Serving Success and Facing Challenges: Sam Kaye on Resilience, Café Ownership, and Life After FIFO

In this episode of Owners Outlook, host Shaun Lord welcomes Sam Kaye, a Perth-based entrepreneur and co-owner of Daisies, The Other Side, and Ol’ Buoy. Sam shares his remarkable journey from the highs and lows of FIFO mining work to becoming a successful café owner with a growing portfolio of businesses.

Here’s what you can expect:

• The Entrepreneurial Leap: How Sam transitioned from a FIFO career to café ownership after spotting a game-changing opportunity on Gumtree.

• Overcoming Challenges: Sam opens up about the personal struggles of anxiety, early business hurdles, and learning to operate on a shoestring budget.

• Scaling Up: From managing one café to three, Sam reveals the strategies behind hiring staff, reducing turnover, and creating standout brand identities.

• Surviving COVID-19: Discover how Sam turned pandemic challenges into opportunities, refined operations, and future-proofed his businesses.

• Work-Life Balance: Sam shares how redefining success means balancing a thriving business with time for himself, family, and travel.

Key Insights:

• The importance of working on the business, not just in it.

• Building team loyalty to minimize staff turnover.

• Why branding and location matter when expanding.

• Lessons learned from operating heritage-listed and seasonal venues.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about perseverance, passion, and building a life beyond the café counter. Plus, hear Sam's thoughts on what it truly means to own your success.