Am I the only one who finds it ironic that people who own failing businesses are accusing me of having poor business skills? They who say their business is on the brink of failure tell me that the process I have undertaken to design the expansion of a park is poor planning.
The people who now tell me they are rallying to have me unseated in the next election didn’t bother to call or meet with me during the 3 month Spirit Square design process — a series of workshops at which they had a representative who was supposed to share their ideas and concerns.
They claim that the only solution to new competition from the surrounding community is for the City parking program to adapt. They say the only reason people are going to these chic new restaurants is because of an abundance of free parking close to the door.
Enough of the blame game and finger pointing. Let’s get on with creating new reasons for people to come to the beach and making it easier for them to do it.
none Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pmVisit none
“a poor location can be overcome by a great product and operation, but a good location cannot overcome bad product or operation.” newsweek april 16, 2008
If someone knowingly starts a business on a road with metered parking, why use the meters as the reason for declining business.
Fuel has risen over 12 cents per litre in the last 3 months, food and clothing costs have also risen as a result of the fuel increase, but how many have experienced a wage increase in the last 3 months?
Does anyone still drive their car the same amount as they did in 2007? The firt thing to be reduced when finances change is the discressionary spending – resturants, followed by entertainment.
Diesel is $1.00 higher than supreme for the first time in American history. In Abbotsford Diesel is 126.7 per litre – the same as gasoline.
Here’s the small business failure rates as posted on Industry Canada website:
AGE years Micro-enterprises (<5 employees)
ATLANTIC QUE ON PRAIRIE BC
1 61% 74% 78% 72% 76% 86%
2 45% 58% 62% 56% 59% 74% (I’m in the 26% range)
3 37% 47% 50% 46% 48% 65%
4 37% 47% 50% 46% 48% 65%
5 26% 34% 36% 33% 34% 52%
Business week april 16th 2008:
“about one in four restaurants close or change ownership within their first year of business. Over three years, that number rises to three in five”
“While a 60% failure rate may still sound high, that’s on par with the cross-industry average for new businesses, according to statistics from the Small Business Administration and the Bureau of Labor Statistics”
another exerpt from Business Week April 16, 2008:
“Given the immense time commitment that goes into owning a restaurant, it makes sense that some owners want out, even if they’re making money. And in fact, the number of profitable “failures” is not insignificant. A 2003 report from an economist in the SBA’s Office of Advocacy analyzed unpublished data from the U.S. Census and found that one-third of closed businesses were financially successful at closure”
“It appears that many owners may have executed a planned exit strategy, closed a business without excess debt, sold a viable business, or retired from the workforce,” the report noted, adding that business-failure statistics might therefore present “much more daunting odds for business success than is actually the case.”
Overcoming Geography
His conclusions were based on in-depth interviews with 20 successful and 20 failed restaurateurs. He determined that “beyond muddled concepts, failure seemed to stem in large part from an inability or unwillingness to give the business sufficient attention, whether due to lack of time, passion or knowledge.”
Most of the failed restaurant owners themselves attributed their failure at least partly to competing family demands, including divorce, ill health, and retirement. Some owners voluntarily closed when the family sacrifices became too much, like one owner who said she didn’t want to miss seeing her children grow up.
Location, while an important factor, appears to be more of a “moderating variable” than a causal one, Parsa says, ruling that “a poor location can be overcome by a great product and operation, but a good location cannot overcome bad product or operation.”
DiSpirito—whose restaurant Rocco’s on 22nd Street shut down just over a year after its well-publicized opening—might well have a few moderating variables of his own for the list.
Solution based community design benefits all business and residents through the good and bad financial times.
Johan Sandstrom, BComm. Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pmVisit Johan Sandstrom, BComm.
Matt Todd….Your reflection re failing businesses is right on. Failing businesses are those usually without a marketing and long and short terms action plan for their commerce of products or of service program intended for the customers..their target group[s].
Cash flow slump is chronical for merchants and restaurants opening their doors for a 12 month period business term. Seasonal fluctuations are horrendous destructive periods for most. Cashflow is meager and persons do not travel into the area as much or at all in most weeks.
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Those businesses and mechants properly ‘training their clientele’ about opening hours, plans for the ‘winter’ and more details, usually do well, fare well and the customers become ‘regulars and then life is becoming a little less of ‘humpty-dumpty’ for the owner or person in charge.
The facts are written on the wall. The more parking stalls [summer]the more potential customers can travel into the area and accordinly business will escalate in volume and dollars [if you have the right stuff in demand and in stock to sell]
Businesses on Marine Drive, our White Rock Seaside, do live a risky life, are weather dependent and business existence need required professinal planning.
Business will not improve from weekly quarter page sized newspaper ads; advertising spaces. Paper ads the most time sensitive and costly way of announcing your business. Life span three days at the most, if its ever read by the busy consumers.
You don’t need to have BIA [Business Improvement Association] write that on the wall for you or any merchant.
What one may wonder about is the absolute silence and ‘low key profile’ taken by the BIA’s executive director Mr. Russ Davies whom I saw silently viewing the Monday morning meeting of late, that I was invited to at the Grapes White Rock by the pier.
I thought it would be a no-brainer and a given that “Spirit Square project” and parking implications would be on the agenda and communicated between parties in ‘charge’ if any one were present to assume responsibility for what was suggested to be done , implemented and in general acted upon.
I am flabbergasted by what you are insinuating.
Not being privy of agendas and plans or decisions if any were made by BIA I can only close by stating…Matt you are on to something important we don’t know about- lack of communication or sandbagging, or both of which perhaps?
Regards
JohanPublisher@Gmail.com
http://www.whiterockreporter.com