What is it like to run a business as father and son in Macclesfield?
By Alex Greensmith
4th Mar 2024 | Advertisement Features
Today is National Sons Day.
In honour of this, we went to go and see a business ran by a son and his dad in Macclesfield.
Is it just us, or are there not many businesses ran by father's and son's in Macclesfield?
Yes there's ones with names in the title like Heapy Street storage firm H Whittaker and Sons Macclesfield, which in itself is a 60+ year old historic firm.
But what about the town centre? We searched the high street to find a father and son business in Macclesfield, and found The CBD Specialist.
Located inside The Castle Quarter on Back Wallgate, The CBD Specialist joined Macclesfield's high street four years ago.
The business is ran by father-and-son duo Chris and Josh Vernon.
After watching the nucleus of his father's business grow as a teenager, Josh then became a 50-50 partner of the business two years ago.
The CBD Specialist sell CBD-infused products from balms to drinks to teabags.
You can also get CBD in paste form, vapes and more.
They also sell other wellness products.
"It doesn't feel like it has been four years," said Chris,
"And it really doesn't feel like two years since Josh joined full-time.
The family business used to be located on Chestergate, before their relocation last year.
"We moved here in July and the people have been amazing," said Chris.
"It is not on the high street in the same way as Mill Street or where we were on Chestergate, but business has been better since we moved," shared Josh.
The duo also live together in south Macclesfield, as well as running a family business.
When asked about what is it like to run a business as father and son in Macclesfield, the pair had this to say:
"Working with my dad has been really good to be fair, prior to this, coming out of [Macclesfield] College, I didn't know what I wanted to do," recalled Josh.
"I studied business, so I wanted to do something with it, but didn't really know what and my dad gave me the opportunity to jump on this.
"Anxiety is something I have struggled with a lot, but dealing with customers on a daily basis, as well as using CBD itself has helped a lot."
"Josh had just finished College when I was developing the business so it seemed like a natural way to go really", added Chris.
"Josh is really good with the tech side of the business. I get frustrated with it!
"We support another father-and-son run business, being Nick Carter's Butchers, just round the corner. We are regulars, love their pies."
"My dad's strength in the business is explaining things," told Josh.
"I've learned a lot from him."
"We have also realised how similar we are to one another. Some people think we're brothers," joked Chris.
"I don't believe them. I think they are just being polite!"
Josh went to The Macclesfield Academy for secondary school, where his passion for business studies began.
"I think it is amazing to be in business with my son," said Chris.
"We're like best buddies to be honest.
"Everyone in the family thinks it is great.
"My advice to other family businesses in Macclesfield would be to stick to who you are. Don't follow everyone else's narrative."
Josh, who is now 21, says his mates find it 'pretty mint to be fair', that he works with his dad at the shop.
"We'd like to say a massive thank you to our customers for their support over the years, building relationships with them has been really good. We've made a lot of friends.
"With our regulars, we can offer a bit of a discount on a regular basis. We tell ourselves off for doing that, but if we can do it why not? It keeps them happy and we are still making money, so it is a win-win for everyone.
CBD products can be bought in chained stores in Macclesfield like Holland and Barrett or Grape Tree. But when asked on why Macclesfield should choose to get their CBD from them instead, Chris had this to say:
"Because we are able to talk to you about it, we are in a position to advise, explain and talk about how it may interact with medications. That is something most places won't talk about."
"And everything here we have personally selected the products that we think are the best ones," added Josh.
"We have got products that we know works."
The CBD Specialist - who have been a sponsor of Macclesfield Nub News - is open Monday to Saturday.
If you can't make it to their store in Macclesfield, they also have an online shop.
Macclesfield: You can follow The CBD Specialist on Facebook and Instagram.
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