This is the latest in a regular series of Business Q&A features published weekly. This week, we spoke to Steve Mulhaire, owner of Owl on Montpellier Parade in Harrogate.

Tell us in fewer than 30 words what your firm does.

Owl sells menswear and lifestyle products that are a bit 'left of centre' – not really mainstream, a bit more edgy.

What does it require to be successful in business?

Hard work, to make sure we stay ahead of the multiples and continue offering a good service.

What drives you to do what you do every day?

Trying to navigate through difficult circumstances gets me out of bed. It's easy to be successful when times are good, but not so easy when things get tough, as they are now.

Having two empty units on either side of us doesn't help – we're a rose between two thorns!

I speak to the other menswear retailers in town and it's the same for all of us – it's never been as hard as it is now.

What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months?

The two obvious ones: energy bills and business rates. Our energy bills have gone up by about 200% over the last 18 months, and rates are just too high.

Which other local firms do you most admire and why?

I like Bespoke Eyewear [on the Crown roundabout in Harrogate] – they have a beautiful range of glasses.

I also like Hoxton North [also on the Crown roundabout], which has consistently good coffee and great staff – they push the envelope a bit.

Who are the most inspiring local leaders?

Daniel Farke, the manager at Leeds United, for coming in and sorting the team out. He lives locally – I often see him around here.

What could be done locally to boost business?

Instead of always pushing Harrogate's spa town heritage, we should be a bit more modern, and put a lot more effort into promoting our independents – the indie shops, bars, restaurants, cafés and breweries. We've got a lot more to offer than just spa water.

They used to call the Montpellier Quarter a "hidden gem", but if it's a gem, why hide it? We should be shouting about it!

Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate?

The best thing is that we get a lot of people coming here from other places, and we should certainly encourage that.

The worst is the lack of encouragement from the council for independent businesses. Just look at the breweries we've got: Roosters, Cold Bath Brewing Co, Harrogate Brewery. I think they're great.

I'd like to see more events that celebrate the diversity of the town. We can't live in the past all the time. Harrogate needs to kick itself into the 21st century a little bit.

What are your business plans for the future?

In the short term, our summer sale starts at 10am on Friday, with discounts of up to 60%.

Over the longer term, we're having a refit and we'll be making our shop more of an experience. So we won't just be selling clothes – we'll be selling books too, and maybe records.

We also want to make more use of the shop in the evenings, so we'll be doing things like specialist coffee nights and we'll be tying up with some local artists in the autumn.

Last year, we launched a shoe with Alexis of Hot Chip and he came to DJ in the shop. We'll be doing much more of that kind of thing.

We'll be teaming up with some other businesses too, such as the breweries. It's like a cross-pollination of businesses: you scratch our back and we'll scratch yours; you talk about us and we'll talk about you. That's what we need more of.

We've got loads of ideas, but I can't really say too much about them until I get permission to talk about them!

What do you like to do in your time off?

I like listening to music, cooking and walking. 

My background is in music – I founded Crash Records in Leeds. I sold it to a friend and it's still going and has become a bit of an institution.

Best place to eat and drink locally?

The Little Ale House and Cold Bath Brewery are my watering holes.

If I eat brunch, I'll go to Hoxton North, where the food's really good.

And for a treat, I like the Drum and Monkey, just along the street. I love the oysters there!

If you know someone in business in the Harrogate district and you'd like to suggest them for this feature, drop us a line at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.