Got an email from Sophia. We met last Tuesday, and yet this email sounds like we never had that discussion! She's still asking me what I want Mike's role to be, and what I want her role to be. Quite frankly, I don't see that I need either of them just yet. I do need Mike to be my flour supplier, but in this email her remark was something like, how could you just expect him to supply you with flour, taking his profit share, after all he's done for you.
All he's done for me? So who asked him.
I want to write a professional Business Plan. I need hard data. How much does a license cost? Insurance? What kind of licenses and permits do I need? How much will rent be? How many employees will I need to pay? Will I have to register them with the government and pay payroll tax?
This is what I need Sophia and Mike's help with, but they are not offering this help. Mike is far away, in Suzhou, and Sophia works full time.
On the other hands, I talk with my students often. Most are business people of one sort or another. One lady offered to be my accountant. She and her husband own a factory. So I asked her these same questions, as above. she researched and came back with ballpark figures, which are much much lower than I had feared. She said it was not common for businesses to take out insurance!! And that payroll taxes were not a consideration. Nuff said about that.
You don't run a business in China like in the States. The comparisons give the feeling of a free-for-all environment here.
If I want to serve food, it gets complicated. But it sounds like if I don't actually COOK on premises it's easier. I'm thinking, I need to serve sandwiches so that people will have an excuse to sample the breads. But why not just cold cuts and cheeses? No cooking involved, no special 'sewage disposal' for which a permit would be needed. Of course, cold cuts are not common here.
I spoke with Angela in Tagong, whose daughter Somtso recently had a birthday which brought back memories of her home delivery in Kangding. She said she can supply me with fresh yak butter, which I have consumed lots of and attest that it will work admirably in the breads. That would save me lots of money. Otherwise I'd be using imported butter. The Chinese butter available in the supermarket is low quality, with (people say) additives.
So why not also Yak meat? Why couldn't I get choice pieces of yak and make roast beef. I'd cook it at home and bring it into the shop.
Next, if I could figure out how to smoke chicken, or maybe honey bake? That would be my second choice for cold cuts.
And then there are cheeses, and I'm sure I could concoct some yummy veggie sandwiches with sprouts and things.
Actually, there are sliced meats available at the Fresh Market. There's a vendor who sells roast duck, and chicken, and parts, and spiced meats. These are usually cold dishes, I think, that one takes home for the family table. I wonder if I could get away with serving one or two of their selections. But not at the price they charge! I'd have to figure out how to get it wholesale.
I'm feeling down in the dumps. As the Bible says, 'hope deferred makes the heart sick.' I want to jump forward in time, in the middle of my baking kitchen.
Instead, I have to be moved by May 23 to a new apartment. My work contract runs until June 30, so I have only one day a week to bake.
Meanwhile, I hear that there is a good bread shop up in Xin Bei (north Changzhou, almost an hour bus ride from here) across from Starbucks. Why didn't I hear about this sooner? Is it serious competition?
Two nights ago during my dinner break I ate at a new German restaurant that opened upstairs from my workplace. I met a short large American woman dressed in black, who introduced herself as 'Prof. Williams'. She caught my attention because what snatches of conversation I heard sounded like she knew about starting a business.
Turns out she works at one of the two-year colleges, next door to the one I worked for when I first arrived in Changzhou. Doing the same work I did, teaching conversation English. Her business card says MBA, but not PhD.
In our brief conversation she said she is exploring the possibility of opening a coffee shop! She has not been in Changzhou for long, and I think she hasn't been in China longer than that. Which gives me the edge.
All of which puts more pressure on me, to get up and running as quickly as possible and as carefully planned as possible. Thank heaven I have my Web (my employer) students to guide me through the business process. I wish Mike spoke English, because I think he could really help out a lot.
If only he would give me assurance that he is self-supporting, and would be willing to take a minority share in the profits. He has dreams of creating a franchise brand. I'd gladly give him majority ownership in that, should it come to that. But for now, I absolutely have to have creative control.
On the plus side, my bread book arrived from Amazon. The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Mastering the art of extraordinary bread, by Peter Reinhart. This will be my summer crash course in artisan bread baking.
I've been up since six. Doing the night shift today, finishing at 9. It's going to be a looong day.
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