Category: restaurant

Finding Good Business Partners

How do you know if your partnering with the right people? I totally misjudged all of my business partners, for different reasons. I was sure Robbie was our ace in the hole as he was the youngest and had the most energy. On busy days, he could skip around that kitchen like a playground. Just what we needed to take care of our customers with the least amount of staff as possible. During the planning he was truly into the restaurant. Yet, he dropped out about 2 months after we opened and wanted his seed money back, saying he was afraid he would get burned out working so much. He was a skater, so I thought he knew the meaning of hard work. Skaters have to push every day to get where they want to be. Maybe the difference is skaters love skating so they are willing to go the extra mile. Maybe they don’t know what it’s like to work extra hard at something that isn’t their first love. Regardless, Robbie turned out to be a worthless partner.

Pierre was a skater, too. I might say the same thing about him, but he didn’t work in the kitchen. He babysat the restaurant a few times, but he didn’t even put out the clean dishes for food prep or collect money for anything he ‘sold’. His real job was supposed to be marketing and he could do that from home. It doesn’t get any easier than that. The first week or so he took free pizza to surrounding businesses to let them know we were nearby and open. After that, he did next to nothing. If he had only made one phone call each day, it might have changed the entire course of our restaurant. He didn’t even try. Was he a con man or just lazy? It’s hard to know what’s in a person’s heart until they show you. Well, now I know and I definitely recommend never doing business with this man. Unless you can take him for a lot of money. Then, I say go for it.

Our landlord, Todd and his minions, were the worst business partners, EVER. So much evil, I still can’t comprehend. Before we signed the contract, Todd and Damon (our contact at the corporate office) seemed so supportive and interested in our success. Once we opened , they stole from us, bullied us, and sabotaged our business every way they could imagine. Should I have known? Maybe someone with more experience would have seen it coming. I didn’t. And when I tried to stop it, Pierre took their side.

Obviously, I don’t have the answers. I’m hoping readers will comment and give some insights on how to identify good business partners. What happened to me should never happen to anyone else, NEVER. If you have some expertise in partnering, please share it here. I want to benefit as many people as possible. Thank you.

Sever All Ties

Kyle was a wonderful employee. He had a lot of experience and was a hard and honest worker. After I left the restaurant, I asked him for a favor, help with some furniture, he said no. Once I figured out he had unfriended me on facebook, I understood we were severing all ties. I was sad. I had enjoyed our chats and wanted them to continue. However, I also knew it was best because he needed to be loyal to his new boss, Pierre. I had no intention of discussing the restaurant or pumping Kyle for information, but I also felt Pierre would never believe that and I didn’t want to compromise Kyle’s job. So no more communication with Kyle.

Much to my surprise, a few weeks later I got a text from Kyle. I was much less surprised when I figured out he needed something from me. Isn’t that how it always goes! They had waited until they were almost out of food before trying to place an order with Sysco. I think they waited because they were planning on changing the menu. I would probably do the same. BUT, because they didn’t feel the need to do turnover with me they didn’t realize they had no account with Sysco. I had used my personal credit to open our account, so Sysco recommended that I close my account before I left the restaurant. I did. The restaurant was in a bad way because it takes a few days to set up credit and get your first order from Sysco. Kyle wanted me to allow them to order using my account. I said no. That’s what happens when you think you’re too smart for turnover and you sever all ties. I had no job and no income. If they decided not to pay, I would be liable for their purchase. Not gonna happen.

Even if I never see or hear from Kyle again, he will always be my friend. And the best employee I ever had.

Turnover is Key

After years in Information Technology, I truly believe in turnover. Any time a person leaves a project or the company, someone should sit with them and glean as much knowledge from them as possible. I don’t care how much smarter you think you are. I don’t care if you have a better background of experience. I don’t care if you plan to handle things differently. That person will tell you something you didn’t know and save you some time and headaches.

Over and over, I told Pierre and Kyle that I would be happy to stop by the cafe for a couple hours of turnover. Oddly enough, neither one had time to meet with me. I was surprised but it’s not my job to force them to meet with me. Kyle did ask me for procedures on reporting payroll. I guess everyone has their priorities. I sent him examples of everything I did for hiring and reporting payroll to the CPA.

For the first month after I left the cafe, I took cafe mail over to the rink. The pain of the last couple years was so overwhelming, I almost hyperventilated when I walked into the building. I didn’t want to do it, but it was the right thing to do. After a month, I just started sending the mail back. I’m not Pierre and Kyle’s mother or caretaker. If they can’t figure out they need to file a change of address, that’s not my problem. I wanted to do turnover and they couldn’t be bothered.

For over 2 years after I left the cafe, I got mail from the city, state, tabc, etc. I put the mail back in the mailbox and sent it back. What were Pierre and Kyle thinking? These institutions can put them out of business. This is one more indication that I partnered with the wrong people. People who didn’t take this business seriously. People who weren’t interested in being accountable. People who didn’t care about making money, or losing their shirts. Or my shirt. Is it a lack of disclosure that Pierre didn’t tell me he wasn’t interested in the business’s success before we signed the contract? How can a person with any ethics at all, do that to a fellow human being?

The Dye is Cast

Said Julius Caesar as he plunged his bloody sword into the Rubicon. I was walking stiffly out of the bank with Pierre’s sword protruding from my back. My retirement fund bleeding downstream. My dream evaporating into thin air. My heart shattered. My world torn and tattered.

The deal was done. I had signed the restaurant over to Pierre. For a pittance. And the weird part was, I don’t even know why he wanted it. He wasn’t involved and did little to support our efforts. Maybe it’s just a tax write off for him. I don’t know.

The most bizarre part was a piece of paper Pierre gave me to sign. For the last 5 months, every time he said he had spent well over $12,500 (the seed money he was supposed to put in the bank account) I said I’d like to see those records. Before we signed the restaurant paperwork, Pierre gave me a piece of paper with a list of items he said he bought for the cafe. The dollar amounts added to more than $12,500. It was the biggest piece of B***Sh** I had ever seen. The amounts were so outrageous I can’t even describe. I don’t know if he thinks I’m stupid or is fooling himself. He wanted me to sign the piece of paper. That was so odd. I felt pressured because I didn’t want him to back out of our deal so I wrote on the bottom that I acknowledged that he showed me the list and signed it. I didn’t believe a word of it and I certainly wasn’t going to acknowledge that he actually spent the money, because he didn’t. I know everything that went in and out of the cafe. I know everything that went in and out of the bank account. I know everything he charged on his company credit card. He did not spend what he said he spent.

I guess everyone will be happy now. Pierre will be extra nice to the landlord and all it’s thieves and employees. I think it’s incredibly sad when people think they have to allow others to steal from them to be friends. Very, very sad.

Let Your Colors Fly

Give me the Beach Boys that freed my soul. I could listen to Beach Boys music all day and I can’t help but sing along. So it’s no surprise that I had a ticket to their show in Muskogee, Oklahoma. It’s an easy drive from Dallas, see the show, stay overnight, and drive home the next day. I even stayed in the same hotel they did and saw some of the band members at breakfast the next morning. A wonderful experience.

While I was driving to Muskogee, Pierre called. He was ready to take over the restaurant and wanted to meet at the bank that day. I explained that I was on my way out of town but might be back before the bank closed the next day. He was mad. I don’t know why. He’s the one that put this off for so long. I wanted to take care of all this in November and here we are in April – and he’s mad that I have plans for one day. I guess some elite figure skaters think everyone else should adjust to fit into their schedule. These are the times people show their true colors. You get to see just what kind of person they really are. It can be very disappointing, but this is very valuable information. Don’t dismiss it and don’t excuse it. Don’t ever let them fool you again. That doesn’t mean you have to change how you feel or what you do, it just means you now know to be more careful. This person is not who you thought they were. The next time you interact with this person, you will make wiser decisions. This is exactly why I have been telling you my story. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you are doing, I want you to use my sad, sad experience to make your life decisions better, to make your life better. To make you more aware so you can keep yourself safe from bullies and predators.

There was a big storm the next day which slowed my drive home. At one point the rain was so heavy, I couldn’t see the road. Fortunately, I found a place to pull over to wait for the storm to subside. Even with the wait, I made it home before 6pm. So I called Pierre and we made an appointment to meet at the bank and sign the papers.

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over

Don’t be thinking this story is over just because we made a deal. The final deal was $10,000 cash and another $10,000 over 3 years if the cafe made money. Of course, I was not counting on the cafe making money – that’s pretty hard to do when the owner isn’t present and Pierre had a history of not being present. I felt deflated, defeated, embarrassed, ripped off, scared, tired, conned. But I had to take the deal. It was that or fight – fight with no money or support. Maybe the $10k would give me time to find a job and try to move on.

During this time, Kyle decided to quit. I was devastated. Kyle had always been there for me and had become my best confidant. I asked why and he said he didn’t want to be in the middle of the growing rift between Pierre and me. I understood and promised to let go of our work related conversations. I also was afraid Pierre would back out of our deal if Kyle were no longer working at the cafe. I pointed out that Kyle had the rest of his life to get a regular job, but who else would make him the General Manager of a restaurant and bar at age 21. It was quite the resume builder and he should stay. He decided to stay. I was relieved. And I’m sure Pierre gave him a raise since Pierre was not going to be around and his former student/restaurant expert was not joining the business.

Pierre had told me it would take 30 days to get the money. I didn’t believe it, but agreed to wait. About a week before we were to transfer the business, Pierre said he needed more time because the next Monday was a European holiday. What the heck??? Electronic transfer doesn’t take 30 days even if 20 of them are holidays, let alone five weeks when one day is a holiday. I had no idea what Pierre was doing, but this wait had nothing to do with the mere transfer of funds. So I continued to wait.

Let’s Make a Deal

Like I was saying in my previous post, every time I talked to Pierre his offer went down. And our negotiation was taking months. He always said he would get back to me after checking into more things. For someone who showed no interest for over 2 years, he sure had to check into a lot of things. The wait was excruciating. I don’t think Pierre found a partner, which allows me to sleep better. I don’t want to think he’s out there taking advantage of someone else.

We finally had our last negotiation meeting in March. Pierre’s offer was very small. He knew he had me backed into a corner. He told me I should think about it and get back to him. There was nothing to think about. My only other options were to close with the hope of getting some money for the used equipment or filing a lawsuit against a major hockey franchise. Reluctantly, I took the deal. I was totally deflated.

But wait… there’s more… bad news. How can that be? How can things get worse? Pierre said it would take him a month to get the money transferred from his retirement fund. Seriously? It will take 30 days to convert $10,000 from a retirement fund and transfer it into a checking account? And yes, he’s old enough to do it without penalty. Was he lying? I don’t know. At this point I just needed to go with the flow and get it over with. Pierre had not partnered with me since we started, there was no reason to expect better from him now. I acquiesced. There was no joy in Mudville that day.

Negotiations Begin

I didn’t have a good feeling about this. Pierre asked me how much money I wanted. Since he was 1/3 owner, it would’ve been nice if he were to give me 1/3 of the losses – especially considering he was able to write that much off his income taxes and he had never put in his original seed money. So I started there, or maybe a little bit over that to leave room for negotiation. He actually suggested that I should keep 10% ownership in case the restaurant made money in the future. I was surprised, but it made sense that I might be able to recoup some of my money. He put me off, saying he was still checking into the contract extension, finding a partner, etc. I was dying inside. I needed for this to be over. I was out of money and my alternatives were even more painful, closing or suing a multi-billion dollar hockey franchise. He had me by the proverbial testicles.

This was a very simple business and Pierre’s restaurant expert had already delved into our physical, mental, and financial inventories. Negotiations shouldn’t take months, but Pierre was dragging his feet. Every time we talked, he offered me less money – he always had a different reason. I continued to bring up retaining 10% ownership. First he said ‘no’ as any partners he might find wouldn’t agree to something like that. Then he said ‘no’ as it wouldn’t work well that way. Then he just said ‘no’. I don’t know why, it was his idea in the first place and now he’s acting like I was asking for unreasonable things. Once again, I was just confused by what was going on.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Pierre were visiting various bars for ideas to improve the bar. Wait, what? Why didn’t they do this from the beginning? Was this Pierre’s plan all along? Pierre would do nothing – except have Todd and his Minions torture me – until I had used up all my money to get the business started so Pierre could swoop in and take over? Had I been conned by a figure skating coach? I was crushed, financially and now mentally.

Hire a Good CPA

I wouldn’t recommend our CPA to anybody. He was forever paying our sales and liquor taxes late – and that comes with penalties. Of course I made him pay the penalties, but still, I didn’t want our history to show we always paid late. Our CPA never communicated unless he needed something from us. He didn’t tell us to file an extension on our income taxes because he wouldn’t have our reports ready by April 15th. I had never filed an extension before. I didn’t mind doing it, but when you email someone over and over as April 15th approaches and they don’t respond, it’s very frustrating. And then you still don’t hear anything by September and your extension ends in October, you just want to scream.

Before we opened the restaurant, we had made the decision to use my home address for important mail, as we didn’t want to rely on the kids working the front desk to handle our mail correctly. And as you may have noticed in previous posts about the bad behavior of the rink employees, that was a good decision. However, I moved while I was running the restaurant. I sent my new address to our CPA. He didn’t update his records, the financials, or any governing bodies we needed to communicate with, like the State of Texas. I don’t mind taking care of these things, but he didn’t tell me I needed to. I didn’t find out until we weren’t receiving any notices and consequently didn’t pay for something. The notices were still going to my old address and some weren’t forward-able.

Pierre should have known not to use this CPA since he was Pierre’s CPA before we started the restaurant. Or maybe he was acting on Pierre’s orders to make things difficult for us. I don’t know. Pierre knows people in the restaurant business and could have gotten us recommendations. Or maybe this guy was the cheapest one – you get what you pay for.

The CPA charged us a monthly fee plus a Quick Books membership. For that, it was his job to do our payroll, our financials, and our taxes, including the business income taxes and the figures for us to file our personal income taxes. My mistake here was not asking for references and talking to them. I trusted Pierre to set us up. Trusting Pierre may have been my biggest mistake of all.