BEING a business owner requires a 36-hour day, eating business, sleeping business and waking up screaming business, says founder of John Dory's Fish and Grill franchise Stamatis Kapsimalis.

This, plus a lot of determination is what has made him a successful business owner and why he will soon be celebrating his tenth year in business, says Kapsimalis or “Kapsi” as he is affectionately known by staff and customers.

John Dory's Fishmonger first opened its doors in December 1996, offering its customers a variety of seafood.

Two years later it changed to John Dory's Fish and Grill when Kapsi started serving customers his famous combos of steak and prawns or chicken and calamari.

“We changed the menu because not everyone can eat seafood because of allergies. But when we included grill we were able to attract more customers,” says Kapsi.

After changing to John Dory's Fish and Grill, Kapsi says he was able to offer his customers “the best of both worlds”.

He describes his time as a business owner as being “a long, hard ten years”, but says he is not the “normal eight to five kind of person”.

Kapsi says his decision to franchise his business hailed from a dream he had of owning a chain of stores across the country.

“I never wanted to be a person who stayed in one store for the next thirty years. The only way to expand was by franchising,” says Kapsi.

Kapsi says he thinks franchising is the future of business because it allows the business owner to grow his business.

He advises business owners to be aggressive and take hold of the market. “To be in business you need to have a certain amount of luck, be consistent, build trust with customers and clients and ride all the highs and the lows that are dealt to your business,” says Kapsi.

He says he will be celebrating his tenth year in business by serving his customers with a new menu filled with great specials and the famous combos during the upcoming December and January months.

There are currently 20 John Dory's Fish and Grill restaurants across the country.

Contact John Dory's Fish and Grill on 031 267 2174.