Into the Spotlight, sponsored by Huddersfield-based Scriba PR, is a weekly business feature. Here, we highlight Scooplicious and Dora’s, two ice cream parlours created by inspirational businessman Ateeq Hussain.
A dad-of-four who changed his mindset and became successful in business has launched a mouth-watering new venture.
Ateeq Hussain, who grew up in Thornton Lodge, went from job to job unsure what he wanted to do with his life.
That was until he read some self-help books by the likes of Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale and a switch was flicked in his brain.
“I was doing dead-end jobs but I also did a lot of reading,” said Ateeq. “I read about how by changing your mindset you could change your life.
“There was an experiment where for 30 days you try to be the best you can be so I thought I would try it and see what happened.
“In those 30 days I made a plan about what I wanted to do. The idea is you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.”
Ateeq read books such as ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki and Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason.
“Once I started reading the right books my brain changed,” said Ateeq.
The result of Ateeq’s plan was the opening of Scooplicious, an ice cream and dessert parlour in Thornton Lodge Road, Thornton Lodge.
He and wife Farhana started the business from scratch in 2018. Ateeq taught himself how to make ice cream and learned the art of business online. He drove a taxi by day and served in the shop on an evening.
After a rollercoaster three years, Scooplicious is now a big success and Ateeq has moved on to open a separate business Dora’s – also a desserts and ice cream business – in Westgate, Honley.
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Dora’s – named after Dora Thewlis, the Honley-born ‘Baby Suffragette’ – opened on Saturday inside Honley Post Office.
Dora’s sells sundaes, waffles, crepes, cookie dough, shakes, cakes and traditional puddings and Ateeq is delighted by the welcome from the people of Honley.
“We looked at other places in Slaithwaite and Holmfirth but when we saw Honley Post office it was love at first sight. There’s a real village feel to Honley and we all love it,” said Ateeq. “We love it so much we’re looking for a house here.”
Ateeq’s business journey hasn’t been smooth and at the end of 2018 Scooplicious was on the brink of collapse.
“We just concentrated on summer items, like ice cream, and we were struggling. We were all in tears. But come January 2019 we decided to change tack and we thought: ‘Let’s do it.’
“We bought new equipment for crepes and cookie dough and got ourselves trained and we met the challenge head on.”
Instead of being sit-in only, the shop started home deliveries and that’s when the business started to turn around.
In March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic struck but the business was classed as essential retail and deliveries took off.
“The last year-and-a-half has been really busy for us,” said Ateeq.
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Having built a brand from scratch Ateeq wants to do it all over again with Dora’s. He’s put Scooplicious on the market for £100,000 but will only sell for the right price.
He has teamed up with other family members in Honley and they plan to take on the post office with the aim of extending the opening hours from the current 9am-1pm. Dora’s is open 10am-10pm.
Coffee is also coming to Dora’s soon due to customer demand.
“It’s an exciting time,” said Ateeq. “We’re looking forward to getting to know the people of Honley and building a completely new brand.”
Although it’s often claimed that Dora Thewlis was born in Honley, it’s a little misleading. She was born at Shady Row, Meltham Mills, which was just within the boundary of the Township of Honley. Dora’s father was among those who successfully petitioned for the boundary to be redrawn in the 1890s so that the entirety of Meltham Mills became part of Meltham.