As far as entrepreneurship goes, the food business isn’t the easiest place to start. But stiff competition and a weak economic climate haven’t fazed café owner Mikael Malin. His advice to people hesitant about getting started? “If it’s not now, it’s going to be never.”
Hailing from Cameroon by way of Paris, entrepreneur Mikael Malin sat down with FTTLG host Denise Wall to talk about his inspiration for setting up a Parisian-style café in the heart of Helsinki. Although his life’s journey took him first to Kajaani in eastern Finland, Malin soon felt the pull of Helsinki and that’s where he started building his dream of eventually owning a hotel. His first stop on that journey was Enchanté Café.
“It’s very logical for me to first open the cafe so I can actually learn a lot more about the entrepreneur's life and then move from the cafe to the restaurant and then maybe from the restaurant to the hotel,” Malin explained.
Learning while doing
Malin said that although the café has recently come through some testing times with the support of his customers, family and team, his path as an entrepreneur has not entirely been smooth sailing. Getting started, for example, involved a great deal of hands-on learning.
“It's way more complicated than what I expected,” he declared. “I knew of course that there are a lot of laws that you have to go through or you have to respect when you open your own business, but there are a lot of things that you cannot know. You just have to experience it and then you have to find a solution,” he added.
Sustainability is "very easy, very logical"
According to the aspiring hotelier, the secret to Enchanté’s success so far has been the team’s focus on building long-term relationships with customers, while also paying attention to the needs of the business. Nowadays, he said, the includes ensuring that the café’s products are sustainably sourced, something he says is a no-brainer.
“It's very easy, very logical too. And I think it's a fight that we are all fighting against and we have to make it happen and we have to find a way to make it happen. Maybe it's not easy for everybody but it's very logical for me to try to have a paper cup, to try to have paper straws for example.”
Asked to share a word of advice for people considering getting started in business, Malin said an all-in approach is the best way to get started.
“I would say simple, just do it. Of course you need to have a very good work ethic and a very good idea as well. But nothing stops you. If it's not now, it's going to be never. And just do it.”
To hear more about Mikael Malin’s story and his source of inspiration, listen to the full discussion on S2 E3 of FTTLG. You can follow and subscribe to Finland: Through the looking glass on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor.fm). Remember to like, share and rate the show and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Audio production was provided by Travis Glossop and the podcast was recorded at Enchanté Café in Helsinki.
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