loved it. The owner, Helen, offered me a job as a Saturday boy. I then scraped a couple of exams and went to do catering at college, combining it with an apprenticeship at Baps ‘n’ Buns. I finished college with a Distinction and started with Helen full-time.

She wanted to step back, so she made me manager. I was overseeing a team of four people, all older than me. I will always be grateful to Helen for believing in me and inspiring me. When I was 17, thinking I should experience life a bit more, I worked in the care industry for a year. I loved it, but my heart was with Baps ‘n’ Buns.

What happened next? Helen wanted to retire, so I approached banks for a loan to buy Baps ‘n’ Buns. They all laughed at me. I asked Helen if she would be a silent partner if I could raise half the money. She agreed.

Aged 21, I managed to get a government-backed start-up loan. Things were going really well – then Covid happened. Our turnover didn’t even cover the electric. We had to furlough our staff and I worked in the bakery from 6am to noon, then as a carer until 11.30pm.

But somehow we managed. We even helped our local pharmacy by using our delivery van to deliver prescriptions along with the bread and eggs we were supplying. We also linked with a local nursery that had been badly let down by a major supermarket. We sold plants out the front and it worked so well that we have done it ever since.

And after Covid? I applied for a loan when the government were supporting businesses after the pandemic and bought Helen out. We refurbished, transforming into more of a café. We now seat 12 people inside and eight outside.

We offer good quality locally sourced traditional food, which goes down really well. We also do outside catering, including working lunches for local surgeries and pharmaceutical companies. We also have a local sandwich round.

How have the awards inspired you? I’m looking to the future and planning! Being a regional finalist has also reminded me that I am following my dream. If any young person feels like they have been written off, I would say don’t write yourself off. Remember that a good attitude and hard work counts for a lot.

Where is Baps ‘n’ Buns? 38 Barnham Road, Barnham. www.bapsnbuns.co.uk

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