Tag: dream

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.

Clarity

The rose colored glasses are gone. The world is a dull gray, at best. My hope for the future and seeing the best in the human race is gone. My vision of a group of people working together to build a successful restaurant has been stomped into the ground.

The General Manager of our rink and many of his employees are thieves. My contact at corporate has made it clear, he is not interested any issues we are having. Even after agreeing to start over and work together, Todd and his cohorts continue to sabotage our business. My partner doesn’t have my back. It almost seems as though he and Todd have been in cahoots to drain me of my savings before continuing to build the cafe and bar into a viable business. I can hardly pay my bills and definitely cannot invest another penny. My body is falling apart from all the hard work.

No knight in shining armor is going to gallop in and whisk me off on his mighty steed. Chef Irvine and Jon Taffer will not be calling to help me get back on track. Not even a wonderful philanthropist like Ellen DeGeneres can save me now. It’s time to quit.

After letting Pierre’s email sink in for a few days, I replied, ‘Buy me out’. He acted surprised. I don’t know why. After reading this blog, I know you’re not surprised. You’re probably more surprised that I stayed so long. Me, too, now that I’m looking back. It was truly a mistake to believe things would work out once these issues started presenting themselves. I was very sad. I really did love having a cafe and bar.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you should not believe in your vision of starting a business. All I want you to do is think way outside the box about what may go wrong and plan for that. After reading about the issues I encountered, you can see there are a lot more hurdles than drawing people to your doors and fixing equipment. Be prepared and make your dreams come true.