I took a massive risk which really paid off for me.” "Without The Prince’s Trust introducing me to start-up loans, I wouldn’t have been able to secure my second loan and complete the shop. I used all my spare time to plan the shop launch. At this point I had stopped takeaways and had a full-time job to support myself. "Doing takeaways from my grandad’s old kitchen wasn’t going to work anymore so I made the decision to open my own shop. "Business got tough, and I was losing money near enough every week," he explained. Once the lockdowns ended, and the demand for takeaways dwindled, Blake had to adapt and change his business model. I had to learn most of this from scratch, which was possible with The Trust’s support." "When I decided I wanted to set up my own business, I recognised that I needed more support in terms of how to run it - costings, profit, marketing and tax. Believe in yourself and you can do whatever you want. Stuff can be hard now but things can turn around. You might be struggling now and that might be affecting you but what your future can hold can be completely different. "My advice to other kids having a hard time at school would be to focus on the future. "Initially I started cooking for family and friends and it just grew from there," said Blake, who was also awarded a Joshua Ribera Achievement Award in February 2022 in recognition of his success. He left early with no qualifications and, fearing long-term unemployment, decided to take his future into his own hands, seeking help by enrolling on a Prince's Trust enterprise course. Now 21, Blake has been presented with the NatWest Enterprise Award as part of the The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards which recognise young people who have succeeded against the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community.īy his own admission, Blake didn't do well at school. Read more: The story behind Blake Bentley's Scran Man success So it made sense for him to start his own Scran Man café and takeaway - but what was interesting was the way he wanted to give back to the community by feeding the homeless, supporting local charities and recruiting young people. Soon, the 19-year-old was getting up to 30 orders a day, cooking them at his Great Barr home and delivering them with his brother. Blake Bentley had already built up a following on Instagram when he began sharing photos of the mac and cheese, fried chicken wings, Philly cheese steaks and loaded fries he was cooking up at home.Īs it was right in the middle of the Covid lockdown, people started to ask if they could place orders. When American soul food takeaway Scran Man launched in Great Barr in May 2022, there was lots of excitement around the opening.
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