Packing on the Pounds

What is my favorite part of the Saus adventure? This is so hard to say. I really love the team meetings at random Starbucks' around Boston or at our "hideout" in Beacon Hill, our constant gchat planning, friendly arguing over semantics, and imagining the finished restaurant. However, up on the list is the "competitor research."

I get to eat out guilt free (as long as the place I go offers a variation of what we will have). This is my significant contribution to the company: taste-testing and saying things like, "We can do so much better than this!" And then planning out what I like about the food and what we should change. Oh, what I do in the name of research.

I think I should keep track of how much weight I gain. And then when I get lipo, I can just charge it to the company!

Any takers to do some research with me?

A Surprise from our Amazing Realtor

So one day Chin told Tanya and me to check our emails -- oh, by the way, if you want to email us, which we hope you do, here are our addresses:

reliah@sausinc.com
tkrop@sausinc.com
ckuo@sausinc.com

Anyway, he told us to check our emails and what did we find? A list of 58 retail properties in the Boston/Cambridge area that our realtor, Irene, had sent - BOO-YAH. We were thrilled...scratch that...we are thrilled. Right now what we need to do is to examine these retail spaces and pick the ones we feel are good fits. The list produced quite a few in the Back Bay, namely Newbury Street, some in Davis Square, and a couple in Harvard Square. If you can't tell, we want the college students. We want them badly. Think: Uncle Sam in a chef's hat and a trendy Johnny Cupcakes t shirt: "I Want You."

So let's examine the typical Harvard student and your average Newbury Street dweller:

Harvard student profile:
-Goes to Crema cafe over Starbucks because it's independent and has an environment that fosters genius.
-When asked where he/she goes to college, replies not "Harvard" but "Class of __" like - ugh, plebian, can't you tell from my enviro friendly grocery tote that was formerly a pop bottle?
-Shops at Urban Outfitters and American Apparel
-Has a membership at the COOP so that they are able to perpetuate their "street smarts"
-Ideal match would be someone who is unconventionally attractive, who wears thermals, and who has read Ann Rynd's The Fountainhead, twice...once when they were 10.

Newbury dweller profile:
-Goes to Starbucks, once at lower Newbury and again at upper Newbury
-When asked where he/she goes to college, replies BU - COM or SMG, ugh can't you tell by my tricked out belt buckle, leggings, hangover, and teeny-tiny Marc Jacobs shopping bag?
-Shops at French Connection
-Frequently visits Trident because they like eating surrounded by books
-Ideal match would be someone from The Hills.

Of course we're kidding -- we're actually part of this demographic ourselves.

So now that we have profiled the Newbury Street crowd and the Harvard crowd, we can make our decision - ha, just kidding. Everyone loves food and we are going to choose our space according to foot traffic, size, whether it's zoned for food-service, and amount of renovation work we are going to have to do. Another important element of our business model is beer, which means we need to obtain a Beer and Malt Beverages License, which is a lot harder to get in Boston proper than it is in Cambridge.

Retail Space for Food and Why It's So Hard to Find

Finding good retail space in Boston is tough enough because the city is so small and space is limited as it is. Finding space for food is that much more difficult...why?

1. It poses a higher liability which translates to higher insurance for owners
2. Where there is retail space in Boston, there are often residents as well and they complain about the smells that come with a restaurant. This is especially an issue on Newbury Street, which is one of our desired locations.
3. Oftentimes, retail space is not food service-ready, which means we would have to install a kitchen and ventilation system, thus transforming the space.

Frustrating Realtors Part 3

Ok, so Part 3 really wasn't frustrating at all. I got in touch with a former professor of mine from BU, Bill Galatis. We've been having trouble finding locations, or even finding out how to find locations, sooo we thought talking to Bill might help. 

Bill owns a plethora of Dunkin Donuts in the Boston area, in addition to some tasty bakeries. He is in his own league of entrepreneurship, and we were lucky to get a hold of him, you know, with him being busy making donuts, keeping customahs happy, delivering speciality cakes around the greater boston area, and dealing with the BU School of Management's notorious grading curve.

So, on top of giving us some gems of advice regarding finding retail locations, dealing with realtors, and conducting guerilla warfare with your potential store neighbors, he pointed us towards a familiar realtor of his. 

And that is how we met Irene! Shortly thereafter we scheduled a meeting, were able to meet, and finally got a chance to have a legitimate conversation with a realtor. Irene was very down to earth, very nice, and more importantly very helpful. 

At this very point in time Irene is looking into her network, making some calls, doing what good realtors do, and hopefully getting back to us with some good news. 

Saus Doesn't Pay the Bills Yet.

This harsh reality set in when we all noticed our dwindling bank accounts. We did not get much of a severance package from our previous employer, so we needed to look for new jobs. And while we now had a copious amount of time to work on our business plan and search for locations, we needed to dedicate some of that time to looking for a way to sustain ourselves. And let me tell you, searching for jobs and putting up with bull-shin phone interviews and in-person interviews whilst trying to start a restaurant is tough. It has its pluses, however...we are not interested in finding careers, as we already have one as self-proclaimed entrepreneurs, so it made us a bit irreverent on the phone with prospective employers. Here is a conversation I had with the Girl Friday over at this security software company I applied for:

Girl: Hi! Renee? Hi, you applied for the sales position.
Renee: Oh yes! Hi!
Girl: Yeah, so, the way we like to get to know our candidates is by having them telling a story!
Renee: Oh...Okay...So, do you want to know about my previous sales experience?
Girl: No, no...just a story! Any story. We want to make sure our reps have positive attitudes on the phone!
Renee: Okay.
Girl: Yea, so like, one guy talked about how he got caught smoking pot in his grandmother's house. But you don't have to tell me a story like that. Just, like, any story!
Renee: Okay...well...I guess I can tell you the story of how I ended up going to BU.
(I proceed to tell her the lamest story of how my sister, my friends, and I visited schools in Boston and got lost and ended up on BU's campus and how we ate at the Pizzeria Uno in Kenmore Square and I was impressed at there being a Chicago pizza chain on campus so I applied and was accepted...(I told you we are serious about food.)
Girl: (feigning enthusiasm) Oh cool! Okay! So any other interesting things about you?
Renee: Um...well...I'm Assyrian...
Girl: Oh Syrian! WOW! One of the girls who works here is South Indian...do you know where that is? (how many things do you see wrong with this question? I see three: Assyrian, Syrian - very different. Southern India? Not near Syria. And do I know where it is? Really? Come on!)
Renee: (thinks she is being funny, so I reply with sarcasm) I think so! Isn't that south of North India?
Girl: (turns out she was serious and is now offended) Oh. Okay. So you did go to college, didn't you?

Needless to say, I didn't get a call back.

I hated the idea of working another 9-5. I can speak for Tanya and Chin when I say that we were having too much fun working on something that is actually ours. We used our unemployment wisely -- we worked on the business plan, looked for spaces, did some taste testings with our chef, Ryan (who is busy with school, so it was probably more fun for us-he makes the food, we eat it - a charmed life, for sure), and meeting during the day to plan.

Frustrating Realtors, Pt. 2

As a follow up to Tanya's note about her conversation with the realtor, I have one of my own to share with you...

...ring,ring...

Realtor: (imagine a mass-hole on the day the Patriots have lost) Hell-o?
Me: Hi, I'm calling about a space for rent on Newbury
Realtor: Okay.
Me: Can you tell me more about it?
Realtor: What do you want to know?
Me: (silence) Uhhh....what's the size?
Realtor: 800 square feet. What do you want it for?
Me: a restaurant.
Realtor: Do you know how much it costs to open a restaurant??
Me: (annoyed) Um. Yes. How much is the rent?
Realtor: $7,000 a month -- it's too much.
Me: (annoyed) Well, we're looking at places that are $9,000 a month! Could you tell me the address?
Realtor: Have you opened a restaurant before? It's really hard to open a restaurant.
Me: We...uh...have...people...who...have...What's the address?
Realtor: (says address)
Me: I'm going to review the info you've given me and call you back. What is your name?
Realtor: So you've never opened a restaurant? It will be too much for you.
Me: Do you have a name?
Realtor: Paul.
Me: When is this available?
Paul: Now.
Me: Are you open to leasing in March?
Paul: That's really far - 7 months away.
Me: 5 months.
Paul: Too far.
Me: Okay. Well. Thank you.

Nee seu woe de bow bay!

Just because the three of us are super driven, determined, passionate, AND have an unbeatable team of wise advisors, that does not mean that we have not had our fair share of can-we-do-this road bumps along the way already. 

Consider our incorporation process. While trying to figure out what kind of company we wanted to be (ie. what kind of official internal structure we want in place for tax purposes), we struggled with understanding our options. I myself have a background in communications, so listening to the differences between LLCs, SCorps, and Partnerships... it was like trying to speak Chinese when I grew up in isolated mainland America. At one point a shall-remain-nameless adviser/lifesaver made an analogy to make it easier for me by pretending I was running off to join a convent (my secret life goal, cough cough) and what would happen to my shares (as one-third owner). Since then we have all taken baby steps in understanding: both with SCorps and Chinese (nee seu woe de bow bay, excuse my phonetic spelling). 

Another fun road bump we are still experiencing is finding our location. We are working with several realtors and none of them seem qualified to do their jobs. One in particular had the following conversation with me:

Me: "We are looking for a location in either Boston or Cambridge, about 600-800 square feet, that's zoned to be a restaurant."

Him: "Well, I have a great location in Medford."

Me: "Do you have anything in Boston or Cambridge?"

Him: "Not really, but I have something in Worcester."

Me: "..."

Am I being unclear?

Moral of both stories: everyday is a struggle. We are learning as we go. It is challenging and overwhelming (at times), but I think this is a good thing. Because it forces us to really care about it. 

On the plus side, finalizing the menu is a tasty process. 

Jobless and Nameless

We called an emergency team meeting about moving forward with our business. Chin was going to seek incorporation for the purpose of tax structure. Most companies incorporate as an S-Corp or Limited Liability Corporation or become an LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) so that personal assets cannot be seized. Tanya was going to look for spaces for lease, either in the Back Bay or in Harvard Square, and I was going to work on our business plan. These were our main functions, but of course we cross-collaborated.

We met with our adviser who suggested we come up with size requirements and a floorplan so that we would be better informed when looking for space. And so we used the space we were in at the time (a late colonial-style living room with a sofa, fireplace, misplaced red Burlesque style lamp, a table and two chairs in the corner) to guess-timate on the square-footage of our space. We walked around the room, rearranged furniture, and from that estimated for somewhere in the 600 - 800 sq. ft. neighborhood.

Back to the incorporation - we needed to figure out what to call ourselves. Some names we came up with:

K.E.Kuo Group
TRC Inc.
StatusKuo Corp.

Needless to say, we vetoed these names and went with a name that spoke for Chin's Dutch ancestry -- that's right, way back when the Dutch settled in Taiwan, they mated with the natives. This is why if you look closely, you can see that Chin has freckles as well as about 5 orange-red hairs on his head.

So What Happened to Our Jobs?

Long story short, we lost them. No, not because we went on jcrew.com too much or because we used the office as our personal pilates studio. We lost our jobs because of some credit thing...something to do with the economy...it's a word that begins with an "R" ... recess...er...I don't know. Whatever it was, we were f.c.u.k'd. I still shudder remembering my somber departure speech, carefully rehearsed and flawlessly delivered by my boss. Seriously - I mean, it was Academy Award material, alas no cheesy cut-off music to rush him off the stage. The minute he asked to speak to me in his office, Mozart's Requiem popped into my head and would stay there throughout the course of his speech...I may have sung along with the chorus at one point - yes, in Latin. Anyway, clearly the guy did his research. In fact, I'm pretty sure he searched "how to gracefully fire an employee" on eHow.com. He followed the eHow steps, 1) state intent: termination 2) reassure the party in question that he or she was a valuable asset to the company 3) explain reason - blame on economy if need be. I outsmarted him. Little did he know that I eHow searched: "how to gracefully accept termination". I was poetic and cool and thanked him for the privilege to have worked at such a fine organization (eHow tip 1) do not protest and 2) thank for wonderful opportunity, lie and pander if need be). In fact, it was so good that John McCain hired me to draft his concession speech. I gathered my belongings (some Tazo tea bags, a yoyo we collected from one of the vendors at our most recent trade show, and my 5 lb freeweights), sauntered to the elevator with my chin up, waited for it for what seemed like a friggin hour, and pushed the ground floor button frantically when I stepped in.

Anyway, you're wondering how this is relevant to our entrepreneurial cause. The answer is that it isn't, really. But it is relevant in the fact that Tanya and Chin would suffer the same fate shortly thereafter and suddenly we were more motivated than ever. Our business was a mere glimmer before and now it was do or die. We chose do. We chose America. Please pardon my disgustingly revolutionary tone, I just watched a pretty rad victory speech on CNN.

A Brief Note About Our Day Jobs...Er...Former Day Jobs.

You must be wondering, "Wow, three employees within the same company wanting desperately to start their own business and leave their great jobs behind?!" Yeah, exactly. Only, let's just paint a little picture of what we do...er...did at our "great jobs".

A typical day us...

9:00 am (Tanya) - Arrives at office. Hangs coat over chair. Starts computer. Signs onto gchat.

9:35 am (Renee) - Arrives at office. Greets Tanya. Hangs coat over chair. Starts computer. Signs onto gchat.

10:02 am (Chin) - Arrives at office. Greets Tanya and Renee. Hangs coat over chair. Starts computer. Checks Fantasy Football team.

9:15 am - Opens up our CRM system, and for those of you who are lucky enough not to know, CRM means Customer Relationship Management, which basically means a little tool we use to incessantly bug people who know very well who we are and what we sell, but have made the conscious decision years ago that they wanted nothing to do with our software and more specifically, that they wouldn't buy it if it could prove to have found the fountain of youth in its algorithms.

9:21 am (takes a few minutes to load) - Checks CRM email inbox. Empty.

9:35 - 10:00 am - Tanya and Renee chit-chat.

10:00 - 11:35 am - Most productive part of day/Tanya bickers with boss who sits right next to her/Chin and Renee exchange knowing glances amidst the bickering.

11:36 - 12:00 pm - The three discuss where they will go for lunch.

12:00 - 1:00 pm - Lunch.

1:01 - 1:30 pm - gchat each other about start-up plans.

1:31 - 2:00 pm - Work.

2:01 - 2:15 pm - Random break, because we deserve it.

2:16 - 4:00 pm - Solid Work.

4:01 - 5 pm - Chin makes calls/Tanya and Renee do office work out program.

5:00 pm - Close CRM system/Close gmail tab/Close cnn.com tab/Close jcrew.com tab/Close Fantasy league tab

5:01 pm - We are out of the office.

*For complete definition of work, please contact us.

We Are In, Now What?

The three of us were on the same page - we had each been working for our company for about a year - 8 months as interns and 2 months as full-time employees and were already tired of answering to the man...you gotta love Generation Y.

Of course we thought about the difficulty of starting a business, especially given our age and lack of experience, but remained positive. Tanya mentioned her friends who owned their own clothing boutique in Boston. Our first move was setting up a meeting to talk to them. The meeting encouraged us and reinforced what we knew deep down -- that we could actually pull it off. Here were two young women who took a huge risk to do what they loved. We asked them about the investment options they explored and they introduced us to the idea of an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan. We also talked about perhaps the most stressful part of all -- choosing a location. Their shop is on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. They wanted to be in a neighborhood where they would see the same faces and vetoed Newbury Street because of the high turnover of retail shops due to there being many of them. So what we learned in this early meeting was a) we could do it in spite of our inexperience b) we could find the money to do it and c) location location location (ok, so I learned that from that Conrad Hilton book they put in the hotel rooms, but who is keeping track?).

We then started making plans and lists of things to do and people we should be talking to. There were several people in the SMG of BU community as well as Tanya's Uncle who owns a restaurant in Vermont. Mostly, though, we discussed our business model, whether we would have many seats or no seats and began familiarizing ourselves with the industry. Chin drafted a survey that we would send out to family and friends. We collected some valuable data. In fact, from the survey we found our surefire target market -- college students. Convenient, given that college students fuel Boston commerce. Also convenient given that the three of us were college students not so long ago! We, like, know our market, yo.

Our Humble Beginnings

Who are we kidding? We're still in our humble beginnings phase. But let's start with the three of us, how we met, and how we decided to start our own business. A little over a year ago, the three of us were college students who didn't know of each other's existence - Renee attended the School of Management at Boston University, as did Chin, and Tanya was studying Communications at Northeastern University. Although they didn't know each other, these college students realized the same sucky, fundamental truth - that in order to survive the daunting job search they were to face upon graduation, they needed to fill their resumes with seemingly exciting and valuable internship experience. Tanya got hired at a start-up software company whose main product helped law firms make lots of money. She climbed the ranks into corporate stardom and earned her keep as the third member of the organization. As she did, she was given more autonomy and authority. Tanya was told she could hire more interns to help the company sell more software. Long story short, she hired Chin and Renee. The three of us eventually became good friends and discovered many common interests: observing then discussing the mismanagement of our company, accents, our lunch breaks, and consequently, food.

We really took our lunch breaks seriously. We would travel all over downtown Boston in search of the perfect lunch. We came close -- Chacarero's combo sandwich, Silvertone's chili, and hot and sour soup from that Thai place in Faneuil Hall. Regardless, without giving too much away -- Boston was still missing something -- something that would satisfy our insatiable hunger and cravings. But what was it? EUREKA! We tried to find it by googling our hearts out - I think we even went to the sixth O (who does that?) and could not find anything! Finally when we gave up, we joked and said that we should open a shop that sold these delicious, satisfying treats.

That joke somehow turned into our lives.

Why so mysterious? Well, first, we want to talk about ourselves, the entrepreneurs and not about the end result. Second, in the case that this blog gets any attention whatsoever, we don't want it to detract from our intricately contrived, brilliantly mastered, will-blow-you-away, marketing efforts. Right.