Have a Plan, Stick to Your Plan and Let Your Plan Ground You

Twice this week I was reminded of the importance and the reason you make a plan. First, I think it’s important to understand two things. #1, you make and write your business plan before you start the business. You’re approaching it from your intellect. Your emotions are easy to keep in check. You know what you should do and what will enable success. You write the plan with your head. #2, you execute on the plan after you open the business. Once the doors are open your passion and emotions can take over. There’s the excitement of opening. The fear, the anxiety, nerves, mistakes. You start to execute with your heart. The pace is much different after you open up. Things seem to move at light speed. This is where the plan is most valuable.

First event. Wednesday was a terrific day. Busy as we could handle. Our 5th day in business and things were looking good. We had just found out the day before that we are getting reviewed in one of the major dailies. Who could ask for more? Maybe we should stay open a little later to catch the dinner business. A friend emails and says they’ll be in for dinner on Saturday. I look at the schedule. We don’t have the help to cover all of those hours. On Friday, by 5 in the evening, we’re tired. If we’re going to serve dinner, then we need a second shift. It gets confusing. People want to come in and sit down for dinner. What to do? The answer is in the plan.

We are a take-out Shoppe. Not a restaurant. We sell great Tamales. Great Salsas. You can come in for a hot lunch. You can always sit at a table when we’re open. But at the end of the day, we’re a take-out Shoppe. Tamales are a food you take home, put in the frig and then heat them up when your ready for dinner. We also want to be the place to go not just for prepared Tamales, but for Tamale supplies. Want prepared Masa? Want some corn husks? Want a Tamale Steamer? We want to sell those things. We’re not yet, but we will be. Sure, there’s going to be some business we lose because we’re not open after 6. But we are what we are. We have to focus on the basics. Great Tamales. Great Salsas. Take-out. Hot Lunches.

Second event. Couple comes in Friday about 5:30. You could sense it wasn’t what they expected. They wanted a sit down dinner. So I thought. I explained the menu and how it works. It’s take-out. You heat it up when you get home. I felt they ordered a couple of Tamales just to be polite. I served them with happiness but after they left I had an empty feeling. They didn’t like how we were set up. They expected something different. I went home and was it weighed heavy on my mind. How do we take care of them? How do we meet their needs? The questions lingered until Saturday evening. They came back in at 5pm. He was so excited. He had the Tamales when he got home and absolutely loved them. He wanted more. He had to have more. They order 6 this time. I went home happy and remembered the plan.

What does the plan have to do with this event? Well, I clearly pointed out in the plan that when people were first presented with the concept their reception was lukewarm at best. It was only after they tried the Tamales did they do summersaults. So, I should have listened to my own words. When new customers come in, they may be a bit chilly to the offering, but get them a taste and watch out!

My lesson is this, I wrote the plan for a reason. To guide us as we build our business. You will get emotional, you can’t help it. Your heart is always alive when you have passion. What is heartless passion? It’s a dull dreary corporate existence. Owning and running your own business can’t only be an intellectual exercise. It has to start with passion. True passion leads to emotion times. Emotional times should bring you back to your plan. Stay grounded with your plan while your heart is in the clouds. And, Of course, change your plan when needed, but do it outside of the normal operation. Have a group of advisors. More about that in another post. Another time.

Kirby, Part 2

I wanted to say more about Kirby. The other day when I posted I was tired (having woke up at 3:30am) and in a hurry to get to the Shoppe. Kirby is with us full time as a leader for the Tucson Tamale Company. He's a partner in the business. He and I have worked together for years and have a great rapport. Yin and Yang. We bring different and complementary strengths to the table.
The first time we really worked together was about 7 years ago. He was with the Quicken group and was asked to lead one of the new support teams. I had been the implementation manager and done all of the hiring for the new team. When Kirby took over, I told him we interviewed all the applicants and hired the best 21 for the team. He was pleased. After the second day of training class, he found me and asked, "you did say you hired the best 21 for the job, right?" "That I did, the top 21 applicants got hired." "Todd, most of them are great but there's a few..." He paused and then asked me, "Todd, how many applied for the job?" "21", I replied. We've gotten along great ever since.
Kirby is critical to the business. We are working through the details of who does what, etc. Kirby is great at building processes. As a new business you don't really have any defined processes and that's the way it is. You have to see what is actually going to happen before you build processes that may or may not work. So business happens and you handle it. You have to, it's your livelihood. But some businesses never establish processes and they get bogged down and tired. Kirby will bring freshness to the team and help us all get a handle on what we are doing from a process perspective.
He's also great to chat with. He has more sports analogies then an ex-coach motivational speaker. He's a current coach motivational speaker. So, if sports bore, beware. His nickame is 'Coach'. Welcome Kirby.

Our First Customer(s)

Here's a picture of our first customers. I know, I should have posted it last weekend, but the blog wasn't uploading correctly. I've had this problem before with the MAC and Blogger, but everyone tells me it's user eror. Oh well. So, here's the pic:

That's Carol on the Left. She was the first customer. Next to her, in front, is Pete. He was supposed to be the first customer. He called in his order and was going to arrive at 11am to pick it up. He did arrive on time. But Carol had shown up at 10:50 and we just couldn't turn down a few more bucks. So we let them share being the first customer.
Also in the pic (from left to right) Carol, Todd, Pete, RJ, Mattie, Tom, Kirby and Sherry. Tiffany couldn't be with us on this day, but picture her standing next to Sherry:)
Tonight my feet are tired and my heart is warm. We've got a long month in front of us.

Phone Number and Address

Since our website is not yet operational (it will be by tonight), here's our address and phone number:
Tucson Tamale Company
2545 E. Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-305-4760

Kirby

For those of you who know Kirby, it's now official, he's with us full time. Stop by and say hi. He's my right hand. As they used to call us at Intuit "Tir-by' (a blend of Todd and Kirby, sounds like we're married).

The Clock says 3:45am

Well, it doesn't actually talk. The digital display let me know it was way to early to be awake. I took a drink of water and put my arm around Sherry to return to my dreams. Nothing doing. The thoughts started. And they wouldn't stop. Tamales. What do I need to order? A million little thoughts about the business. You want to go back to sleep for a bit, but they come fast and furious. You think about the customers you saw the day before. What will Karen write in the paper? Did I spend enough time with my friend Robert when he came in? Was Mr. Monday going to write something about us? What do I need to add to the grilled tomato salsa? Can we keep up production?
I roll back over and see that's it's now 4:30. Just a little more sleep, I promise myself. I tell my mind not to forget these great insights and just let me sleep for 1 more hour. It agrees but doesn't comply. The clock ticks (not really, it's digital, remember?) Then after another 45 minutes I decide that one more hour of sleep isn't in the cards. I get up and make my coffee. Check the news online. Call Tucson Food Service to place an order.
I still have so many questions about the business. I want to know how we are going to pack Mike's order for 7 dozen Tamale tomorrow. I know we have the bags, but how can he carry 7 dozen? (I just walked into the kitchen to pour more coffee, looked out the back door at the beautiful morning then walked back here without my coffee, so, back to the kitchen). I wonder, have any of the employees thought about that? That's when I realize what is keeping me up. I have to get everyone to think like a small business. We are just getting started. We have to focus on the small things that make the experience great. We have to have great food and great service. That's our only goal right now. This morning when I get in, we'll have another meeting to talk about the small things that are so important.
I was pissed at myself last night. I brought home a couple of tamales for dinner and started with the green chili pork. It was fantastic. Then I warmed up the chicken tomatillo. It was not what I wanted it to be. I had roasted and then diced some chicken for it. I had been shredding chicken before. The dices were too big and that made for a drier then I want Tamale. I wasn't pissed that I screwed up (I've done that before), I was pissed because that morning before we opened, I tried every Tamale on the steam table to make sure the quality was what we wanted. But I forgot to try the Chicken Tamale. And that was the one that wasn't up to snuff. Live and learn. A new batch of Chicken Tamale will be coming out today.

I wanted to say more this Weekend

I have all kinds of great, interesting, insightful, fun, painful, silly, stupid, playful and happy things to share about the business but the hours just didn't materialize this weekend for me to do so.

Work all day Saturday, then Sherry and I went to see her mom. Got home at 9pm and took a dip in the hot tub then off to bed.

Today we were going to take a leisurely morning and read the paper. Things happened and I was off to the store at 8am and have gone non-stop since. At least all the old checks have been shredded:)

We're closing at 3pm on Mondays, so I'll get a chance to write more about the opening soon. Life is a beautiful thing. Can't imagine being in any other place right now.

It's Time to Cry

Tears of joy. Tears from a long journey. Tears from family heartache. Tears from not being able to spend time with remote family. Tears from seeing your dream realized. Tears from seeing all the love and support you have. I'll go jump in the hot tub with Sherry and share my tears there.

Our first day and it was great. We sold out of many Tamales. People raved. We met new customers. We could have sold more if we had more. We learned a lot. I tired right now so the words aren't coming like they were earlier. So, I'm going to sign off and on Sunday I'll do a nice long recap.

for all of you wanted, wishing, hoping to start your own venture, my words are these: You'll never be totally prepared. You never be underwhelmed. You'll never be alone. You'll never be happier. If all these things aren't a part of your experience, you need to find out why. Because when you find your passion, it's a beautiful world.

Friday's the Day

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. we open the doors for real. Someone will walk in at 11:01, probably Pete Purves because he ordered 2 dozen thanksgiving tamales to be picked up at 11am. We'll celebrate and give him kisses for being our first customer. Euphoria will be intense but brief, then another customer will walk in, then another and another. Before you know it, we will be busy. We will be in business. No more theory. No more excitement over ideas. We will be a real business. Cash will be in the till. Credit cards will need to be processed. Yes, we will have income to (finally:) offset the spending.

There have been a few distinct phases to starting a business, the first phase is the idea. It's exciting and scary. It really could be something. Or it could be totally wrong. But something is there. Butterflies fly. You want to know more. The pursuit starts in earnest.

Phase two. Let me look into this. Is this real? Where's the beef? I still feel giddy but now there's work to do. I've got to investigate. Do some research. What am I not seeing? Why could this not work? Why should I be scared? Nothing comes to mind. The research says to continue. So you do.

Phase Three. You commit. This is it. You're in now. Business plan is in the works. Lawyers are being consulted. You search for a location. You tell all your friends. You get them excited about what's about to happen. And that commitment scares and excites you.

Phase Four. You spend a shitload of money. Because that's what it takes to get the business going. You go through Realtors, leasing agents, lawyers, inspectors, government folks, you name it, you have so many hoops to jump through to make this happen. It means so much to you now, you can be blinded to certain pitfalls. But they always show up. In due time. They show up. You deal with them. You are faced, at many points, with the decision to proceed or go back. Reset or press on. Spend more or cut your losses. And the bitch is only your gut really knows.
That's what makes a successful business. Someone with the gut to keep going. Someone with the foresight to know when to change direction. Have courage. You can make it. Perseverance. It's yours to be had.

Phase five. Starts tomorrow. See you then. Todd

Friends and Family day

Wow. It was great to see everyone today. More than I had expected. The feedback was great. I wasn't surprised by people's reaction to the Tamales, I've spend considerable time making sure they tasted phenomenal. I was a little surprised buy people's reaction to the layout of the shoppe. They thought it was very open and inviting and intimate. I could have guessed the open and inviting, the intimate comments where a suprise. Then someone said that it was because people want to belong. They want to be a part of a community. Of course we do. Then they said that our Shoppe brings our customers close to our production. I just like being able to work and see our customers. I'm so excited.
I had wanted to get a lot more photos but the battery was low and then crapped out on me. I'll get more later.

Sign is up!

It's About Time

On Wednesday we will have our friends and family tasting. Stop by anytime between 11 - 7pm to sample some of our tamales. We will then open for business on Friday, November 21st. It's been a journey getting here and it feels good to finally be ready.
Yesterday was Harold's funeral. Probably 200 people showed up to say their farewells. He will be missed. As was Harold's nature he was always looking for things you needed. If you needed a wrench, he had it. As Sherry said, it may have taken an hour or so to find it, but he had it. A couple of weeks ago he wanted to do something for the Tamale Shoppe. There wasn't anything I could think of that we still needed until Harold said, "what about a microwave, do you need a microwave?" Indeed we did. So the brand new microwave on our counter is from Harold. Bless you Harold. Rest in peace.

First Day of Cooking

I got to put a knife to some veggies. It's okay, they were prepared. It felt so good to slice and chop and toss them in the kettle. Cathartic. I'm slower (as a cook) then I was in my 20's. But I was wild and unrefined back then. I could sling hash faster than, well, anyone. I was a speed demon. Back in my early 20's I worked with my old Friend, Gary. He had the nickname 'Chrome Wheels' because he was velvety smooth as he moved down the line. He could put out some plates and each one was perfect. He nicknamed me, 'Mag Wheels' because I was faster then he, but not as perfect. I used to sacrifice a little perfection for speed.
Not anymore. It's okay to pace yourself. It was also very peaceful for me to just cook. Even though my feet are sore.... I love doing this. Watch the video, it's short, about a minute.

Friends and Family Tasting Postponed

This morning Sherry's dad, Harold, passed. As we need some time to take care of him, we have postponed our tasting and our opening. As soon as we know the new dates for the tasting and opening we will let you know. Thanks for understanding and your support.

Todd & Sherry

Free

Free, that always gets your attention. So what is free? A taste of our tamales (and the sides). This Friday. From 11 - 3. Stop by and enjoy some of our tantalizing tamales. If fun, it's interactive and best of all, it's FREE!!! 2545 E. Broadway. 520-305-4760

Positive Dance

RJ, Tom and Tiffany share their excitement with the 'positive' dance. Don't ask me how they came up wth it or why... we're always positive :)

Also, this Friday (11-14-08) we are having a free tasting for our family and friends. Stop by between 11-3 to try our yummy Tamales.
Thanks, Todd

Hallelujah!!!!

It’s been a while and I have great news! We now have all of our permits, licenses and inspections successfully signed off on. We had to have the gas line replaced and now we can cook with gas! BTW, this post will have many !’s in it. Sorry, can’t help it. I’m very excited. Ready to cry. It’s been a very emotional week, between the Tamale Shoppe and moving my father-in-law to home Hospice care on Tuesday so I have to have a little release.
I’ll be posting lots more now that we’re getting ready to open. Look for us to open the middle of next week.

Looking good

Signed and sealed. Ready to open next week.