When you run a small business, you very quickly learn that customers are everything.
Obviously, that's not exactly groundbreaking. No customers = no business. We don't need to be business geniuses to work that one out.
But what we didn't really expect was just how much we'd come to appreciate the people who order from us.
Because when you're a small business, an order isn't just an order.
We see the name.
Sometimes we recognise it straight away.
And sometimes, before we've even opened the order, we're already thinking, I bet I know which pizza they've gone for.
Then we open it.
And we're either right...
or completely bloody wrong.
Because when you see the same names coming through regularly, you start to know people's pizza choices.
You know who always goes for the same favourite, who rarely changes their toppings, and you definitely notice when someone suddenly goes rogue and orders something completely different.
Apparently, we've reached the stage where we have opinions about our customers' pizza choices.
Not judging, obviously.
Well...
Maybe a little.
And that's what happens. You start recognising people.
You notice when someone disappears for a while and then pops back up. You notice the regulars. You start to feel like you know the people behind the orders, even if it's only from seeing their names come through.
And honestly, it's lovely.
Especially when you remember that these people don't have to order from us.
There are plenty of places they could go.
They could try somewhere new, stick with somewhere they've always used, or decide they're having something completely different for tea.
But they choose us.
And that means something.
So does someone telling a friend about us.
Because when you recommend a small business to someone, you're not just saying, “Try this place.”
You're putting your own opinion behind it.
You're saying, I liked it. I think you'll like it too.
And for us, that carries a lot more weight than people probably realise.
The same goes for reviews.
We might read one quickly between orders, or see a message come through when we're busy, but that doesn't mean we don't take it in.
We do.
Those little comments stick with you.
Especially when someone tells us they've really enjoyed their pizza, that they've been meaning to try us for ages, or that they've brought somebody else with them because they wanted them to try it too.
Those things make us stop for a second.
Because this is still just Wayne and me.
There's no big team behind The Pan Yard.
No marketing department.
No bloke in an office somewhere deciding our customer engagement strategy.
It's Wayne making pizzas and me doing all the bits around the pizzas.
And then there's everything else.
The planning.
The ordering.
The messages.
The social media.
The cleaning.
The stock.
The worrying.
The second-guessing.
The “have we remembered everything?”
The “why isn't this working?”
The “oh for God's sake.”
And occasionally the “what the hell are we doing?”
Running a small business isn't always glamorous.
Sometimes it's exciting.
Sometimes it's brilliant.
Sometimes it's bloody hard work.
And sometimes you're standing there surrounded by pizza wondering why you ever thought this was a sensible idea.
Then something happens.
An order comes through from someone we've seen before.
Someone leaves a lovely review.
A customer tells us they've recommended us.
Or somebody who's been ordering since the home-based days walks through the door at the shop.
And suddenly you remember.
This.
This is what it's about.
We've gone from making pizzas from home to having our own place at 7 Mercer Row.
We've watched the business change.
We've changed with it.
We've made mistakes.
We've learnt.
We've probably overthought a ridiculous number of things.
And we've kept going.
But we haven't done that on our own.
Every person who has ordered from us has played a tiny part in getting The Pan Yard to where it is now.
Some of you have ordered once.
Some of you have ordered loads of times.
Some of you have been there since the beginning.
Some of you have only just found us.
And that's okay.
We're grateful for every single one.
Because behind every order is an actual person who decided that tonight, they wanted a Pan Yard pizza.
And honestly, we don't take that for granted.
So if you've ordered from us, recommended us, left us a review, shared one of our posts, sent us a message or simply told us that you enjoyed your pizza...
Thank you.
You might think you're just ordering a pizza.
For us, you're helping build something.
And when you're a small business, that's not something you ever take for granted.
Because yes, we're trying to build a business.
Yes, we want The Pan Yard to grow.
Yes, we've got plans.
But underneath all of that are the people who have chosen to support us.
And that's probably the bit we appreciate most.
You aren't just numbers on a screen.
You're the reason there's a screen full of orders in the first place.
And that's something we'll never get bored of.
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