When times were really financially bad in my businesses, I searched this world wide web hoping desperately to find "me" out there. The guy that was bouncing checks, ruining his credit by the minute, avoiding phone calls from friends and family so "he" didn't have to lie about how bad things were. I never found that "website" or "that message board post". You know the one, the one that gave you that little bit of comfort, knowing you weren't the only one that was going through this apparent living hell. Maybe this will be someone's life jacket. Maybe these words, will give someone the energy to trudge forward, to make the decisions, to see the truth and act upon it.
Why people get in the restaurant business is still a mystery. I often look at how "easy" it would be to run other people's business. I have all the answers for them. I have all the answers for them, probably because I retain all the weak excuses for myself and my business. This journal will double as my reality check. No excuses will be accepted by myself that were made from myself.
At this point, I will allow people a look inside of the restaurant business. For some reason, the true numbers of a restaurant are a guarded commodity. My goal is to let the the readers of this tiny bit of the web see the inside of what the financial aspects, the people and business look like. Not some tainted description with statements like, "things are good, things are OK". On that note, I've found out from my salespeople, that I'm one of the few that doesn't say things are bad. I think it's a mental choice. Maybe because my team won't let it get bad. Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth was quoted as saying, "If you're business is not growing, it's dying." I've always used that as a motivator when I feel the company is standing still. Business is never that bad. As long as the open sign is on, things could be worse. I know all about the that open sign not being on.
December 4 (maybe 6th), 2002. Now that was bad. 5 months of work. $150,000 dollars. Quiet decay of a very successful diner. 4 years of planning. A lifetime of hope. All wiped away in 15 minutes. It doesn't matter whose fault it was (though, for the record it was Regan's Steam Cleaning in Springfield, that's whose fault it was.)
January 10th, 2003. I picked up a part time job at Hardee's in El Paso, Illinois. A 45 minute one way commute from Streator. The house payment had to be made. While trying to rebuild the restaurant, I had to take a job with flexible hours and the ability to quit on the spot if needed. Thank god, my best friend Paul was the GM at Hardees and paid me $8.00 bucks an hour, rather than the $5.15 that Hardee's paid their new employees. A humbling experience to say the least. A trip back to the roots. I was lowest guy on the totem pole in a fast food restaurant. Different place, but same position I held in 1987 at age 15. I made $2.85. My supervisor was a 19 year old from down the road. I knew my role. I just kept telling myself, "It's temporary, it's temporary." It was horrible and my desire to go to work was nil.
Fast Forward: February 21, 2003. Diner Sold on Contract. Down Payment used and spent on my second initial inventory. Great Quote from a Family Video Representative: "Insurance Companies are really good at collecting premiums, but a little slower on writing checks." Truer words hand never been spoken. My last portion of my startup loan, $15,000 in Cash spent. $40,000 in Credit Card Debt Charged. 79 days after the fire. With $11.00 in my personal checking account. $167 in my cash drawer and a business checking account sitting at $0. At 4:00 PM, we opened Chix.
A certain formula for failure most would say. We'll see.
posted by Todd McKenzie @ 12:14 AM
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