I opened up a cafe for the first time... I thought I'd be rich in six months - but here is where I went wrong

A woman who opened a cafe for the first time and thought she would be rich in six months has revealed where she went wrong with her business.

Sally Paton, 61, decided to quit her job in London and open Sally Sue's Sandwich Bar in Dartford, Kent, with a view to getting rich quick.

However, Ms Paton says her shop is now on the brink of closure with takings down 50%, while the cost of supplies has doubled.

Prior to opening the sandwich bar, Sally had worked as a wholesaler in London's Covent Garden for the previous 25 years and admits that her sudden choice of career change left her poorly prepared for her new challenge.

She says that she even bought the premises for the sandwich shop without informing her husband of her decision.

Ms Paton said: I'd always wanted to run my own shop. I saw this empty one on the way to work one day and thought I'd just go for it. I didn't even know what I'd sell.'

'I thought I'd be rich within six months. I had all these plans about what I would do with the money. I was going to buy a new car.

'I was just going to get a kettle and do everything myself'.

However, the new shop owner was taken aback by the amount of money she had to spend just to get her dream site up and running - with the combined cost of a coffee machine and a fridge setting her back a whopping £7,600.

She also admitted that being inexperienced in the role counted against her, as she made just £23 on her first day.

Sally added: 'I didn't know what I was doing. As it got busier friends would come in and end up staying to make sandwiches and help me out.

'I was working sixteen-hour days. I lost two stone in three months.'

She then got her husband to help out by boiling eggs and preparing sandwiches for the next day before eventually using suppliers to source her fillings.

This saw business take off, as Sally began receiving orders for corporate events, along with a reliable stream of local customers.

In the last 11 years, she has increased her staff to eight, including her daughter Sasha, and said she absolutely loves her job.

'I love everything about it,' she said. 'I love the customers. They've become friends. I love the staff. We have such a laugh.'

She even says that she was largely unaffected by the pandemic, as she was given money by the Government and made a profit thanks to sending deliveries to furloughed customers and locals working from home.

However, Sally says she has seen the number of customers cut by half after people returned to working from offices, while the cost of supplies has doubled.

She has had to lay off half of her staff, but is reluctant to put up her prices.

She lamented: 'If I do that, people won't come I understand that. We are all in the same boat.

'People haven't got the money but I just ask people to come in and buy a packet of crisps, just to keep us going.'

Fighting back tears, Sue added: 'I have been here 11 years and I don't want to close. It's like giving away a baby. If I have to lose this, that's exactly how it would feel.

'I don't want to be rich anymore. I just want to stay open.'