Meet The Owner Ep 20 - Harp Gill from Smoked Garden Wings to Franchise Empire

Meet The Owner

Thursday, 29 January 2026 - 1 hour 5 minutes

From telesales and BMW showrooms to smoking ribs in a gazebo, this episode charts the full journey of Harp Gill, founder of The Rub BBQ. He opens up about walking away from the corporate world, starting with a 3x3 tent and family help, selling out his very first event, and learning the hard lessons of growth, burnout and nearly quitting altogether.

Harp shares how sales skills, self-development, and understanding people shaped his approach to business, why marketing and personal branding became a turning point, and how consistency beats quick wins. There’s honest talk about events that flop, handling complaints, the pressure of being responsible for everything, and the reality behind turnover versus profit.

The conversation dives deep into the street food model — prepaid weddings and corporates versus risky public events — and how The Rub evolved from pop-ups to trucks, a rebrand, a production base, and now a national franchise model. Harp explains the systems, training, marketing support and mindset needed to scale without losing quality, plus why knowing your weaknesses and getting help is a superpower in business.

A proper behind-the-scenes look at building a food brand from scratch, staying resilient, and turning passion into a scalable operation.

#MeetTheOwner #StreetFoodBusiness #FoodEntrepreneur #UKBusiness #FranchiseLife #BBQBusiness #SmallBusinessJourney #HospitalityIndustry #StartupStory #BusinessPodcast