Throw in the towel?

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wow that's tough!!
I have my bussiness for ten years now and i'm still not rich either. I can pay my bilsand people and that's it. One thing, I've never considerd stopping and I think that if you have those thoughts it is time for something else. Maybe it helps if you don't take things to seriously, kind of smile about it and start over with something different. I wish I could wave a magic wand for you!!:bounce:

 

Rita, how soon does the lease expire? Would you have long enough to finally do an exit plan? Or can you get an extension for a few months, rather than a whole renewal? Because as you do the plan, you will figure out two things:
1. how to get out gracefully, and what to do next; and
2. how to keep the business going and growing, even if it means taking a different tack.

The one thing you DON'T want to do is just shut down with no idea of what's next. And you never know, while you work out how to close, you just might find that there are new ways you can stay open successfully.

I wish you luck, whatever you do!

 

Rita, from the tone of your post you sound just a little burnt out .
Ask yourself are you? All I can say my friend is to do what is best for you and those close to you . Take care of yourself first and do what you like to do . Peace , Doug..................

 

pm me

 

Youe employees are lucky to have such a fine boss. It's not so good for business but at least you can look them straight in the eye

 

that's the way I do biz also....right or wrong Good luck, this is a difficult time, we're here if you need us.

 

Hi Rita,

Perhaps you can find some insight in a similar situation that I went it through a few years ago, granted it was not connected to the food industry, but the business scenario is much like yours.

I started and owned a software company from 1985-1995. Like you, I tried very hard to be fair to everyone, especially employees and customers. I managed to eek out a living but eventually grew weary of the constant struggle of hand to mouth finances. I decided to go out of business.

When my brother, who had never been connected with the business and had no software experience all, heard I was throwing in the towel, he asked if he could buy it? Again, I wanted to be very fair, so I sold the business cheap, since I knew he would fail.

Guess what? That business is booming. In the nine years since he bought it, the staff has quadrupled, and he has raised the price of the software by 3000% (that is not a typo, 3000%). Several times a year he vacations in Hawaii and the Caribbean. The product is still virtually unchanged from the one that I built.

I think there are two morals to this story:

1. We are not all cut out to be business people. I have learned that I have a good creative mind, and I like to treat everyone like family, but I obviously do not have what it takes to run a successful business--I worry too much about what other people feel and think.

2. It is often impossible for us to see the true value in something we build. In the end, I never thought my business was worth a plug nickel to anyone else. I had too much of my heart and soul invested. How could anyone else possibly want or succeed with something so uniquely mine? Boy was I wrong!

So, without knowing near enough about your business to offer an opinion, let me do it anyway; if you decide it's time to quit, try to sell the business. Even if it doesn't sell, it is a graceful prelude to going out of business. You never know what might happen.

Well, I've rambled on long enough, and probably didn't say anything you don't already know. I can only wish you the very best with whatever your future holds.

Joe

 

I really feel for you. As someone who has gone through this before as I watched my business go away I can feel the profound effect it must be having on you Rita. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get as you work your @ss off, going to work everyday, and still, with all that effort, nothing seems to work. It ended badly for me, financially. Over the years my wife and I have had a chance to think about all the things that went wrong. We figure that it cost us as much in losing the restaurant as it cost to put her through her Masters' program. I think I got a better education out of the deal. I definately learned more...
BTW- our next restaurant is doing MUCH better. May yours do the same.

 

It was one of the hardest things we ever had to do. Our little restaurant in southwest Colorado was both a source of great joy and great frustration. We lived in a town of about 1100 and there were already four or five restaurants - but none served what we did so we figured we'd give it a shot. Our little place was strictly takeout, so low overhead. Still it pained me to close it. I trained in the culinary arts and I love them, so I felt like a huge failure.

We had a financial responsibility to our family and had to bail before we lost everything. I know people who have taken loans out using their house as collateral and I think this is foolish for such a volatile business. If you're alone and willing to take such a risk, so be it but if you risk and lose, you drag your entire family down too. I couldn't in good conscience, do this.

When we first opened, we were advised to NEVER take food on credit. And we never did. This worked well because we weren't still paying on anything we had when we decided to close. There are places that close and the owner is still paying off debt for a year afterward, unless they file bankruptcy. We didn't have to go that route, although we did leave a good amount of equipment at a second hand restaurant equipment store on consignment.

In the end, use your own criteria, your own risk parameters, to figure out if it's time to close.

 

Good for you Rita ! :bounce:
Take the day off, buy a bottle of something good and drink it on a bench in the sun.... it will make you fell better, I 'm sure of it !!

 

You've gotten some good advice here from personal experience. However, bottom line, you have to do what is best for you. I've owned several restaurants and always made sure my employees were the highest paid in town. I also expect 100% from them every day. I also realized that I was responsible for the bills. They could walk away and find another source of income the next day. Some of the decisions you make over the next few weeks and months could affect your life for years. Don't keep a business open so that one employee can go "help some people." Develop an exit plan that best suits you, implement it and take some time off, relax and figure out what you need to do to make yourself professionally and personally happy.

 

Yo Fagita !!
Good for you. All the things you wrote sound very good to me, you may be proud of yourself :bounce:

Just wait and see.... I'm sure that one of these days something great is going to come your way! After all it's spring ( at least here it is )

 

I know you chose what was right for you and your family. Perhaps another time, another place, another set of circumstances. I felt terrible when we closed our place and swore "never again." But I know lots of people who have lost pets and swore them off forever, only to wind up at the local shelter three weeks later, giving some poor unwanted dog a reprieve.

Our restaurant experience taught me some important lessons and I will not make those mistakes again. I wish the same for you.