Lincoln
Ben Hadfield – Stocktaker
Ben Hadfield – Stocktaker Lincolnshire
Based in Lincoln and covering Grimsby, Louth, Sleaford, Scunthorpe
I became a stocktaker as I wanted to have a more free lifestyle, having worked in the hospitality industry for 12 years I wanted to have a change in work life balance and have a little more freedom to plan evenings and weekends.
My Stocktake UK business, as a Stocktaker in Lincolnshire, developed very rapidly, and within a year I had a full diary of clients and was very busy heading near and far to look after a variety of hospitality businesses. Over the years I have refined several aspects of my business, I now have a large base of independent clients with some small groups, the vast majority of my clients being more local to where I live and set up my Stocktake UK business.
I have a background in hospitality prior to becoming a stocktaker, working in independent restaurants, bars and hotels in a variety of positions, with the last being a food and beverage manager in a three star hotel, with banqueting, a rosette awarded restaurant and a popular cocktail bar.
To be perfectly honest I found the first year difficult as a Stocktake UK franchise. The transition from hotel life to self-employment wasn’t as I expected, however over the years the blend of working with on my own and in a team of other Stocktake UK franchisees, getting to know my clients more and more the initial worries seem like a distant memory.
I am a keen runner in my social life running in a club and helping organise a number of events. I’m by no means the quickest runner but I do enjoy the social side and rehydrating in a pub after a run is always required. I have recently passed WSET qualifications to become a qualified sommelier and been learning French as a hobby, I believe its important to keep challenging yourself and try to develop skills, and who doesn’t enjoy a good glass of wine. I’m also a retained firefighter in my spare time so have been serving my local area of North Lincoln for some years now, I have found great camaraderie in the crew I work with, weekly training and keeping a competent level of fitness are required which feed into my enjoyment of personnel development. I intent to continue to develop my franchise and learning.
If you could go back in time and offer your former self any advice what would it be?
Start to broaden your horizon sooner, you never know when it will become relevant.
Being self employed allows you to see various businesses that you may not have thought about working in, I regularly work in Hotels, Bars, Restaurants but am also able to work with Sport Stadium, Music Arenas, Holiday Resorts, Working Men’s Clubs and more. I have helped train various team members along the way and have helped develop wine menus, cocktail lists, allergen lists and more to various clients. The options for work are more varied than you would think, there is real satisfaction in going back to a venue and seeing your impact on a venue.
Starting up a business can be a lot of hard work at the start. However, after a while you can step back and guide the business where you would like to head, and you make a lot of friendships along the way.
Stocktaker in Lincolnshire.
