Waiting

This is one of the hardest times any new business owner faces. We're 95% ready to open. Employees have been hired. They're guaranteed hours so the paychecks must go out. Customers are coming up to the door. They are calling me. Everything you could hope for except a functioning shoppe. One more gas line to connect. One more inspection (if all goes well) if it doesn't maybe two or three more. And it's going to be another week. Not much work for anyone to do until we get the gas turned back on.
Tiffany is helping my friend, Jennifer, with things at the Flavorbank. Tom is spending time with an out of town guest. Matte is working on her business plan for her walking Yoga business. I'm able to spend time with my sister, Lisa. So it's all good, but impatience persists.
You have to keep your spirits up. This is your dream. It can't, won't be stopped. there's too much here.
If you're in the throws of opening your business, these are the trying times. you can't give up. You have to know the big picture.
You have to be the one that believes. You have to give hope to others. You have to stay positive. You have to carry the weight. That's why you're in business. That's why you'll succeed. That's why others look up to you.
These are the days that you will look back on and smile.

Opening Day

We had planned on being open this week, but as with all well laid plans... We've had a couple of small delays that should be taken care of this week. I would love to say we'll be open next Tuesday, Election day. Wouldn't that be a great day to open!!! The place is looking great. Well, suffice to say, I'll keep everyone up to date on our opening. We've had people coming to the shop because the saw the article in the newspaper. We're collecting their names and will be calling all of them when we do open to let them know. Thanks for all your support.

Todd

Incommunicado

Yes, it's been a few days, 4 to be exact. Too many days have past between posts. I need to get my twitter set up so I can do quick remote posts. Anyway, Things have been very busy. I'm going to make this post short and a tease. I have a lot to go over, a lot to say, a lot you need to hear about. But right now I can't reveal any of it. Give me a couple of weeks and the whole story will start to come out. It's fun, but today a bit sensitive. Tomorrow it will be a knee slapping story. You'll be there when all is written.

We're not open yet, waiting on a few more things to be in place. But very soon.

We now have 3 official employees. As you saw earlier, Tiffany is Employee #4. Tom is on board (he rightfully chastised me for not speaking more about our team) as #5 and Matte is #6.

I'm excited about all 3. They bring so much to the team. Tiffany will be my right hand in the kitchen. Tom is a wizard with the details and will keep us from veering off course. Matte brings a great palate and spiritual balance to the team. I will share more about all of them later this week. Needless to say, I'm surround by great people. These 3. My family (Colette and Cole came down and painted on Friday) and my Friends. I get so much support from so many people. Thank you all.

Write it down, part two

Marion asked if my blog was part of writing it down. As I thought about that I realized that 'writing it down' was the habit that has helped me write the blog and visa-versa. So it's a self perpetuating cycle. I write things down and then I write my blog, I write things, blog, write, blog....
And on it goes
BTW, as I was preparing some groceries tonight, the knife went crazy and took a little nick out of my finger, so I'm typing with one hand. Makes for shorter posts. Good news for some :)

Write it down

The toughest lesson I've had to learn is to write things down. Years ago I wouldn't write anything down. Not goals, not tasks, not phone numbers. Of course I was young and I had this incredible ability to remember things. What I didn't realize was that the only reason I could remember so much is because there was so little in my brain at the time :)
Then I got serious about 'time management', which I learned over the years that it should more appropriately be called 'life management'. Because when used properly and to the fullest extent, it is a phenomenal tool for keeping your life in order.
Which brings me to today's post. The first thing I did when I decided to start the Tucson Tamale Company was to write down my goals. Then I wrote the business plan. And I wrote. And I wrote. It was an incredibly clarifying process. Write it down. Then when I started executing on getting the first TTC (TTC will be the first official acronym of our company) open I took out my uber goal list and started to translate that into goals for opening the first shop. Then into monthly goals. Then into daily tasks.
So, what are the results? Back in July when I would tell people that I planed on being open by the end of September, they thought I was nuts. Now, granted, we're going to open about a month after that, but still we have moved quite quickly.
The list of things we have accomplished is looooonnnnnggggg. But we have gotten it all done. There are still a few more odds and ends to tie up but we're on target.
When I think about how harried things could be this week I breath a sigh of relief that the only butterflies are those of excitement. So, we can talk forever about time management, life management, organization, etc. But that's one of the problems, talking about it. Do it. Write it down and then do it. It works.

The Press Let the Story Leak...

Well, today we got our first write up in the Arizona Daily Star (http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/biz-topheadlines/263195.php). First, a couple of corrections, Sherry's name is spelled wrong and she was surprised to learn that she has 'plans' to leave Intuit once the business gets going. We have talked about, talking about, her joining the business way down the road (in a couple 2-4 years) but for the current future she loves her job at Intuit.
We got our phone number on Friday but no phone yet, so I'll post the number after we get a phone:) Busy, busy week in front of us. I'll get some pictures up later this week, keep an eye out. Todd

Home Depot

I'm going to talk about my recent experience at Home Depot. It is relevant to the Tucson Tamale Company. I want all of my current and future employees to read this and take it in.
Thursday I went to Home Depot on East Broadway (right by the 'In and Out' Burger), yeah, you know where it is. Anyway, I walk in the front door and I'm greeted by someone, friendly as can be, asking me if I need any help. Is there anything she can help me find? No, I tell her, I pretty much know where things are. After all this time of shopping there and never having anyone offer to help you find things, you learn to help yourself. I marched down the front aisle toward the tool area. Not 25 feet from the first woman, another asked me if I needed any help. Very friendly. It actually caught me by surprise. I've never had that kind of service at this store (or any home Depot for that matter).

I do remember years ago getting good service at Home depot, but that was long ago.

I continued my march to the tool area and just like in the movies, a group of ten, maybe twelve executives turned the corner and walked past me. How did I know they were executives? Well, they were all white males in their mid 30's to 40's. They all had on perfectly pressed and incredibly bright Home Depot smocks (meaning they hadn't ever gotten them dirty, I'm sure none of them could have answered a question about an impact hammer) and they all turned the corner in unison. As I shopped I had the best service I have ever had at a Home Depot. If someone from Home Depot is reading this right now, they might be smiling. Don't. You'll soon see why. As I started to check out the cashier was all smiles and asked all the right questions, "did you find everything?", "would you like to use your Home Depot charge today?" Notice it was one question about my needs and one question about their needs...
I said to the cashier, "the executives must be in the store" His expression soured, in a long sad voice he said, 'yeah'. So much for real enthusiasm.
As I was driving back to my shoppe I contemplated what I just experienced. First, I've seen the routine many a times. The executives are in town and everything is different. You spend a lot of time 'preparing' for the execs. Whether its PowerPoint's or getting everyone to smile, the only motivation is, "THE BIG WIGS ARE HEADED THIS WAY" Like they would actually fire everyone if things weren't perfect?
I was really bothered by what I saw. On so many levels, in so many ways. Let me detail them:
First, you, Home Depot have shown me what great levels of customer service you're capable of and out of all my visits to your stores the ONLY time you have achieved it is when the execs are in town. So now I'll be even more frustrated with your service because of what I saw. You can be your own worst enemy.
Then I imagined the execs flying back to wherever, patting themselves on the back about what a great store they have in their area. They don't want to know the reality. They love the show as much as the manager who put it on.
Everyone giving themselves kudos, the execs, the store managers for this 'perfect performance' while the employees, the ones who do the real work are left sad faced when I mention 'executives'. I hope someone from Home Depot reads this and sees what the real problem is. If they don't they can call me:) Todd, 520-465-7314...
Now to my point about the Tucson Tamale Company. Every store, at all times will run to perfection. How can this be? Doesn't Home Depot want the same thing? Of course they do. So how can we ensure it when they live on smoke screens?
#1 - We're not going to big for 'bigs' sake. We will grow responsibly. This, by the way, is the new way of doing business in the 21st century. Business is changing and we're going to be on the forefront of the thought and execution leadership.
#2 - Every employee will see this blog post and a video (or personal visit) from me, talking about their responsibility to call out imperfection when it happens. Now, lots of arguments can be made at this point about the how, why would they, you'll be like every other business, etc. I know every system has gaps. What I also know is that it is my personal and business goal to make sure we don't run a business full of smoke screens. I will make our business different.

Routine

I used to despise routine. It meant you were boring. Old. Not Fun. Routine was the anti-excitement. And excitement was everything. Then somewhere along the way...
Today I arrived at the still unopened Tamale Shoppe and unlocked the front door, walked to the electric panel and flipped on the lights, then I went through the patio and unlocked the back gate. Then to the dumpsters and unlocked them (another time I'll tell you why the dumpsters are locked). There was something incredibly comforting as I unlocked the dumpsters. I realized it was routine. This was the third day in a row I had followed this 'routine', unlock the front door, flip on the lights, unlock the back gate and then unlock the dumpsters.
It felt really good. This thing called routine that I have rebelled against since youth was now a friend. As I flung the lid open on the recycling dumpster I contemplated why this routine was so comforting.
I thought of coming home at night and feeding your dog. Brushing your hair in the morning. Turning on the night lights. Some is necessary (feeding the dog) some is optional (putting on the night lights) but they all comfort us. I'm not sure what it is about routine that works, but it does.
Now, I'm still one to go after the excitement, the adventure, I'll never be complacent, but I've realized that routine and complacency are two different things. One of them, I like.

Your Baby

You know when you watch your baby/child and get filled with joy and wonderment? Starting your own business will never be quite like that. But it's close.

Guest Post by April

Hello, there. This is April (aka Employee #3). Todd asked me if I would write a blog entry. My first reaction was "No!" Then I thought a bit. I'm a Gemini, I'm wordy. Gift of gab and all. Why the heck not.
I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed these last few weeks working with Todd and the Tamale shop. First, Todd is fun to be around and just as fun to work for. He is by far my favorite boss. So, when he called and asked if I would help out while I was off, I said sure. Now while he is fun, great to work for etc. there are times I'd just as soon throttle him on the head. Good naturally, of course. Anyone who knows him probably feels the same way.
When I first visited the shop, I was surprised at how dirty it was, especially considering there was an open, active restaurant days/weeks before. ICK. Everything was out of the frig, thank goodness. But they had left dirty dishes in stagnant water in the sink.
My second day Todd says "Hey, do you want to do those dishes in the sink.?" He laughed when he said it. Smug ol' Fart. "No, I do not WANT to do those dishes." Honest answer. He rephrased "WILL you do the dishes?" "Sure." Remember, Everyone, it's all in how you ask.
I've called and talked to I don't know how many places for information, estimates etc. So much so that both my cordless phones died on me on one day. Not an experience I wish to repeat. Not even I voluntarily gab that much. And I've acquired a wealth of information about stuff that I'll probably never use again, replacing some useful piece that I'm sure to need. For example, the company logo is a 7,000 stitch count and you should use Pique shirts instead of jersey as the embroidery comes out cleaner. I can't begin to image what that's replaced in my head. Yet it's been worth it and a complete blast.
Thanks, Tucson Tamale Company, for letting me be a part of the start up. I'll miss it. And I can't wait for those damn tamales.

Introductory Video

This is the intro video that is on the Tucson Tamale Company page on Facebook

If you know what this picture is then you know where I had lunch today. About very other month I have to go have a Sonoran Dog at El Guero Canelo. Positively sinful. A light fluffy bun (really it's a pouch because the don't cut the sides) filled with beans then a dog wrapped in bacon and grilled is placed on the beans. Add grilled onions, tomatoes, mayo, mustard and jalapeno sauce. It's not everyday food, but boy is it yummy.

The Most Important Decision You Make

As a business owner we have many decisions we need to make. The most important one is the people we chose to hire. While every decision is reversible, this one can do you the most good and to most harm.
There's volumes that can written about the how to think through the process, establishing job responsibilities, understanding how the team fits together, knowing what skills are needed on the tactical and strategic level, experience, exuberance, etc. To often I have seen people hired because the are nice or a friend, etc. You have to spend a lot of time understanding the teams needs and finding the right fit.
Without going into the 'hiring' manual (that will be written at some point, maybe on my soon to be small business help network) I do want to give the most important tip here.
Always, always, always get more than one input when hiring. Always, always, always have outside eyes helping you think through your needs, your teams needs, long term vs. short term.
I am lucky/grateful and blessed to have strong people willing to sit down and consul and coach me. Kirby and Jennifer are 2 such people. Their help yesterday was tremendous. I can't say enough about the 3 hours they spend with me and some potential employees. Celebrate the great people you surround yourself with. They should always be a wiser and more objective than you :)

Making Tamales

I've been so busy getting the Shoppe ready that I haven't made Tamales in about three weeks. Today I had to. I'm trying a new recipe. Country Tamales and eggs. You guessed it, I'm stuffing the Tamale with country pork sausage and cheese. Steam those baby's then let 'em cool. Grill the Tamale and top it a fried egg (any style) and some country gravy. It will delight all you biscuit and gravy fans.
But here's what happened this morning. As I pulled out the corn husks, I had a physical reaction. Connectedness, visceral, whatever you want to call it, it was the place I love to be. Cooking, making Tamales. I know I'm going to be running a big business but that doesn't stop my passion when I pick up a husk, create some taste bud popping goodness to stuff it with and then enjoy. This is what life is.

Saturday Morning Ride

Finally the cool mornings are back. I didn't ride my bike much in the summer because even at dawn it's 90 degrees. The cool mornings are back with us. It was about 70 this morning and I rode for 7 miles. A nice way to start the weekend. Keeping the body and soul in shape...

Friday Night Lights

Normally refers to High School Football. Tonight, for me, it’s the crescent moon. I’m sitting here, outside, eating my absolutely delicious homemade pizza, listening to Van Morrison, smelling my jalapenos smoke into chipotles and thinking about the crescent moon that was here an hour ago, and now has disappeared. (This, btw, is going to be backwards entry, starting with where I’m at right now and reflecting back on the week). The pizza I concocted is herb dough with a basil tomato sauce. Top that with some mozzarella, a nice chicken sausage, crimini mushrooms and some fresh sliced jalapenos (which I just picked from my garden). A glass of Sangiovese, the crickets’ chirping and my laptop. What’s out of place here? The laptop of course, but Sherry’s in CA so instead of lively, witty, banter with her, I chose to share this moment and this past week with all who care to spend 5 minutes reading. I had gathered all of my pizza ingredients and headed to the outdoor kitchen. Grabbed the IPod docking station and was set for a quiet, relaxing, pizza making, pizza eating introspection. I put my ‘mise en place’ on the counter and started to wash the ‘shrooms. I looked to the Southwest and there at the base of the night sky was the most relaxing crescent moon I have ever seen. And yes, it looked like many I have seen, but this one is fresher, newer, this one is today. (Steve Forbert’s ‘song for Katrina’ just came on and of course I think about Sherry…). Back to the moon, as I looked up at the sliver of a moon I thought about this week, this first full week of ‘redecorating’ the very first Tucson Tamale Shoppe.
This afternoon I was sweeping up some dust, taking out the trash and greeting the floor cleaning as the other crew was leaving. This is it. This is what it is like to start a successful business. Step by step. Attention to detail. Attention to the many people that need information, have questions, applying for a job, want to sell you something. I must have spoke with 75 people this week. Thursday night Sherry called and asked me how it was going, I was truly, happily, exhausted and told her that I just couldn’t bring myself to try and remember the details of the week. Suffice to say it has been a great week.
Through all this busyness I was able to take care of many other things, Paseo Estrella (the neighborhood in which we live and I’m on the Board) issues, talking to friends about their businesses, making sure that I get daddy/daughter day tomorrow (Saturday) with Colette and Cole.
Starting a business is time consuming (so is a job), mentally challenging (so is a job) physically demanding (so is a job) and incredibly reward (a job should be). So far I’ve spend money and have no income, that’s understandable since I’m not open yet, but it still can get a bit freaky, like it was on Thursday. More expenses, more than I had planned. Anxiety rising. Got home and went back over my budget. Good news. Good news that I already knew, but had to look at the spreadsheet, I built a buffer and I was still under that buffer. You haven’t heard self talk until you go over budget and under buffer. It’s one hell of a self conversation. “Damn it!, you’re over budget!!!” “That’s right, remember why we added the buffer??! Don’t be so dense!” “Who’s being dense here? I have a budget to stick to!” “ And I have a atmosphere that I must create for OUR successful business, that’s why I built in a buffer!” and after a few hours it goes away.
The crescent moon, a little glimpse of the extraordinary beauty that’s to come. That’s what this week has been for our dream. A little glimpse of the beauty that’s to come.

Sign in the Window

I put the 'sign' in the door window so all applicants would know it its us!!! The 'sign' is our logo printed on a standard 8" x 11" piece of paper. I've had almost 40 phone calls this past week people responding to our employment ad. I told everyone to come down betwen 2 ad 5 pm on Wednesday. I thought for sure we would be inundated with applicants. 4 people showed up. I was a bit disappointed at the low turnout then I realized that we have had a good group of applicants (some othes have already interviewed) and that we are going to get a great group of people to help make the Tucson Tamale Company a success.