Working long hours in exchange for an excellent salary is a standard compromise bank employees make. But after three years of “brutal” analyst work for Deutsche Bank, Jonathan Recanati was able to throw every thing into the balance and make a breakthrough.
“Very often in a bank many people are on their own. “It’s all about the money and the bonus you get,” says Recanati Assets. “It just didn’t feel like I slot in. I checked out the older people and thought, ‘I don’t need to be such as you’.”
While he was “slaving away” from early morning until late evening, eating three meals a day at his desk – mostly soggy, store-bought sandwiches – Recanati said he had his aha moment
“I realized there was a big gap in the market,” Recanati recalls. And that formed the premise for his company, Farmer J, a quick food chain that provides healthy, locally sourced food.
“Most people I talked to told me not to do it,” he laughs.
Inspired by Chipotle
Recanati was inspired by the rise of fast-casual brands within the US, particularly Chipotle, and commenced developing his brand promise while he was employed at Deutsche Bank.
Just a month after quitting his banking job at age 30, he impressed a non-public investor with the promise that Farmer J could repeat the success of Mexican barbecue and commenced testing menu items at pop-up supper clubs.
With a backing of around £850,000 ($990,000) – 50% of which got here from the investor and the remaining from family, friends and his own savings – Farmer J was capable of open its doors for the primary time on Leadenhall Street in central London in 2014, only a block away from his former employer.
“The biggest sacrifice is going from the safety net of a big bank to nothing,” he says, adding that he earned about $100,000 at Deutsche Bank.
But ten years later, business is booming.
With 10 stores within the British capital, sales reached 18 million kilos (nearly $23 million) last 12 months and Farmer J has signed up a handful of celebrity clients including musician Dua Lipa and fifty shades of gray Star Jamie Dornan.
Wake up at 5am and never be away from the office – even in your honeymoon
But there’s one thing the 39-year-old hasn’t found since leaving the banking world to change into his own boss: the work-life balance he dreamed of.
In fact, it’s probably as distant because it’s ever been.
Recanati’s day starts early. “I have three small children,” he explains.
Since I became the daddy of twins In 2020, he joined the 5 o’clock club and takes turns dropping off the youngsters along with his wife, who also works in marketing at Farmer J.
From there, Recanati gets straight to work. Some days he relies at the corporate’s Covent Garden office, other days he’s scouting potential sites or meeting with senior managers.
“That’s what I like about my job, it’s not like I sit in the office all day and then go home,” adds the entrepreneur.
Although he encourages office staff within the capital to find time for a balanced meal at Farmer J’s, the CEO himself barely has time for lunch.
Recanati, who studied on the École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) in Switzerland, desires to be home between 6 p.m. and seven p.m. to spend a while along with his children before bed, after which works until late night further.
“Very often I’ll send an email after they’ve gone to sleep,” he adds, with the caveat that he switches off on weekends with the family – or if it is a date along with his wife.
But that wasn’t all the time the case.
One of Recanati’s “biggest regrets” is that he needed to cut short his honeymoon in 2018 because Farmer J opened a second restaurant.
“I felt like I had to be there and make sure we were properly preparing for the opening,” he remembers. “In hindsight, I would never do that. But when you’re in the middle of it all, you lose track.”
That being said, you continue to won’t catch him turning on his out-of-office message when he goes on vacation.
“When I switch off, I’m basically not pursuing my goals,” Recanati explains, adding that he all the time keeps Famer J’s future ambitions at the back of his mind.
“But if you enjoy doing it, it doesn’t feel like work,” he adds.
“You’re creating value for yourself, for your investors, for your employees – there are so many things going through your mind, it’s not just ‘What’s my next bonus?'”
Don’t wait until you change into a parent to achieve perspective
For most founders, their company is their baby – and it took Recanati having children to appreciate that that is actually not the case.
His advice to entrepreneurs is: Don’t wait until the day you change into a parent to take stock of what is most vital in life.
“It’s really hard because this is your life – it’s all you care about,” he says.
“You have to enjoy the moments outside of work,” he adds. “Don’t miss the moments with your family and friends. I did it and I regret it.”
After a decade of grinding — and the success that comes with it — when will Famer J’s founder finally slow right down to benefit from the fruits of his labor?
Firstly, Recanati says he would love to expand to at the least 50 restaurants within the UK before fascinated about branching out himself.
But then he reconsiders: “I would like to construct five restaurants this 12 months, eight next 12 months, and I would like at the least one open and operating within the United States
“I guess maybe in two years I’ll be able to say I’ve done this and maybe I could relax,” he pauses, before quickly adding, “Or am I thinking about the next two years.”
