I COME FROM a family of solicitors. My dad was a solicitor, both my sister and my cousin work as solicitors, and my other sister is training to be a solicitor.

My father had a firm in my hometown in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, and we all worked together in it – so it was very much a family business.

Like many country practices, my father’s firm covered a wide range of legal services, so I was exposed to the legal profession and business world from a very young age.

I started attending court with my dad from the age of 13. During my summer holidays, I would always work in the practice and remember that there was a lot of photocopying that needed to be done.

So it was a given that I would go down a similar route and become a solicitor myself.

I completed a law degree in Dublin and moved over to London to do the legal practice course, which is the English equivalent of Blackhall Place.

I got an apprenticeship over in London, and after completing my apprenticeship I moved back to Monaghan to work in my dad’s practice.

Although I went into law, my dad would always say to me, “Do whatever you want to do.” He assured me that I was welcome to come into the family firm if I wanted to.

But even as I got settled into the solicitor life, it was always in the back of my mind: Do I really want to do this – is this the life I want?

MARK.MAXWELL MARK.MAXWELL

Leaving law

Before I moved back from London to Ireland, I was always wondering if I would rather set up my own business than pursue this career. I just wasn’t enjoying law – it didn’t really motivate me.

But there was still something in my mind saying once I move home to Ireland it will all be fine. However, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Within the first two months in the family practice I realised it wasn’t for me.

I specifically remember I was in the office preparing for a case on a Sunday and it hit me. Not the fact I was in on the weekend, it was more so that I wasn’t really getting satisfaction out of the work.

What got the idea in motion was one evening when I was in my girlfriend’s house in Blackrock and we were sitting down to watch a movie.

We went to order some pizza in for dinner, and there was nothing like the quality available that we were used to in London. I was frustrated and giving out, and she was sick of me complaining and encouraged me to do something about it.

That was a Saturday night, and the next Monday I had flights booked to London to put the leg work that was needed in for researching the business.

The biggest thing that was on my mind was that I wanted to offer a completely different experience than people were used to – a little bit like what the speciality coffee sector has done.

During all this research phase, I didn’t say a thing to my parents about it. But when I had a clearer picture of what the business was going to be, I sat down with my parents and said I wasn’t happy with my career choice.

I then explained that I wanted to open my own wood-fired pizza delivery business, which I’m sure was a shock. Luckily, my parents were very understanding and supportive.

Setting up

For a number of reasons, I decided I wasn’t going to try and launch the business myself. So I brought in a partner who was my friend from boarding school – although he has since moved on from the business.

At the start, we were very hands-on and as a result you miss a lot of family and friends’ events because of that.

I remember I couldn’t go and watch a rugby game if I wanted – your social life just falls off the side of a cliff. That really took a bit of getting used to.

From day one when we started out in Terenure in 2008 we were always there – but naively we thought in the back of our heads that very quickly we would have a manager in place.

But because of the economic collapse, we just couldn’t afford to take on someone to look after the store.

It meant I spent over five years physically working in the stores between Ballsbridge and Terenure. These years in the stores have given me a great grounding where I was able to learn every facet of the business.

We got so ingrained in the business that we were even making the pizzas when needed.

I think one of the mistakes that I made was that I spent too long in the stores. After I took a step back, I noticed a massive change in terms of actually growing the business that I could never get around to before.

When you’re removed, you do feel a loss of control, but you have to trust that you have hired the right people.

Looking back on it, those first few years were really tough. We didn’t pay ourselves, and like many business owners at the time we encountered issues in terms of obtaining credit from the banks.

We were in a recession frame of mind as well, and it was all about keeping our costs as low as possible. But, at the same time, we needed to ensure we delivered an excellent product with great customer service.

In many ways, after experiencing the recession, that mindset stays with you. Setting up a business during tough times like those is a great learning curve and a great grounding for anyone new to entrepreneurship.

I don’t for one second regret opening in a recession, it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

Shane Crilly is the owner of Base Wood Fired Pizza. This article was written in conversation with Killian Woods as part of a series on business mistakes and what can be learned from them.

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Written by Shane Crilly and posted on Fora.ie