I was asked recently by a very good friend of mine this question, "If I was handed one million ringgit to start a business in the current economic climate, what business would I do?". I laughed and said that no one in their right minds would want to start a business now. To which he retorted that every cloud has a silver lining. For eg rents are cheaper, suppliers are more flexible when negotiating prices and most of all, if you have cash then you are king!
I still looked at him doubtfully, so he threw me this challenge : If I could find a business which he feels will work, he will fund it! I was sceptical of this challenge but he said he was dead serious abt it. So I went home thinking what I could do, you know, just in case he really was serious!!! I thot and thot but I still couldn't come up with an answer. He called me 3 days later to see if I had any ideas and I still hadn't any. He told me to take my time, do some research, talk to friends and get back to him when I have an idea. Anyone out there with ideas???
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10 comments:
yes i have!! F&B but in the back-end, not setting up a restaurant. food always sells... we should 'talk' again! ;)
public house?
Trinity : Back-end? No Comprende! Looking forward to talk.
AD : First thing I thot of! As I told u over phone, too much hassle!
LLT : Doris & I have on & off talked about having a F&B place someday when we're fed-up with the practise. In order for a F&B place to succeed, I believe that not only should the food & service be consistently good, but in these trying times, there must be a perception of value for money in what the punters pay for. You have to think about the concept for the place too, whether its a restaurant, bistro, cafe or pub.
BTW, what Trinity meant by "back-end" is not your arse but whatever work that's done in the kitchen as opposed to front-end, ie. waiter, cashier, reception etc.
What's the hassle with a public house? Again if you get the right combo as above, it will succeed more so when you have a CON-sultant in Bala & the boys from MyRawk is still looking for a better place to call home.
I believe everyone has the same idea here....which is F&B...
Especially Chinese....no matter what happens, food is always a priority without reservation.
If indeed this F&B kick-off, let me know. Got a fren who supplies everything to F&B, from cutlery to furnitures....
Bernard : Did think of the F&B outlet as well. It is under consideration but donno what theme or food to serve. Plus the fact that I don cook and have no F&B experience scares me. Heard of many stories where owners are held to ransom by the very cooks they hired is scary too. Maybe I am just paranoid........
The Pub is a prob b'cos the funder and my family are not supportive of anything to do with alcohol. So there's where the hassle is!
VS : Thanks for the info. Would be great if you could maybe get in touch witth me via e-mail. My add is cklim09@yahoo.com
Come to think of it, I have a long standing Singapore client who is one of the major players in the region when it comes to F&B kitchen & table wares. So if you gonna do the F&B thing, you've got options as far as kitchen supplies are concerned!!
If you don't cook, learn to cook. Alternative may be to give some equity to the cook, not too much maybe 10-15% max. At least he knows to think twice before throwing some tempestuous tantrum. A lot of people start up in the F&B business with no experience, prime example will be Bala. But he managed to make a decent living out of it.
I do recall seeing some ad in the papers offering a short course in F&B management, which includes the fundamentals of running a restaurant. Will keep an eye on it & let you know when I see it. May be useful if you do seriously consider the F&B option.
Thanks Bernard!
i stress again...back-end F&B related biz will work better than working your arse off on a F&B restaurant - havin to worry abt cash management, manpower, etc. ie be a distributor or supplier of food related items for the F&B industry. and i have such an idea n contacts, my friend... ;)
Trinity : Talk to me! Talk to me!
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