May I Take Your Order?

Recently, the Saus team has really been focusing on the business/money/headache side of Saus. Which, obviously we need to. But it makes me feel a little useless since I get glazed over and lost. To my credit, I have learned soooo much and I am trying. But nonetheless, it's not my favorite part of this adventure.

I love picturing the inside of the store. Imaging the day-to-day. Taste-testing. Brainstorming new recipes. Taste-testing. Etc Etc.

And I love when I have a real-world experience that clarifies how I want Saus to be and solidifies ideas that I've been preaching. One such preachy idea is that it all comes down to customer experience and customer service.

I truly believe that customer experience is a solid 80% of why people come back (perhaps more). As a self-proclaimed "foody," I L.O.V.E food. I love to eat out and to discover new restaurants. I live for it, really. It is my essence. (Am I going overboard with my enthusiasm? At least I'm in the right industry.) However, despite my love for food, if I don't have a good customer experience at a restaurant- I don't go back, no matter how good the food. Enter yesterday. I went to a bakery (out of kindness and being the new kid in the Boston food neighborhood and needing to make friends, I'll let it remain nameless). This bakery has really yummy cupcakes. Cupcakes that have enticed me to return to this bakey. And every time I go to this bakery, I never have a fantastic customer service experience but it had never been downright bad. Except for yesterday.

I went with a friend and we ordered a dozen and a half of assorted cupcakes. We were chatting as she piled them all into boxes, so we weren't counting along. When she gave us the total price, we looked at each other, eyebrows raised, thinking that's a little high. So my friend clarified, saying "That's for a dozen and a half?" The girl behind the counter replied super snottily, "No, that's for two dozen and a half. That's what I heard." So we smiled and said, "Whoops, no. It was supposed to be a dozen and a half."

The girl behind the counter proceeds to sigh, roll her eyes, grumble and ever so slowly, put a dozen cupcakes back on the shelves. She had some serious attitude. And here is what I think of this: as half of the duo ordering the cupcakes, I heard my friend say one and a half dozen. But no big deal. Mistakes are made. Just smile and re-ring us up for the correct amount. No need to make a huge ordeal about it. No need for attitude, especially when it's your mistake.

It just really gets under my skin, situations like that. How do businesses not care that they are hiring people who do nothing to get people back in the store. We are in a recession, helloooo? Crack a smile and do your job with a cheery attitude. So, mystery girl at that bakery, do not even think about applying to Saus. And a word to Saus applicants: SMILE! Oh, and be helpful and friendly. Because I really do think it all comes down to the experience.

I think I may start to draft our employee handbook. It may feature this post.

The Lawyer and I

Nothing says "legitimate restaurant business" like a first meeting with a high-powered restaurant lawyer who counts some big names in the industry among her many clients. Meeting in the boardroom of her exquisite office at her reputable firm - prime real estate on the waterfront, with views of both the airport and seaport - Trish (as we'll call her) certainly came across at first glance as extremely intimidating. Think Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" (did I really just make a "Devil wears Prada" reference?).

She couldn't have been more different. She led the majority of the conversation but did so in a very straightforward, down-to-earth and, refreshingly enough when dealing with lawyers, ego and jargon-free. Her expertise and experience in the restaurant business were clearly visible and it was obvious that she would prove to be an excellent resource, willing and able to take on and assist on a number of important hurdles.

Greg and I laid out our concepts for the restaurant and she seemed to be impressed. She liked where we were going with the general idea and saw the same immense potential in Saus that we see in ourselves. Trish could have easily ignored the opinions of a 23-year-old just starting in the restaurant business. Instead, she listened to everything I said with an open-mind, agreeing to some things while politely nodding along to others, but most importantly, respecting all my comments and opinions.

The meeting ended with her agreeing to email us the scope of work she can do for us, in addition to three references. Trish also hooked us up with names for brokers and a lease negotiation "specialist". All-in-all, it was an extremely productive first meeting and we are very confident that by hiring Trish, and hopefully locking down our location ASAP, things will really get rolling.

No Reservations...Except Those Around Our Potential Location

Ok, so I know we've sung this tune before -- but where do we want to be? Our location is critical, as it will be the only port from which we can sell our goods...mankind has not come so far as buying fast food online. One day, my friends...one day. And we aren't a delivery kind of place, either. So to help us critique the locations we have been considering, one of our advisers instructed us to put together a market analysis detailing the contending locations for Saus.

So far we have three spots: Newbury St., Coolidge Corner, and the Faneuil area. I will take you through some of the issues we are deliberating before making a decision: Newbury St. would allow us to become a hangout for college kids and young professionals, but would we be overshadowed by the many storefronts and dining options? Also, Newbury shuts down at a certain hour. And Coolidge Corner has the college students, but is primarily a family neighborhood. Also, the Coolidge Corner spot is way too big and would require a great deal of work. Lastly (for now) we have the Faneuil location. We would be off the Quincy Market strip and amongst the pantheon of the Faneuil bar gods. You know what I am talking about. If you are or were ever a college student in Boston you visited one of the bars at the urging of your friend from Lowell...or Quincy. The spot would do wonders for late-night volumes and could get the tourists in as well (it's right on the Freedom Trail). Sounds ideal, right? But here is the sixty four thousand dollar question: Do we really want to be positioned as a late-night food joint? A large part of our business model is that we buy locally grown produce and we make everything from scratch, and in-house! Though, after 10 Sam Adams Summer Ales can one really tell the difference between homemade and microwaved frozen food? Perhaps. But the point is we don't want to diminish the value of our offerings and the experience we wish to be creating for our customers (and no, by "experience", we do not mean projectile vomiting onto our front window).

Our search does not end here, dear friends. We shall continue on the Freedom Trail of retail space led by our good broker John (who refuses to wear a tri-corner hat when he shows us these places...we'll keep trying). In the meantime, please tell us what you think. If you can answer the sixty four thousand dollar question, or at least attempt to, we will give you a big hug. Thanks.

Ready, Set...Wait. Ready, Set...Hold On. Ready, Set....

We realize that it has been a while since our last update, so here it is. Our progress with Saus has had as many ups and downs as the Dow Industrial 5 year chart (er, maybe more "ups" than the Dow). One day we're on top of the world with the promise of tomorrow at our disposal and the next day we realize that "promise of tomorrow" should not be taken literally, that it is now today and no one ever tells you that you have the "promise of today".

So we at Saus have banned that phrase altogether. We have become "today" people, which is problematic in instances where an adviser, and close family friend of mine, calls one day, 9 months into start-up planning, and says in the most loving and constructive way imaginable: "Your business plan could have been written by a 5th grader." Now, I've seen that show "Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" and let me just say: I acquiesce to these prepubescent miracles. I have no doubts that they could have had this business up and running by now. Nevertheless, this is not something you want to hear from a savvy restaurant investor (on his portfolio are places to which you have most likely been if you live in Boston). So our team has decided to revise our business plan and include an operating agreement that lays out the terms for our investors and distribution of equity and dividends.

The fact is that no matter how much you labor over the business plan, it will always suck. It will constantly be changed, it will never be completely accurate (in terms of numbers), and it will never be the sum of all parts of your business put into words. Somebody will always hate your business plan. Now, for us it's pretty clear: if we want serious restaurant investors to look at our plan, it needs to include serious restaurant investor lingo and metrics.

Are we in despair over this? Not really. We are still actively looking at sites and planning away like we have been doing. After all, as our adviser noted: we owe it to our investors before taking their money to be as clairvoyant as can be.

My Letter to Obama

So, I was inspired by a young girl who wrote to Obama asking him to fix her crumbling school. Our plight is not as humble or altruistic, but we are Americans with a problem and here is how I tried to make President Obama feel sorry for us in the form of a letter:

Dear President Obama,

I am a 22 year old entrepreneur from Chicago, IL. I currently reside in Boston, MA. In May, I graduated from Boston University with a business degree and concentration in entrepreneurship. In school we learned the fundamentals of fundraising for our start-ups as well as the various sources from which we would be able to raise capital. For the past 10 months, I have been working to start-up my own company with a group of talented, young post-grads. In October, I was laid off from my full time job at a small software company along with two of my co-workers and business partners. At the time, we made the recession our excuse to focus our time on the start-up venture so that we could make a living and create jobs for 5-6 Americans. Once we grow, we often said, we would be able to hire more people and do our part for the economic cycle.

I went to school to become an entrepreneur. You can imagine my surprise almost a year later to discover that the SBA does not give loans to people like me. Instead they give loans to the top ten largest companies in the United States. My team’s idea is a good one. The idea is supported by a vast amount of market data and research and financial projections, and is an idea that falls under the “recession-proof” category. My predicament is that my job is with my company. Unfortunately, I do not know when my dream will be realized because my government does not support it. My team is trying to sell equity to family and friends, but people are as protective of their money as ever, and understandably so.

If only there existed a body within the SBA (or better yet, independent from the SBA, thus independent from financial institutions) that loaned specifically to start-up entrepreneurs, this country may see some unrivaled innovation that has been missing since the early industrial revolution.

Thank you

Storefront Shopping on Newbury Street

Yesterday afternoon we met with our broker, John, to look at some open retail spots on Newbury St. John had set up an appointment with another broker, Tom, who represents the company that owns almost all the buildings on Newbury. We were supposed to see about 5 spots, but ended up seeing only 2. Why? Tom explained to us that we were very limited in our options as a quick-service restaurant concept. He said that the Tenant Association, which approves new development projects on Newbury St. would reject us in a heartbeat (because of the nature of our food operation). Tom chimed that the process of obtaining a permit to build our restaurant on the odd side of Newbury would probably cost us about $30,000. Tom suggested one spot on Newbury (on the even side) where we actually had a chance (simply because it abuts Boylston St. and not residential property).

Let's talk about this spot. It's great, it's in our price range, and it's right next to a competitor. Drats. Who says "drats" anymore? So let's review: great location, good price, nice layout, wouldn't need too much work, right next to competitor. One can argue that on any high-traffic street such as Newbury, you are essentially always next to a competitor. If I'm not next to one, I'm down the block from one. Alright, I'll be fair: the competitor is not a direct competitor in the sense that Starbucks is to Dunkin Donuts or Trident (all on the same block). However, for a new brand as ours, we run the risk of being dwarfed by our competitor's name.

We continue our search. Choosing a location will be the most difficult decision our team must make, but as a very wise someone once told me: whatever you choose, it will have been the right decision for whatever reason. Maybe this is true, but we'll just have to make the right decision and find out. = )

Old School

I decided the time had come to buckle down and work on the Saus marketing/publicity plan. (My guilty conscience on how negligent I've been has been eating away at me... I really thought procrastination would finally stop once I graduated, but instead I think it got worse.) So I sat my butt down and forced myself to concentrate and think outside the box.

Unfortunately, just like my procrastination got worse since college, my thinking got more structured and box-like- damn you corporate world! I exhausted all the typical PR ideas, even embraced new media, but nothing earth shattering/freaking awesome would come to me.

I decided I needed a trip back to college to bring out my "creative" side (what the corporate world sees as ideas that "won't" work because I don't fully understand the concept behind them...) But those are the ideas I'm looking for. So I emailed an old professor and requested a meeting. I find myself really looking forward to his ruthless critique of my "marketing" plan (something I would have dreaded in college- oh how the times have changed.)