Could you work with your mother every day? One Exeter University student did just that - ditching a degree in German and Philosophy to come and work in his mum's cafe. Rowan Joyce, 52, runs the South Street Coffee and Ice Cream Shop in Isleworth, Middlesex, with her son Tom. Tom, 24, started working at the business while on a summer holiday from Exeter University and enjoyed the role so much that he packed in his course and became joint manager of the store, taking control of the ice cream-making side of the business. Rowan Joyce (left) displays some of her home baked cakes, while Tom shows off his ice cream (right) Rowan tells FEMAIL in her own words why she thinks her son made the right decision and explains how they haven't looked back since... She says: Every middle class Mum wants her child to go to university and when Tom got a place to read German and Philosophy at Exeter I was thrilled. 'I've got two degrees myself and though they haven't done me a bit of good in the workplace I had fun getting them and the one I got from the OU while I was at home bringing up the kids kept me sane and my brain ticking over when I was immersed in child rearing. 'My jobs have always been low pay and hands on practical, mostly retail management and estate agency. Tom and Rowan . 'I figured with Tom if the worst came to the worst the language would always come in useful and he could get a job as an air steward! (Yes, I had a brief spell as an air hostess myself) 'We opened South Street on an absolute shoe string and as Tom was home for Easter from Exeter I employed him to help scrub floors, scrape walls, paint, paper and clean. 'It was hard, boring, work and Tom was not the best employee, he tended to get bored easily or give up if things got difficult. 'I was paying him a wage so technically he should have done as he was told but if it's your kid it's not always as easy as all that: you have to maintain the relationship no matter what and you can't sack them! 'A year on and the business was going well, having worked in retail management I was used to handling staff but I was surprised to find that staffing was turning into my biggest headache. 'Maybe I'm naive and too willing to trust but I found myself being ripped off, cheated and lied to. 'I was paying above minimum wage, providing paid sickness and holidays, treating my staff with consideration and respect. 'But I was discovering that they were opening late and closing early when I wasn't there, claiming for hours they hadn't worked, taking days off sick when they were perfectly well and sitting around on their phones or the work laptop when I was paying them to work. 'By August of that summer it was time to bite the bullet and sack my only full time member of staff. 'He was claiming to be ill, I was paying him sickness benefit and working seven days a week to provide cover and I discovered he wasn't actually ill at all, he just didn't fancy coming into work. 'The afternoon I finally got up the courage to sack him I was upset and worried, another staffing disaster, who could I turn to now? Who could I trust to love and understand my business as I did? Tom is very creative with his ice cream flavours . 'South street demands a very personal touch, it's all about word of mouth, friendships, trust and kindness. 'I always tell my staff the only thing you can do wrong here (apart from stealing of course!) is be rude to a customer. 'There is very little footfall here and we rely on repeat business and word of mouth. 'It's hands-on hard work, you have to be smiley and polite all the time and we provide a lot of bereavement counselling and childcare advice. 'We find people jobs and nannies, locate lost pets and impart cooking tips and marriage guidance. 'Tom and I were doing American night that night: every so often we pick a food theme and sell 20 tickets to an evening meal. This one involved bbq and homemeade baked beans, cornbread and 'slaw. Rowan behind the counter at the shop . 'We were in the backyard lighting the bbq when he told me that I didn't need to worry too much about finding another full timer: he was planning on giving up Uni and working for me full time. 'Actually I was delighted, relieved and delighted, then I felt guilty. Surely I should be putting his education before my business? 'I knew his father (we're divorced) would be furious. 'I knew he wasn't happy at Exeter, the course wasn't really what he'd hoped, he was a bit older than his classmates (he'd done a gap year in Germany) and the next year would bring another year in Germany which he really didn't want to do. 'He was ready to settle down into a proper job in one place and put down some roots. He also wanted to be part of building the business. 'I'm very keen to get my other two children into the business but they are resisting for some reason! 'It's funny to think now but Tom has always been a home bird. Tom selling his ice cream on a summer afternoon . 'He absolutely hated leaving me to go to nursery and although he got on well at school and had a lovely girlfriend for years he was never one for going out and socialising much, he just always liked being at home. 'I guess South Street is an extension of that, it is very cosy and homely! 'Tom took over the ice cream making which was a massive relief for me as it is very sticky, hard work and labour intensive. 'He soon displayed a real genius for it. its quite technical as you have to get the right balance of fat and sugar and its something that demands a lot of expertise and know how. 'If you come up with a flavour he will know how to turn it into ice cream! 'I'm quite good at coming up with flavours, I'm a cook and I know food and what works with what, and I listen to my customers and what they'd like to try. Tom is brilliant at translating those ideas into ice cream. 'I know I can trust him 100 per cent -  he has bought shares in the business and although I am technically the boss (I am his mum!) we have equal shares. South Street Coffee and Ice Cream Shop in Isleworth, Middlesex . 'He is as passionate about making South Street work as I am, he loves our customers and our product as much as I do, we are family! 'I know our customers really identify with us as a family business, they love the way we interact - although I was once accused of having an incestuous relationship with him! 'It does have its down side! If I get angry with him I get FURIOUS, and he is the same, we are both pretty volatile and he always knows how to drive me nuts. 'I have to be really careful about respecting boundaries also, allowing him to have proper time off and not ask him to do more than a regular employee. 'I'm also aware that sometimes I make excuses for him, cut him too much slack and let him get away with things I shouldn't. 'He is always going to be my baby boy: even though he's over six foot with a big beard!' We both like looking after people, I think that's why we work so well together. I still get a rush when I enter the front of house and every seat is taken, each table filled with people happy to be eating delicious, home-made food and fresh gelato. We both take a great joy in providing a service that is becoming rarer to find nowadays: a friendly, independent place to be; not only existing within the local community but comprising a major part of it. The fact that Mum loves to cook makes us a good team. It means that she can stay in the kitchen, cook three cakes and a quiche and knock out lunches at> the same time (seriously, she is that quick and organised,) and I can look after the front of house, making coffee and serving ice cream and cake. We're an efficient machine because we know where each other's strengths lie. Of course, that also means I get tetchy when I see her making coffee: I'm a perfectionist with more experience behind the machine, but you try telling your mum she's not making that latte the correct way. Why would I give up a university degree to work with my mum? Let's be honest, what's the job market like for graduates nowadays? Not great. I was halfway through a four year degree and I knew that the situation wasn't likely to improve. This was a chance to become part of something huge, and the company needed me. I had gradually usurped the role of ice cream maker from mum (to be honest, I think she was secretly glad) and had got to the point where I could tell the temperature of the gelato in the machine by sound alone. I believed in the product 100 per cent and still do: no one else is doing innovative, artisan gelato the way we do it, and our business growth speaks for itself: We now have a dedicated factory, as well as an art gallery/gift shop. I love working with my hands, directly contributing to the success of our own endeavour. And even though I know I'm an equal shareholder, I still get surprised when mum asks me what I think we should do in a certain situation. It's really cool owning an ice cream company.
Rowan Joyce, 52, runs South Street Coffee Shop in Isleworth, Middlesex . Her son Tom, 24, enjoyed working at the shop so much he quit university . The pair now run the business together .