Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Chairboy on December 23, 2003, 09:49:28 PM
-
Hi guys!
My wife and I just bought a small business. I read that something like 80% of small businesses fail quickly, so I know we're in for quite a ride!
It's a pizza shop in Springfield, OR. I've put in a computer system to replace the paper accounting, my wife has changed a bunch of procedures, and it's generally been a real kick getting to know the great people we have working for us.
The best part, our pizza tastes good!
Anyone have any experience with small business like this? Any advice?
-
You do ship cross-country don't ya??
I'd like one slice of pepperoni please.:p
GL with the business, best wishes to ya.
-
Good luck.
I have started up 4 over the past 10 years and each has survived and made money. Don't believe the stats. Lots of corportations are just temporary shells to protect assets or offload risk. A small properly run business will survive and make money as long as you follow a few simple rules.
Never borrow more than you can payback in a year. Take your weekly estimates for cash flow and half them and see if you could still survive. If not raise your prices or lower your overheads. Do not spend any money for the first 3 years in your personal life that you don't have to. Ie no new cars boat etc. Just run the business as efficently as you can and see what is left over each year. Reinvest in the business the profits ideally in ways that lower your costs. (Buy out the landlord for example).
I hope you make tons of dough. (that was a joke).
Good luck.
-
REMEMBER: It's not how much you make, it's how much you spend!
ALSO: Never compete on price alone.
For people like me, who don't eat dairy products, you might want to offer a no-cheese pizza if you don't already.
Good luck!
MRPLUTO
-
Good luck, Chairboy! What's the name? Next time I'm down in the Eugene area, I'll stop in and buy a pizza and say hi.
-
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........... ..........Pizza!
Good luck!
-
Don't do any of that pineapple and whatever ****.
Buffalo wings, learn to make the best ever and you're set.
Dominos Pizza, they have managed to both suck and blow at the same time- whatever new idea they come up with, do the opposite, or nothing at all, but never the same thing.
-SW
-
Ummm, good luck. Hope you do a decent deep dish. Do you deliver?
-
Thanks all!
Majic: Yes and yes.
Lazerus: Sure, but it'll be COD. :D
AKS\/\/ulfe: Heck yeah we do stuff with pineapple. What's mysterious is that we don't have anchovies for some reason...
SOB: It's a Figaro's on the east end of Springfield, in the Thurston area. I'm flying back to LA in a week, so I won't be in, but maybe I can arrange for a free pizza. I've got an in with the boss... :lol
MrPluto: We can definately do a cheeseless pizza. It's the 'hold the crust' orders that are tricky.
To the rest, thanks for the advice & encouragement! I had a lot of fun making pizza when I was in high school and my wife knows the food business, so unless we really mess up big (Invest everything into a TV campaign advertising sushi-pizza?)....
I'm looking forward to adding some new products. I'm not sure I can introduce Boba Tea, but there are other things that should definately taste good.
-
Well hell, you're already off to a good start - you've already got customers who know who you are and what you sell. Had a friend who used to manage a Figaros in Salem, and yes, I would like extra extra EXTRA bacon on my bacon pizza. :D
-
GL Chairboy. :)
Only advice i have for you is not to take out any money for the first couple of years and dont plan on making a living from it in the first 5. If you do make alot of money from the start then chill and save it. You or your woman should also have a second income so you dont have to take out money on a regular basis to pay your private bills and food.
Most businesses that i know of fail in the second year cause the owners turn a profit in the first year after working hard and get excited.
-
Oh another thing.
When in the resturant business, ALWAYS keep it clean and follow all rules and regulations, If one guy gets sick from your food :D or one guy starts a rumor that your kichen is not clean then it will take a long time to change that reputation.
-
oh.one more thing
If you have any competition (of course you do), then keep it friendly and don't piss them off for a couple of years. They will do what they can to keep their customers and they prolly have the finacial strength to keep a "war" going longer than you...be smart :aok
-
so whats the name? when I get back to work I spend about 1-2 months per year working in springfield (with the new co-gen being planned in coburg I could be spending half a year or more down there. soon) good pizza is a staple of life on the road, and I could send some bussiness your way.
btw-new york, chicago, or that hippy, vegan, vegitable, goatcheese crap?
-
Congrats and good luck Chair!
What timing too. I was in Chicago today and stopped by Giordano's for some stuffed pizza. My god it was heaven.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/ah_52_1072252185.jpg)
But I'd love to compare... mail me a few of yours! :D
(Yes, that is what I ate today, yes, I happened to have a camera on me, and yes, I did plan on posting it anyway) :D
-
Wish you all the best Chairboy & Mrs :)
Just remember all that money you se in the cashier is not yours quite yet.
If I manage to make a trip in Springfield, I'll have Pizza.
-
GL Chairboy!! Small company owner here as well :)
Try to extend the illusion and expectations that you have in your bussiness to everything you do, people notice and it pays! :)
Daniel
-
but but Figaro is FRENCH:rofl
no no no...can't have that now can we:eek:
-
French? Merde!
I think you are mistaken, Figaro is the character from the Barber of Seville. He is spanish, I believe... I hope....
-
mmmmmmm... Spanish Pizza?
Good Luck Chair.
-
Sheesh.
The Marriage of Figaro is an opera composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Lorenzo da Ponte based on a comedy by Beaumarchais. Its original Italian title is Le Nozze di Figaro. The action follows that shown in The Barber of Seville. First production, Vienna, 1786.
Seems a multi-national production to me.
However, Beaumarchais was clearly French.
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (January 24, 1732 - May 18, 1799) was, among other accomplishments, a writer and librettist.
Born Pierre-Augustin Caron in Paris, he changed his surname to "Caron de Beaumarchais" in 1757, in reference to land inherited by his wife.
Though Beaumarchais is perhaps best known as writer of the comedies on which Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro were based, he was also an accomplished musician, watch-maker, secret agent, architect, politician, inventor, arms dealer, and more.
He was among the major supporters in France of American Independence. It is generally admitted that Beaumarchais wasn't republican, but his writings contributed to hurry on the events that led to the Revolution.
He died of aplopexy related to long-term excessive drinking, and is buried in Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.
But it's amazing what lengths Slo will go to in order to stroke his..... ego, or whatever.
;)
-
My only advice is to pay attention to cash flows.
Think "cashflow, cashflow, cashflow" as soon as you wake up and then keep saying it and let it be the last thing you say every night before you go to bed.
For five years.
Then "income, income, income" for a few more years.
Then "balance sheet, balance sheet, balance sheet" until you breath your last.
May your assets minus liabilities always be positive (have a credit balance). :)
-
i'd like to say that the advice given by "Habu" and "nilsen" hi nils xxx.
is sound advice indeed.
i'd like add that staff can be a prob. its cheaper to employ a kid with little or no experience, that is false economy for a small business, as you will find that you spend so much time watching them and cvhecking thier work that you yourself will be doing less which indirectly means you are paying them double.
i have just sold a garage after owing it for 15 years, i only employed good mechs with plenty of expierence, it cost me more but it paid off.
i now own a motorcycle workshop and setting up an online spares service.
the worse businesses are the ones were you have to deal direct with the general public, as yours is.
many times you will have to bite your lip to prevent yourself giving some customers a pizza face mask, but bite it you must,
if you have a happy customer your name will slowly spread.
on the otherhand your name wild spread at mach 2 if you have an unhappy one..
as i said the general public are an odd bunch
:(
-
I owned a small retail business for 10 years and sold it at a tidy profit. The first 3 years I paid myself a minimal salary and reinvested everything else back into the store to have a heathy start. After that I gave myself a 15% pay raise every year and set an inventory growth of 30% per year. I repaid my loan within 4 years and had that much extra to work with. When I sold it I had annual sales over $1 Million and a 40% profit margin. Good Luck!
-
Time to give back..> I'm dying for a good deep dish or stuffed crust pizza receipe like Giordano's..>
What are you doing to define your business edge? quality? location? price? Who are your competitors, within 5-10 miles and what are they doing?
-
And hello to you to dracken1/draig :) and Merry Christmas
-
toad....ya gotta be kiddin me man
was a joke....there u go talkin about ego...seems to me your the ego character here;)
-
SLO, accept defeat. You were wrong. Move along :)
-
I have expiriance with pizza... d oes that count?
-
Ummm, I hope I'm not too out of line now in calling you "cheesedick". ;)
-
Jezuz Octavius, looks like splattered brains on top of that pizza?
-
Good luck CHairboy in your new ventures!
-
Thanks!
I still have my full time software job, so I'm paying myself a $50 salary from the business and reinvesting all the profits I can as well as paying off the loan asap.
-
A little update for those who are interested. The food cost when we bought the place was 32%. We've now gotten it down to 25%. We've done a couple of succesful promotions, like 'any Giant pizza for $10'.
I just ordered a case of Tabasco sauce from Sysco and we're offering it for sale right at the counter. I like it on my pizza, so I'm curious to see if others do as well.
Finally, I'm reading a fascinating book called 'The Emyth' about why so many small businesses fail and how to avoid that.
This is fun!
-
Originally posted by Vulcan
Jezuz Octavius, looks like splattered brains on top of that pizza?
mmmmmmm and it was delicious. stuffed pizza of course. although the cheese was a *tad* overboard :)
-
Good luck! I worked at a pizza place for 6 years; all through high school and part of college. If ya need any tips from the floor rats, just ask. ;)
Here's the first one: don't refer to your cooks and other hourlies as "floor rats." :)
-
Originally posted by Octavius
SLO, accept defeat. You were wrong. Move along :)
never......
the writer was FRENCH.....played in Italian theatres:eek: