Escape and Direction

A friend asked me a great question the other day about where I am in my life, especially with my decision to go to Korea for 3 months.  My reply is below:

"Your question on going to Korea as an escape did get me thinking.  The answer is yes and no :)  Yes, a part of me wants to take a break from this business and have some fun.  But am I running away from something?  I don't think so.  I read a book about the dynamics of Asia in the next 15-20 years.  The author forecasts that USA will still remain the dominant power in Asia, but there are challenges via Japan, China.  So the two nations that will help USA maintain their influence in the area are Singapore and Korea, which means that they will continue to get investment and support.  So I actually think Korea will have more opportunities in the future and if I can establish some networks there it could mean more business down the road.  One thing I want to keep in mind is how to make the best use of this experience and not for it to dissolve into some 3 month party.

Can the business run by itself?  After 2.5 years, the restaurant part can and does run by itself.  Sometimes well, sometimes not well!  We add value by keeping our staff motivated, working together and focused on the right things.  You are correct in saying that no one cares for the business as much as the the business owners.  But that doesn't mean that we don't try to encourage and make our staff want to take that ownership.  We are now at 30 full time people in this business!  We have to get multiple layers to manage themselves.  Having Jo in the business whilst I am away of course is good.  But ultimately we have believe that we can find people that are as dedicated to the business as we are and develop this people.  Otherwise we can never grow.

Where Jo and I are now trying to add more value is developing the business in new ways.  Opportunities like developing that retail arm, pitching for a food stall at F1, bidding for a new diner, these are the things that we are now focussed on.  Can they be done not in Singapore?  To a certain extent yes, although developing a design needs some visits to the location.

As to your question of being lost, yes I have those moments.  I actually think that comes with the flexibility that this business has given me.  The tough part is not knowing if any of these opportunities that we develop will actually get us anywhere.  There is also an element of uncertainty that what we do will actually increase our profitability.  So yes I think the direction can be sharpened.  But I feel at peace with what I am doing.  I am happy to be given the opportunity to make things happen.  And by "make things happen", it could mean anything from going to Korea to creating a charity BBQ event to building a new F&B brand.  Maybe that is all that I can ask for.  Just have to make them work.

There is an article that talks about moving from different periods in our lives.  I do feel that I go from Stage 3 back to Stage 2 and back to Stage 3.  Conceptually, I think I already committed to this business with the time and investment spent.  But I also need to understand what are the odds of these new opportunities succeeding and which ones I should pursue.  http://markmanson.net/four-stages-of-life

Thanks for asking me those questions and making me think.  And thanks for the offer of talking through Christianity.  It is something that I think I will have to find my own path for.  And who knows where that path will lead!"

Pig Out!

At last I am doing something charitable!  Pig Out is the outdoor BBQ event that Jo and I are holding, to donate the proceeds back to charity, Food Bank Singapore.  Food Bank collects unused and close to expiry food items and distributes them to Singapore's needy.  Given that we are in the food business ourselves, it is good match.  An even better match is that AugustMan is looking to create a food focussed event, which means we will get publicity firepower.

With events like this, everyone wants their say in the process, so the tough part will be bringing all the different parties together with a common vision.

Thoughts on my side:
1. I am ok with Food Bank, but the reality is that any food related charity works. Perhaps the greater truth for me is that I just want to organise it, I don't really care where the money goes.  Sad but true.
2. We have to make this at least cost neutral for our company.  That means being smart about the expenditure, and probably getting more companies involved for the manpower, as that is the most expensive cost.
3. What I learned from BJ is that we should never be afraid, if not brazen, to ask for support, .  If we believe in doing this event, then others will be inspired as well.
4. Make it small enough that it will succeed, but make it ambitious enough that we fear that it may fail.  That edge is what will drive us.
5. I need to personally market.  Starting with the magazine but also spreading it to my friends.  A good test for my PR skills!
6. I need to take charge of the event and make it mine.  Yes take in the feedback, but I will make it happen!

This will be fun.  Much like how that outdoor dance party was a madhouse, I have a feeling this could turn big.  But we need to start marketing as soon as possible!

Setting The Right Structure for Overseas

What are the key objectives when I am overseas?

I must limit the face to face interactions but also set up the necessary structure to get the right information to the right people.  Start off be limiting time in the outlet.

I must be able to batch decisions into a timeframe so that I can do a lot of work at once.  Try to avoid making on the spot decisions, instead give staff the authority to make a decision up to a certain cost.

I must not be the bottleneck for information or decisions.  Hence all reference guides and where to get items (especially IT) need to be up to date.

I should give Mary the ability to sign cheques up to $5K, so that suppliers and minor cheques can be processed easily.  She should get GIRO access?

I must be prepared to let go, and even be prepared for no income from the business.  Just because this is my current income does not have to make it the only one.

I must still be able to watch the business.  Focus on the P&L, Monthly Reports, COGS, Sales Mix.

Do not work for work's sake.  Find things to do outside of the business.  Consider new business ideas, new directions.

We must be financially solid before I leave, so that we can pay our suppliers properly.  On the flip side, we should push for more 60 day credit terms.

Thinking Straight

I have to think more on the different perspectives of the business, instead of focusing too much on just solving one problem.
I also have to stop just taking the information from my RGMs and regurgitating, and put some thought behind what they say to see if it will be applicable.

I think I still have a tendency to trust too much what other people say.  That includes both RGMs and Jo, actually.  So before I make a decision, take a step away from myself and ask "would I tell Kev this is a good decision?"

In the situation that happened today, I think I am not that good when the arguments are not my own.  If I am representing someone else, then my arguments are not cohesive and thought through.
The problem with this specific issue is that I think one of my RGMs is tuning out or actually acting negatively to any idea that comes from the boss.  Which is no good, as it means that even good ideas or thinking are negatively viewed.  In this instance I think I was trying to help out the situation by attempting to mediate, but in reality I just myself look like I hadn't thought the issue through.

Going forward, three things:
1. Do not get involved in a dispute unless I understand both sides of the equation.
2. Do not try to represent other people's views.  Encourage them to express their own view instead to the people directly.  It is very hard to represent properly.
3. Think as an outsider:  "does this improve the business/guest experience?" vs "what is the operational cost to do this?" and then make the decision based on that.

Opportunities

It seems that one opportunity with the OC takeover is dead in the water.  Having said that, OC seems to still be quite keen on us moving forward and are reducing the rent offering.  It is still high, but a lot different to what they initially offered us.  The key issue is that the current tenant is now not that keen to move out, so I still think the deal will not work out.  But who knows, let's see what they can do.

One thing with opportunities when I have my own business is that any opportunity is potential and needs some thought.  I guess the next few years will be trying to develop, maintain and improve the validity of multiple income streams.  At the moment, there is GAP and Rewind, and we are trying out a new Rewind event to see if it will work.  This means that each opportunity has its cycle of developing (usually quite intensive), maintain (when operationally stable) and then improve (with refreshes of the offering).

So I need to be conscious of what cycle each of them is at, in order to not burn out.  But also I can realise that not all the opportunities require the same amount of attention at the same time.  Unlike a job where I have to focus only on that, I need to develop the skill to quickly diagnose what is wrong and get it fixed up.   Multi-tasking is no good, but serial focussing may be a better solution.

The other skill is to be able to quickly discern the validity of an idea, and the probability of success.  I think I am still quite "on the fence" with many opportunities, so develop the quick "making a decision" ability will increase my capacity to test and see ideas.

The other opportunity is to work with Aives on a social entrepreneur expansion into Asia.  At the moment, it seems like their own execution in Australia needs time, but it gives a bit of space to do some proper market research to come up with a good approach to this opportunity.  I think it is a good one, as I want to get involved in social entrepreneurship.  I am slightly wary though, as I may have a romantic notion of what it actually is about.  Need to get out there and talk to those people in the industry and see whether I really want to do it.  Of course, there are many facets of that business, so another approach (which may be more fruitful) is to find the elements of that opportunity that I think I will enjoy and really push on those.

Control

I had an interesting moment talking about a new concept with an investor.  I had informed him that I was having a meeting with the mall management to go through the final version of the concept, and propose the PSF for the outlet.  He said that he should be at the meeting.  At first I said no because I believe that introducing new elements (being a new person) would affect the negotiation, possibly derailing the process.  And since he was only a potential investor, I wasn't sure if it was good to bring him into the process into the first place.

My potential investor (is his characteristic blunt way) pointed out that it was his strength in negotiation, and that (though he didn't use as many words), believed that he could negotiate a better deal than I would.   I thought about this for a while before agreeing to let him come to the meeting.

If I mapped the thinking process, I would guess that besides the derailing risk, I did have an ego hit when he pointed out my previous negotiation results.  As a "entrepreneur", I would think that I am capable of doing all the job elements.  To be confronted with that fact, is a hard pill to swallow.  And then the more I thought about it, the less downside there was.  Ultimately if there is no deal, there is no business.  And he is very keen to get the deal done, and (hopefully) has the skills to get the deal for the right price.  We have to use the resources we have around us to get the results we are looking for.  Also since he has staked his ability to get that PSF rate, then he should have more incentive.

Of course there is still a downside and that is that he alienates the relationships that we have built with the mall.  Given that we don't have any current business with them, then it is not too big an issue.  Let's see how this meeting goes.

As an overall theme though, it's about the amount of control each of the people have in a new company.  Having not worked with him before, I suppose this period is about finding out what the other person wants.  And in this case, I have to be clear what I (and GAP) is looking for.  I should not think of people as being adversarial straight away.  But I should not give the control up without knowing the reason why.  And the reality of the situation is that whoever has 51% of the votes will control the company. 

Concept Work Part 2

It was fun to work on the concept deck for O.  What was cool was to realise how rubbish my first effort was! The subsequent polishing / carving of the presentation via clarifying the concepts, adding new concepts and generally improving the look and feel of the presentation was good to watch.  Plus I have learnt many things about Powerpoint that I had take to the next presentation!

I have read that whatever one writes on the page is what one falls in love with.   The hardest part is to accept feedback and make the necessary changes to improve it.  As someone who is easily swayed, it is easy to lose track of what the original idea was.  Luckily it is good to have people around me who "add value" to the idea instead of trying to bring a whole new idea in.  I also have to be conscious of this and really try to add value to other people's ideas, cause that is where the great ideas come from.

Having the concept brief should make the interior design work easier to understand and to integrate not just the interior but the overall design of the outlet, from food / drinks to interior to uniforms and even the toilets.  We must stay true to the style of this concept, and I think the guest will appreciate the integrated whole.

The most difficult part comes next, which is a) to convince the mall that the concept is good for them, and b) to convince them that whilst it is good, the sales are still at risk and hence we will need a good deal on the rent!  A fine line to tread.

Networking

Just went to a boat cruise today with lots of new people.  Always good to meet new friends, and I think some of these people are ballers! :)

If I am to stay here in SG for a long period of time, and especially if I am going to do more business, it makes a lot of sense to network more and develop a better connection with the "SG upper class".  That's always been one area where I have not put enough thought into.  I just meet people and have fun.  But in SG, probably more so than in Syd or New York, having that connection is a very advantageous thing to have.

The clash is that I always want to do concepts that bring people in.  Hence I am such a mass market fan.  There is less of the "oh if I piss this person off, my business is ruined" concept.  I was talking to a friend that wanted to get into yacht sales, and I was thinking, that is an extremely small market.

I should just continue to be willing to go to new parties and meet new people.  Club meeting is not as good as you can't really talk and everyone is mostly smashed.  Junk boat parties are a good start!

Building Ideas

We have an opportunity for a new space at OC.  Rent seems like it can be quite low, so this may mean there is less requirement for it to make massive numbers.  In this case, it's pretty much a blank slate.  And that is the problem, I find it difficult to really conceptualise things that I can confidently say "oh yeah, the market will like this".  Perhaps that is actually too much to ask, start with something that I personally will like and go from there?

This location is on the rooftop, so need to take advantage of the views.  There is a outdoor section, which will be good for smoking.  There is an existing long izakaya bar, which should be easily converted into a normal bar.

The crowd around Orchard I find is not as avantgarde.  As a friend puts it, "it's atas and casual".  So I'm thinking comfort hipster!  Or something a bit more like Jones the Grocer.
Thoughts of utilising the space as an outdoor BBQ, but not sure of licensing rules.
I think back to The Oaks, but not sure if Singaporeans want to cook their own food!
Life is Beautiful is doing something similar.

I would like to combine:  good comfort food, normal priced drinks, and pop music done by a DJ.  Include a decent view and a smoking area, I think I would get some people.

The key is to transition from dinner to night time without missing a beat.  Lights have to go down.

Need to think more!!

Business Automation

My goal this year is to be able to earn the same amount of money from my business in SG without being in SG.  It is being location independent, but having very physical assets.

I estimate that I am about 50% of the way there with GAP.  The current situation is as follows:
1. Operationally on a day to day basis I am not involved.  I am at the outlets a lot, but I do not need to be on the floor or in the kitchen.
2. Corporate work in HR is done by our corporate admins.  This includes all timesheet reporting, payroll submissions and new hires/terminations.
3. Corporate work in IT is still done by me.  All POS changes, all computer issues, all printer issues, etc are done by me on a day to day basis.
4. Corporate work in Finance is still done by me.  This includes all cheque payments, our operations reporting, accounts receivable creation, GIRO payments, bank issues.
5. Suntec outlet construction issues still handled by me.
6. Mall relationships handled by me.
7. Key supplier relationships handled by me.

To be able to be location independent would mean the following (at a base level):
1. Corporate work in IT to be handled by a third party.  Not too hard, just a cost to be factored into our P&L.  I can do POS work remotely.
2. Corporate finance work, especially cheque payments would be handled by another person.  We just installed a cheque printer, so I just need to write up the process for submitting payments to be printed out.  From a sign-off perspective, if Jo is in SG then it is easy just for him to sign cheques,
3. Move more payments into GIRO form so that it can be done remotely.  At the very least all payroll (except CFS) should be GIRO.  Cash flow is an issue now, so holding payments is a good thing and hence holding cheques is a requirement.  Hopefully this is only an issue until April.
4. Mall relationships to be handled by Restaurant General Managers, instead of me.
5. Key supplier relationships to be handled by Drink and Food Champions, instead of me.  That one I can probably still manage remotely.
6. Sort out a communication method (Skype?) to manage the flow of information remotely.

The one area that needs me in SG is business development and new concepts.  Things such as OC or other options need to be sorted out.  Then this becomes a question of priority.  Is it more important to have the Korea experience, or rather should I concentrate this year to get more stuff off the ground?

If the goal is to earn the SAME amount of money, then perhaps it is ok to delay these new projects until I come back to develop them properly.

Separately, to improve some of our existing processes, we need to document the procedures better so that I do not need to be on call for questions on things that have already been answered,.

Practising Negotiation

After the Sunday event incident, I had the pleasure of negotiating with the owner of the club as the outcome of the event was so bad.

Previously the agreement was that we would pay for the expenses of marketing the event, and he would cover the cost of staff and the band.  Based on the event turnout, he refused to pay the band.

In the end, we split the cost of the band.  In review, I think I did not negotiate well.
1. We had clearly agreed on the cost of the split.
2. The leverage obviously changed as after the event I was in a fairly poor position.
3. My worse case was to split the cost of the band.
4. My best case was that the agreement was the agreement and they should honour it.
4. When I offered to pay, I should have gone for increments.  Start at $100 and resisted hard on giving more money.
5. I have too great a sense of "fairness" in this context.  Given the relative transactional basis of this negotiation (I was really never going to work with the club owners again) I should have been more aggressive.
6. Will learn to hold the line more for next negotiation.
7. One thing was that I was able to put myself as the "good guy" with the band.  Keeping that relationship is not a bad thing, and something we can cultivate going forward for any additional events.

Poppy Sunday Review

What was done?
- Flyers distributed to Lucky Plaza, Ngee Ann City (twice) and Bugis MRT.
- 2500 flyers distributed
- Minimal facebook promotion. Zero promotion of FB page.

End result:

0 guests.  Let me repeat, 0 guests.  Basically all the assumptions we made about this crowd were wrong.  Meanwhile, Blowfish is packed out on a Sunday night.

Assumptions:

- That $10 / $5 was an acceptable amount for entry, given Blowfish is $5.

- That the location at Beach Rd was not too far away from the main Filipino crowd.

- That a "Filipino Live Band and Pop EDM" tag long was enough to draw a crowd.

- That ultimately that market is being underserviced and just needed additional capacity to fill.

What to do to improve:
- More communication to online FB community.  Challenge the perception that people aren't on FB.

- If we do flyer drops, consider doing flyer drops closer to the location.  Asking people to move from Orchard to Beach Rd is too far.  Focus on areas such as Concourse, Golden Mile and get them to visit.

- If we are going for Filipinos, then make the flyer for them.  Put it in Tagalog and English.

- Make the offering better.  1 for 1 drink.   Cheaper beer towers.  Free bottle if there are 10 in the group.  Giveaways and prizes.  Budget for the event.  Advertise the value more. 

- Utilise the band following much more.

- Review offering? $0 entry? Some giveaways? Group deals? More drinks promotion.
- Change the timing of the event to be 3pm to 8pm as lunch time people are still having lunch!

It just feels like there are minimal people in this area on Sunday afternoons.  Even Haji Lane is quite empty.  I believe that not the right people were told of the event. Plus the value proposition was not strong enough.

Every Day is a Monday

On owning your own business, so true:

"The worries never end. You never sleep. Every day becomes Monday. Every minute becomes 3am Monday morning. Every day there is constant battles and meager successes to drive you forward. And sometimes there are stretches where it’s all 2 steps forward and three steps backwards.

I never once considered going back to the corporate job. It would be embarassing. A failure. I had to keep going forward. But the Mondays never ended. And 17 years later, the Mondays still don’t end. But you get used to it. Heck, it’s Monday right now! And I have 10,000 times more issues than I ever had at a corporate job . But over time the problems that used to be hard get easier. And the problems that you have today become opportunities. And the opportunities get better and better because you learn which ones smell, taste, look, feel better. And it’s no longer two steps forward three steps back. It’s five steps zig-zagged. And one of these days I’ll reach the end of the maze and a unicorn will be there. And I’ll ride her away and never look back."

From James Altucher

Organisational Plans

Going into the Unilever kitchens was an experience.  So much kitchen gear, so little of it is used!  I am still in dire need of understanding the food preparation side, to appreciate the quality of the foods.  When the rubber hits the road ie when I'm in my own kitchen, that may be the time where the learning really starts.

Talking to Tham, he provided some good suggestions regarding the organisational structure.  He argues that at the end of the day, the duty manager (one of the restaurant managers or myself) should have the final say for the whole restaurant, including the kitchen.  In essence, the customer, that the restaurant manager represents, is the boss.  I think this system has value, as ultimately the customer is the one bringing in the revenue.  What it does imply is that the kitchen cannot be an independent area, with its own rules.  What it also implies is that all our restaurant managers need to have a working understanding of the kitchen, how it works, what is required to run it.

It was also good to have Tham do a review with the shortlisted candidates.  He provides a much more structured way of interviewing staf, more so than how we did the first round of interviews.  Some good questions he asked were: who was your ideal boss and why; how do your staff see you; what analytical awareness do you show, especially in terms of costs and profits etc.

HK Restaurant Thoughts

Some thoughts from the places I went to in HK
40 Gough St - very helpful staff to flag me at the entrance and guide me to the private dining room.  Service was unobtrusive, but efficient.  My water was always filled.  Food did not all arrive at the same time (linguine came out first) but the delay was not significant.  Decor was stylish.

Cafe Grey - The view is always great from up there.  WAter was always refilled, staff were not super attentive.  One forgot the request from Bec for milk for her tea.  Presentation of the food was quite good, but it can be seen that certain items (like the pear salad) were overdoused in the italian dressing, making it look less fresh.

Goldfinch - A solid restaurant, value oriented.  Decor hasn't changed, since they used the restaurant for filming "2048".  Service is friendly, efficient.  Treating elders better is a good thing. Roasted pigeon was great, moist and crispy. Fries were terrible.

Coast - Very Australian feel, light woods.  Staff were friendly, although they messed up the food for me.  It came to the table before the waiter realised the issue, should have been picked up before that point in time.

Quinary - Cocktails presentation was very good.  The truffle fries were very tasty.  Waiters disappeared for long stretches of time, most likely because of the number of orders they needed to process, and cocktail making is a slow process.  Decor was classy, dark timbers, dark corrugated iron, beautiful leather couches, good lighting.  Tough to be the owner in that situation, as you want your guests to be treated the best.

Hei Chin Rou - I got there late, so food was coming already.  Yum cha always delivers.  I didn't find any issues with the service, although our cokes took a while to get to our table.

I think I am too blase about a lot of these things, as in I don't mind if the food is a bit sloppy, or the waiter is a bit late.  My tolerance for such "mistakes" is very high.  I need to improve my own standard of quality in order to enforce it on my staff so that others whom may have higher standards than I, will appreciate the efforts that we have done.

Checklists

Quote from David Allen's "Getting Things Done":
The degree to which any of  us needs to maintain checklists and external controls is directly related to our unfamiliarity with the area of responsibility.

I need to get back on this track and manage the information I am getting on setting up the restaurant.

Opinions

In my conversations with my business partner, I fundamentally believe that he has a stronger vision for the future.  Hence I am willing to follow that lead, and execute based on that vision.  Our current vision of moving "up" the food production chain to get back to primary agriculture is a good one, as I do think that food (processes, technology, markets) will grow rapidly in the next decade, especially around south east Asia.

Now in this F&B business, he does have a lot more domain knowledge, and hence has been taking the lead in the financials and the setup.  I'm caught between thinking that I'm asking too many stupid questions but without the necessary understanding to provide valuable feedback.  And generally I'm not that outspoken a person, with strong views, so I am tending to keep those opinions to myself.

When there are clashes of opinion, I do allow Jo to take the lead on the decision.  What I have noticed though is that he would lead to a decision that is not where I am thinking, but would, upon reflection, move closer to my viewpoint.  It's a strange thing, but does show that we are both willing to let other opinions shape our decisions.

I do know that I need to have a stronger view of how I want the restaurant to run, especially since I am the general manager.  Have to know where the centre is so I can guide everyone there and realign them when they are off track.  Having my thoughts validated through a revaluation of a decision means that I know my opinion is moving us to the right place.

Job Hunting

Or rather employee hunting!

Just started working on the job descriptions for the staff that we should be hiring.  I am drawing/copying a lot of inspiration from the book "Setting the Table" by Danny Meyer.  It talks of an enlightened hospitality, and delves into detail regarding the types of staff, and particularly managers that we should be hiring.  This is what I am writing for the job description.


The candidate displays the following Attributes:

• Infectious positive attitude.
• Self-awareness and how they can add value to the company.
• Long term view of success, that tomorrow dollars still counts.
• Sense of abundance to other staff and our guests.
• A trust of staff to do the right thing.
• Approving patience and tough love.
• A character that will command respect, not demand it.
• Ability to focus on customer service, to write a great “last chapter” of a client’s experience with the restaurant.

So what does this mean?  It means that we want our managers to be the source of inspiration for our staff.   They should embody "hospitality", where hospitality is there when something is done "for" you, hospitality is not there when something is done "to" you.
I need to start visualising scenarios how this would play out.  Thinking of things like a dropped plate, a double booking, guests who are trying to make a theatre show, the regular Sunday couple, a badly cooked plate of food, etc.

With the restaurant manager role, I do think of a "da jie" manager, an older women who would be the heart and soul of the restaurant, but whom has the ability to keep those young waitstaff in line.  I think she would be a good compliment to my managerial style.

How do you capture a vision of proactive service?

Alcohol Supplies

So I had my first meeting with an alcohol supplier, Moet Hennessy Diageo.  It is, as with all things in this business, a learning experience.  Some key points:
1. An American ribs and casual dining restaurant would not likely to have significant amounts of wine consumed, and even the type of wine that is consumed would be on the lower scale.

2. What wines one does carry will reflect in the image of the restaurant.

3. Given the general heat and humidity, white wines should be more crisp and refreshing (which would be the ones coming from NZ, Australia etc) compared to the white wines from Europe.  I have a feeling that this was the sales guy doing his pitch.

4. Advertising and promotions can be provided as working capital, but the restaurant must then hit the volume targets.  There is some kind of "clawback" clause for the supplier to get the money back from the restaurant. For us, I think this will be unknown for the first 6 months, so we should consider just nett purchases, or performance based bonuses.  The other option is that they drip feed you capital for specific items like uniforms, or menus so you don't get the whole working capital straight up.

5. I need to understand these wine offerings better.  I cannot tell the difference between all the different types of wines available.  Perhaps it's more of "what is a good wine that will go with the dishes that we are serving?"

6. There is alcohol that you purchase for house pours and then there is alcohol that you purchase to sell by the bottle.  If you have one brand of house pours, then you cannot utilise a competing brand in the same category.  Of course if he supplier does not stock a category, you're free to buy from whomever. But for wines, there is no category.  You can only serve their white or red.  I assume this depends on the restaurant's buying power.

7. We should look at reinforcing our image with American wines and spirits.

8. Contracts where there is performance bonuses or A&P subsidies are at least 1 year long.

9. Looking at wines in the low $20s range for this restaurant.

10. MHD doesn't do their own deliveries, they work with suppliers to execute the order.  However, suppliers do not provide the A&P subsidies.

Overall, I think we don't suit MHD as their range is too high.  Need to keep looking.

New Beginnings

I resigned from my job.  2 month's notice, starting 8 May 2012.
I'm embarking on a new business adventure.  At least it's with a familiar face.
A ribs franchise restaurant in Singapore, 4,500 sqft, 200 seats.
6 months of looking,1 month of negotiating, and now 4 months to get this restaurant built and ready for trading 17 Sept 2012.  Estimated investment: SGD $1m.

My restaurant experience is zero.  But I have a passion for hospitality, to meet and serve new people, to give them an experience that they will remember.  I'm willing to learn, I want to build a culture and a team and I want to make some money!

I'm happy that Jo is on board.  He does have much more experience in this field, and knows what to look for,  I need to start taking ownership of this place, it is as much his investment as it is mine.  I'm the general manager, I have to set the tone, the vision and the direction of the operations.

4 months to go.  Let's make every day count.