David and Alison have never been afraid to take the road less travelled. As David puts it, "the most interesting things happen around the edges."
After studying at Bangor University together, David and Alison were determined to build a life by the sea. Rather than following a conventional career path, they created a succession of businesses, each connected to the coastline. Over the years they've grown oysters, run a wholesale seafood business and spent 23 years building Anglesey Sea Zoo into Wales' largest aquarium, all while raising three children.
It was during their time at the Sea Zoo that the idea for Halen Môn first emerged. Looking for a business that could provide year-round work alongside the seasonal nature of tourism, they began experimenting with boiling the exceptionally clean seawater of the Menai Strait in their family kitchen. What started with a saucepan on the Aga became Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt, a business that, nearly 30 years later, is still proudly rooted on the shores of Anglesey.
Based: Anglesey, North Wales
Working together since: 1976
So how did you two meet? And at what point did you decide to start a business together?
David: We met when Alison was still at 6th form college and I was at Polytechnic. We went to Bangor together to study – Alison trained as a teacher and I started selling seafood in the students' union. That eventually led us to deciding we wanted to do something together, however difficult it might be.
Go on Alison, embroider that!
Alison: We sort of fell into everything. We never sat down and thought, "Let's grow oysters" or "Let's sell fish." It just happened.
David: We've done lots of different things, but the common thread is the sea – that's always been our first love.
We grew oysters, wholesaled mussels and lobsters to hotels, then bought a site to support our seafood business, Mona Seafoods. Later we turned it into the Sea Zoo, which we ran for more than 20 years. Along the way we tried lots of ideas, but the one that really took off – and that people know us for now – is Halen Môn, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year.
What do you do, and how did the idea come about?
Alison: We were running the Sea Zoo, which was busy through the tourist season, but winters were much quieter. We wanted to create year-round jobs for our staff, so we started looking for another business we could run alongside it.
After trying a few slightly unusual ideas, we decided to make something we could produce and sell all year round. That's how we ended up making salt. It sounds simple – boil seawater and you're left with salt – but there's a bit more to it than that!
What we found hardest was changing the way we worked. In previous businesses we were always refining things and trying new approaches. With sea salt, consistency is everything. You need one method and everyone sticking to it. That took some getting used to, but we've got there. Some of our team have now been with us for more than 20 years.
How big is your team?
Alison: We currently have 28 staff. The big difference with this business is that they're all full-time, all year round.
What are each of you naturally good at, and how closely do your roles overlap?
Alison: The biggest thing is recognising that if your roles overlap too much, that's where the friction starts.
David: I used to say I was good at starting things, getting them going and coming up with the big ideas. Then I'd leave the detail to everyone else. Alison is much better with the detail – she's a perfectionist.
Alison: I've sort of made that role for myself because of how you work!
David: And now you're MD – what you decide goes! You're doing what you love, and you're brilliant with people. You've built and nurtured a huge network over the years. We export to 15 or 20 countries and work with everyone from M&S to our local deli. It's a tribute to Alison that we're still working with many of the same people 20 years later.
Whereas I always want to press on, think about what's around the corner and have a go at anything.
Alison: I think it's a good combination, isn't it?
Do you think you could do the other person's role for a week?
Alison: Definitely not, because David's the financial person and I'm just not!
David: But you're much better at managing people. I like using my hands and being practical. You're really good at cooking, whereas I'd much rather grow things.
What's the hardest thing about working together that nobody talks about?
Alison: In the early days, it was difficult for us both to take time off. Now it's much easier because we have such a great team. We could both disappear for six months and the business would carry on.
David: It's still difficult to switch off.
Do you switch off differently?
Alison: Yeah.
David: Back when we had three young children, the only way we switched off was by taking them swimming or doing something together.
Alison: Now I read, I swim and I love pottering.
David: I've almost switched off altogether because I only work one day a week for the business, but I always know what's going on.
How do you disagree well?
David: On the really big decisions...
Alison: ...we make them together.
David: But day to day, it's important to recognise when someone has more experience than you.
Alison: We've got a board made up of us and our three children. The rule is they're not allowed to gang up on us!
David: We used to do staff appraisals, then decided we should appraise each other. We'd go to a National Trust garden, sit on a bench and have a semi-public appraisal. We couldn't really fall out that way, but we could politely tell each other where they were less than perfect. It was usually aimed at me.
When you're your own bosses, who do you learn from? Have you had mentors?
David: I'm a sucker for a mentor. I used to buy business books all the time.
Alison: We've got a whole shelf of them!
I learn from peers, our team and reading. In Wales we have business clusters that support each other. If I have a question about a customer, labelling requirements or just want to talk something through, I can pick up the phone to one of my colleagues.
We've also appointed a Non-Executive Director who I’ve known for years.
David: He used to be a buyer and now helps brands. He's brilliant and a huge asset to the business.
It's always good to meet someone who's better than you. We might be moderately successful and know what we're doing, but there's always more to learn.
What advice would you give a couple thinking of starting a business together?
Alison: Be very clear about who's responsible for what. Some things should sit entirely with one person, while others need to be discussed together.
How was it managing a family alongside building a business?
David: It was challenging, but also easier because we were running it together. We could decide who was collecting the children from school. In the early days, we'd be ringing customers to sell fish while holding a child. Nobody knew you weren't sitting in an office!
Alison: That's true, but it also meant I took the lion's share of looking after the children, so it took me longer to really get my feet under the desk in the business.
David: We got it right with the third business though – we're exactly equal.
Have you had to create boundaries between work and home?
Alison: We created a physical boundary when we moved off-site after opening the Sea Zoo. We're only ten minutes away, but those ten minutes are really important. It's close enough if we're needed, but it's enough time to decompress on the way home.
Are you both comfortable taking risks?
Alison: Definitely not as comfortable as David. I don't think I'd have taken as many risks if I'd been with a different partner, or on my own. It's just not in my nature.
David: Whereas I like taking risks. I enjoy the excitement of taking the risk and then making it work.
Ok, time for some quick fire questions!
Introvert or extrovert?
Alison: Introvert, but forcing myself to become more extrovert.
David: Extrovert… becoming more of an introvert.
Early bird or night owl?
David: Early bird.
Alison: I used to be a night owl. Now I'm an early bird.
Inbox empty or inbox chaos?
Alison: Not empty, but very organised.
David: I've currently got 30,000 unread emails.
Best advice you've ever received?
David: Sir John Harvey-Jones, who ran ICI, said, "Make things happen." You don't have to be perfect, you just have to make things happen.
Alison: If you're about to do something controversial, ask yourself: would you be happy to see it on the front page of a newspaper?
What's banned from discussion after 9pm?
Alison: Anything I've been worrying about during the day. I don't want to take it to bed with me.
David: Questioning something the other person is responsible for. You have to trust them.
One business tool you couldn't live without?
Alison: A sharp pencil and a notebook. The pencil has to be sharp.
David: I've got an automatic pencil sharpener that's brilliant.
Alison: We do share a love of sharp pencils.
The last thing you changed your mind about?
Alison: Making bars of soap. I thought they belonged to my grandma's generation, but our daughter Jess convinced me they were coming back – and she was right.
David: I've decided this is my last year growing cucumbers for schools. I was committed to growing 500 of them, but I don't think I'm destined to be a cucumber farmer.
Something customers would be surprised to learn?
Alison: How small we are. We punch above our weight. People assume we're a huge factory because we're stocked in around 15 countries and used by brands like Jones Crisps, Pump Street Chocolate and Castle Dairies.
David: People are often surprised that we don't make everything with our name on it. We work with experts to make those things and we provide the hero ingredient.
What would stop the business working?
David: Polluted seawater.
Alison: Or if people stopped caring about quality. If we cut corners, we'd lose our certifications and our customers.
David: We charge a premium, so quality and integrity are everything. If we compromised on either of those, we'd lose the trust we've built.
A hill you're willing to die on?
Alison: Authenticity. Our Protected Designation of Origin means our salt only comes from seawater drawn from the Menai Strait. Even if using cheaper methods doubled our profits, we'd never do it.
David: That's the hill we’d die on. If we say it is Anglesey sea salt, it has to be exactly that.
Optimist or realist?
David: Optimist. I always think we'll find a way.
Alison: I'd say I'm a realist. I know things don't always work out as we might hope, but I'm generally optimistic about people.
Who should we interview next?
David: Bleddyn and Sue Wyn -Jones, founders of Crug Farm Plants.
...
Links into the unknown.
David’s Lucky Links:
Alison’s Lucky Links:
Website: www.halenmon.com
Instagram: @halenmon
Words by Imogen Lawrence. Illustrations by Pat Thomas.
