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Sweet Returns

An upscale pastry store thrives by finding new markets

As the economy began to deteriorate in early 2008, a few things became clear to Gary Gottenbusch, owner of Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli Inc. in Cincinnati: Customers were purchasing smaller items in an effort to be frugal, and soaring prices for flour and other commodities were threatening to eat into his profits.

A trained baker whose family has been in the bakery business for decades, Mr. Gottenbusch knew the danger the situation posed to his small business, which sells upscale European cakes like Vienna tortes, along with more common fare such as cinnamon bread, at 10 retail locations in and around Cincinnati.

„My overhead was totally fixed, and I knew if I lost my sales, I would lose the profitability,“ says the 44-year-old Mr. Gottenbusch. „It was time to be aggressive in getting more volume.“

Chef David Burke is known for his creative cuisine. Now he’s using that same creative approach to weather a downturn in dining out. He talks with WSJ’s Beckey Bright about his strategy.

So, instead of hunkering down and hoping the economic downturn would be short-lived, Mr. Gottenbusch reinvented his business. With the help of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program partially funded by the Department of Commerce and designed to give small firms access to manufacturing specialists and other advisers, Mr. Gottenbusch looked for new customers in unusual places, created unique products to drive store traffic, joined a purchasing association to keep costs in check and took advantage of the real-estate slump to scoop up a new store location on the cheap.

The result: Servatii not only survived last year, it thrived, with sales rising 15% to $8.5 million. …read more at Sweet Returns – Wall Street Journal, published 23 April 2009.

Photo credit: servatiipastryshop.com

By |2012-01-05T06:58:54+01:00April 27, 2009|Blog, Marketing|0 Comments
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Building a Charismatic Nonprofit

“What distinguishes a good nonprofit from a great nonprofit? At the end of the day, the great, charismatic nonprofits are not necessarily those that have charismatic leaders, but those that can create strong social capital,” said Deborah Jospin at a Center for American Progress event about the book she co-authored with Shirley Sagawa, The Charismatic Organization: Eight Ways to Grow a Nonprofit that Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees. Nina Easton, Washington Bureau Chief of Fortune Magazine, moderated the discussion with Sagawa and Jospin.

The danger of basing an organization around one person with charismatic leadership qualities is that the focus can quickly become the leader rather than the organization. A leader can always leave an organization. This is why Sagawa and Jospin argue that building a fundamentally strong, team based nonprofit will be a more effective method in the long run than relying on individual leadership.

“There are two kinds of social capital,” explained Sagawa. “One kind brings people together and unites them in a cause so that they want to be part of that community.” This is especially valuable because it means that, in hard economic times, an organization’s donors and supporters will still be there and feel a connection to that cause. The other type of social capital is “bridging social capital.” This means that an organization is able to reach beyond its immediate network, which allows it to expand their donor base or political influence. …read more and see the video at Building a Charismatic Nonprofit – Center for American Progress, published 21 April 2009.

Flickr photo credit: an untrained eye

By |2012-01-05T07:14:16+01:00April 27, 2009|Blog, Nonprofits|0 Comments
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How to Finance a Business Start-Up

Q: My son has a sure-fire business idea that’s gonna make us rich. Who do we see to get $100,000?

A: I was asked this question by a very serious forty-something father with his teen-something son in tow at a business opportunity fair not all that long ago.

I was tempted say that if I knew someone with that kind of money burning holes in his or her pockets, would I be standing there talking to them? However, my answer was the one any prospective entrepreneur will hear when asking for money: “Let’s see your business plan.”

Even if your business is to be an in-home affair and you’re the only employee, you need to be able to answer two questions before any lender or investor will write you a check:

  1. What will it cost?
  2. Who’s going to buy it?

These are the questions that a business plan answers. Step one is …read more at How to finance a business start-up – Examiner.com, published 19 April 2009.

Flickr photo credit: YTK23

By |2012-01-05T06:40:42+01:00April 20, 2009|Administration & Finance, Blog|0 Comments
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