I run a small business in Provence, in the south of France. When I started up, I continued to work as the European Business Development consultant for a huge US media corporation. The idea was ‘belt and braces’ as we say in Europe. In other words, don’t just rely on a new business idea – make sure you have a back-up. If the income and profits from one business let you down, the other business should fill the gap.
However, not every small business owner is able to heed the business advice “Don’t give up the day job”. That makes it especially important that the small business is well planned – that the product or service is easily accessible and attractive to potential customers.
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I recently witnessed a small business being expertly turned around – going from unsuccessful to successful and from loss to profit within weeks. Although this small business example is from the hospitality and catering trade, there are business principles in the case study which are broadly applicable. A cheapest LLC can actually make money but you need an appropriate plan of action.
Here’s what happened.
My local village had a small bar which attracted few customers. For five years I noticed that it was a small business which seemed unsuccessful. Odd really, because it is in Provence, in the south of France – one of the most visited regions in a country which is the most visited country in the world. How could a small French bar fail when it was situated in a beautiful Provencal village, beneath a medieval church tower, with views of stunning Mont Ventoux – the “Giant of Provence”, beloved by Tour de France cyclists, skiers, walkers, and people out looking for delicious edible mushrooms? How could any small business selling coffee and alcohol fail in such a location?
Yet the business was failing.
It was run by a young woman who complained bitterly of her fate whenever I spoke to her. Isobelle was in her twenties and just made for life in Nice, Paris or St Tropez. She was wilting in this small Provencal village – and so was her business. “There’s no business here” she would say. “No point trying. No customers. No money. No nothing.”
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I doubted she was correct. It seemed to me that her negativity was, all by itself, killing her business. Certainly whenever I went into the bar and ordered a glass of Cotes du Rhone I got the impression, from the dim lights and her depressed mood, that I would have been better off staying at home!
And then one day she sold up. “I’m glad” she said. “Glad to get out of here. The new owner is a fool. He has no idea. He’ll soon find out. There’s no way to make this bar work.”
Well, surprise surprise. The new owner made that bar flourish like a field of sunflowers in the Provencal sunshine. He painted the dingy bar in bright colours. He plonked pretty tables and chairs outside on the terrace. He greeted customers with a cheery smile and a bit of chat. He offered a wider range of wines and aperitifs, coffees and teas. Most importantly of all, he immediately saw that the large interior of the business was almost entirely wasted and he opened it up to make a restaurant. The business idea was a very simple restaurant that would offer plain good food – a single menu – at affordable prices, attractive to local workmen, to families and, in summer, to tourists.
The business went like a bomb. Every single day it’s open there are people drinking tea and coffee on the terrace in the morning, eating on the terrace and inside at lunchtime, and drinking aperitifs – inside and out – in the evenings.
The owner has been clever and cautious. He doesn’t yet open for evening meals, but he may if the current success continues. He has transformed this business from being a depressed and depressing bar to being a popular money-spinning business. And it’s all down to his personality, character and business plan. To take a small start, find a cheapest state for limited liability company.
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I’m willing to bet that Isobelle believed she had nothing whatever to do with her business failure and that she would be astonished to see its current success. The truth is that there was nothing objective dictating the business’s failure – its failure flowed from her negative attitude to the business she owned and the work she was doing.
The moment a new owner bought the business – and brought his positive and well-thought-through ideas to the bar – it began to flourish and make profits. Which underlines that some business opportunities may be entirely objective – but some depend on personality, character and personal input. Getting an anonymous LLC ownership is quite easier these days.
New Mexico Woman Finds ‘Huge White Blob’ in Bottle of V8
When Amy Salazar, from Las Vegas, N.M., sat down to her lunch on Saturday, she opened her bottle of V8 expecting to enjoy her usual beverage.
“I took a huge chug like I always do. Well, today was different. I felt something other than the bottle and V8 on my lips,” reports Salazar.
There was “huge white thing” in it, but Salazar didn’t have time to examine it before returning to work. She closed the bottle and waited until she got home that night before emptying it into a strainer.
Amy discovered what she describes as a “huge white blob” floating around in her bottle of V8. Once she removed the object from the V8, she claims it began to turn bluish black. She put the object in a baggy and placed it in the refrigerator to keep it for testing, but later decided it should be kept in the freezer.
“It is soft. We have it in the freezer in case its a fungus or something. It was getting darker and bigger quickly.” says Salazar.
Salazar contacted Campbell’s Soup Company, the parent company that produces V8, via email.
Campbell’s responded with a brief email.
“We’re sorry to learn of your unfortunate experience. We would like further information to properly report this incident. Please call us
. . . at your earliest convenience . . . We have also sent you further correspondence via the mail regarding this matter.” V8 Juice Web Team.
As of Thursday, June 7, Ms Salazar has not received that correspondence.
On Monday, Ms Salazar placed a call to the V8 Juice Web Team. “All he (the representative on the phone) said is that it sounded like mold and was going to send replacement coupons.”
But Ms. Salazar does not want replacement coupons. She wants answers.
“I feel like my health could be at risk and V8 doesn’t care.” Amy reports. “I can’t even watch a V8 commercial without gagging.”
Salazar is a 22-year-old mom of two children and is very thankful her children didn’t drink the V8 from that bottle.
Salazar has cut the object in three pieces. One to return to Campbells for their investigation, one to submit to the FDA for testing, and one to keep to verify what she found in her V8.
Ms. Salazar has poured all of her remaining bottles of V8 down the drain and is awaiting the results of her inquiries to determine exactly what it is that she found in her V8.
Although Amy Salazar has always had a fondness for V8 and has consumed it on a regular basis, she has been “grossed out” by her recent discovery.
“I am disgusted, and grossed out that something you trust so much to keep your health great would have something so gross that you have no clue what it is.” she states.