I'm 21 and running my own restaurant while studying for my degree, but some customers look down on me because of my age
A business-minded college student proves people wrong by owning her own restaurant – at just 21 years old.
Olivia Hughes started her business when she was 18 years old by opening a small cafe called The Hungry Goat in Dungannon, County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland.
Ultimately, she turned it into a fully functioning restaurant with more than twenty employees.
The young entrepreneur is also completing a degree in business management while running her busy restaurant, which takes up between 70 and 80 hours of her time every week.
However, the young entrepreneur admits that she has had to work harder to prove herself because of her age.
Olivia Hughes has her own restaurant at the age of 21 after starting the business at the age of 18 (photo at the restaurant)
Olivia decided to set up The Hungry Goat in Northern Ireland after being turned down for several cafe jobs
Olivia said: “There have been a lot of challenges with my age, such as trying to gain respect and issues with older staff. So we've had quite a bumpy road to get to this point.
“My mentality has definitely helped me with this at a young age and I've been able to block out all the negativity, especially when it comes to my age, because people have a lot to say because I'm so young.”
When Olivia was 18, she struggled to find a job and after several job interviews in cafes, she was told she didn't have enough experience. That's why she decided to start her own coffee shop.
She created The Hungry Goat in 2020 when she was just 18 and her business started to attract a lot of attention and became a busy local hotspot.
Olivia's coffee shop thrived in the summer, but she noticed sales starting to drop when winter hit and decided to turn things around in 2021 and move into a restaurant.
Now The Hungry Goat specializes in food such as steak and cooked breakfasts, and customers can even relax with a pint at the bar.
For starters, she noticed that some staff members and customers treated her differently and were often rude or condescending because of her age.
She often found it challenging to manage certain staff members or customers who “looked down” on the 21-year-old.
The young entrepreneur combines running her restaurant with her business management degree
She said many people have doubted her because of her age, but she proves them all wrong
The Hungry Goat (pictured) has quickly become a busy local hotspot
The restaurant has now won an award within two and a half years of first opening
However, Olivia was ultimately able to build a great team of over twenty employees between the ages of 16 and 62, who she said were great.
And within two and a half years of running her restaurant, she won the title of Best Newcomer at the Irish Restaurant Awards.
Olivia says that the restaurant is often full of hungry customers, which certainly keeps her busy – in addition to her university studies.
While running the restaurant, Olivia is also studying a degree in business management and must juggle university work with owning The Hungry Goat.
However, she has enjoyed the entire process and has thoroughly enjoyed being able to prove doubters wrong.
She said: 'I was applying for jobs and didn't get anywhere because I kept getting rejected because I had no experience.
'I got a trial at a local coffee shop and absolutely loved everything about it. It was something I could imagine myself doing in the future, but again, I didn't get the job.
“I got some business loans, which were difficult to get, and then started working on setting up my own coffee shop, called The Hungry Goat, and then we opened it to the public in August 2020.
The Hungry Goat is open from Thursday to Sunday and has a 4.8 star rating on Google
Olivia is standing next to the bar in her work uniform
The outdoor seating area at The Hungry Goat, with more than 20 staff
The restaurant's success comes from being very busy, as Olivia has to spend between 70 and 80 hours on it every week
Olivia at the restaurant when it was decorated for Christmas
Olivia had to think beyond a cafe when her customers started getting food – and she reopened The Hungry Goat as a restaurant
Olivia (pictured getting ready for a day's work in the restaurant) hopes her hard work will pay off
'Because my business is so rural, I realized that it would not be sustainable to just open a coffee shop and that many customers even asked for food, such as breakfast and lunch.
“I was looking for a chef to help me open a kitchen because that was completely out of my reach and I knew it was something I couldn't think of on my own because I wanted it to be right.
'My father and mother have both been entrepreneurs in the past. So I have big ambitions to look up to and for myself. I work very hard and am dedicated when it comes to something I really want to do.”
The Hungry Goat is open from Thursday to Sunday and has a 4.8 star rating on Google.
Olivia explained, “It's definitely been hard to get respect from some of the customers as well, because they're so young, because sometimes they're not necessarily happy to see someone younger, and they've completely disregarded and disregarded me.
“These people would put me down and put me in a box because I'm 'too young' and think they're better than me. So it was definitely challenged in that way.
“I could put between 70 and 80 hours a week into this business because I'm there from open to close.
'I had to sacrifice a lot of time. Many of my friends are between 18 and early 20s. That seems to be the best time of your life.
“A huge thing I had to prove was that it is possible for someone my age to be able to do this and hopefully, with all the hard work and sacrifices I have made, one day it will be worth it.”