‘Treat it like your own home’ - TV chef and Mowgli founder Nisha Katona's top tips for businesses

Mowgli Street Food founder and TV chef Nisha Katona has been speaking up about the financial challenges small businesses are currently facing. This comes as research reveals that 32% of small business owners in the North West report sleepless nights directly related to managing finances.

The research was commissioned by Smart Energy GB, which is working with Nisha Katona to help small business owners navigate their way through their business expenditures.

Nisha told LiverpoolWorld: "Building a business, there's a million outgoings and a million supplies you're having to deal with. Trying to manage your costs and think how can I build this so that I'm still reasonably priced. That's why I'm so passionate about small business owners not being afraid of building their businesses. Treat it as if it's your own home; if you do it in your own home, you do it in your business; if you care about switching off lights in your own home, you need to do that in your business."

A 'lack of time' could be costing the average small business £4,000 every year. Energy bills are the top concern for SME owners in the region, with 48% identifying them as a "major" worry, whilst 25% feel stretched daily due to the overwhelming volume of tasks and administrative duties they face.

A 'forget-to-cancel' culture, where a lack of time means regular subscriptions rollover without being reviewed, was another reason why 24 per cent felt they had higher outgoings.

In 2023, the North West was the English region with the largest increase in private sector businesses, according to ONS figures.

Nisha Katona was born in Ormskirk and studied law at Liverpool John Moores University. The daughter of two doctors, she was a barrister before opening her first Mowgli Street Food restaurant on Bold Street, which has now grown to over 20 locations across the UK and is expanding internationally soon.