I never thought of myself as a restaurateur but here we are three years after opening Monty’s Lounge in Pokesdown, I’m now on the brink of opening a second restaurant in the centre of our wonderful town, Bournemouth. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, as any new start up on a budget would be, but fundamentally only made possible (and successful!) by being a graduate of Bournemouth University.

I chose to specialise in Entrepreneurship within my Business Studies degree, the natural choice since I had been self-employed five years before starting my degree. My business partner had graduated in hospitality, so with this winning combination we were very proud to tell customers of our link to BU.

In order to fund the restaurant start-up, I had to continue my role as UK agent for a designer furniture manufacturer and did my time in the big smoke, but once the restaurant became financially viable, I jumped at the opportunity to move back “home” where I get to serve genuinely nice customers and continue my rowing, which I learned at uni.

None of my family went to university and I often ask myself whether it was worth the four years (and considerable debt!) getting the degree, but here I am about to embark on opening another restaurant. I’m gaining investment from my boss I worked for in 2009 during my placement year and securing considerable funding from a start-up loan company using a business plan and financial management tools I developed in my final year, so I guess having four years of fun in the process was just a bonus…

If there are any current or future students looking for part-time work or fancy 10% discount off what I consider the best burgers in town, drop by and say hello. I’ve shared many stories and offered advice to students I’ve had the pleasure of serving.

By Christian Schneider