@daisy1
I think that is the correct direction to go. I believe that your staff will understand the situation and if they enjoyed their positions with you, they will be back.
When you are backed up against the wall it can be a challenge to dig out…
One one of the least costly ways to get the word out is hand delivered flyers…While I am a believer in large size full colour, that may be out of reach…You might have to get by with a b&w flyer on bright paper…You should be able to get 2,000 printed for less than 100.00…5 cents each…Maybe put an ad on Craigslist looking to trade pizza for flyers…Or do a co-op flyer…Get other local businesses to cover the cost and you deliver it…If you can not find a local printer, look to Ebay…Set out each day to deliver a few hundred…Look through the archives here to find offers to put in your flyers…You may have to get more aggressive until you see some recovery…
Good luck…
PS…There are lots of folks here rooting for you…Many have been in the same spot before…
Well week 1 down of hours changes, im not incurring any slack from customers, as far as any sales loss from not opening until the late afternoon, I figured I only lost maybe about $200 in sales if that, that was about 20 calls missed. I did put a msg on my answer machine about hr changes & on my road sign. Im feeling very positive about my decision & am glad I did it. I had 2 family members here helping out only during the 2-3 hrs of crazy busy times Thursday-Saturday/ FEELING BETTER 
Well after much working at it, and trying to negotiate with my landlord at which he will not budge & him threatening to raise my rent to $1800 monthly at the end of the yr. I am appling for a microloan thru my county EDC office, we are moving out of this plaza come this summer. Business has improved somewhat, but still in the red. Been working all the hrs myself except thursday - saturday I have family help. My only hurdle is needing to talk to county water& waste about tap in fees, also grease interceptor, UGH…tap in fees will kill you if your not paying attention & with the state getting involved now with alot, grease interceptors are costly as well, I have found a location I can move into, just have to verify info with county, get the paper work in order, get my loan approved & get the hell out of this god awful plaza
I am in the process of moving my store daisy, make sure you know the costs involved. They are deep! Oh and btw, my landlord is a bigger prick, I sent him the info where I was moving to and he don’t give a s**t.
Daisy, I hope your county EDC is not as crooked as what we have around my neck of the woods. Our local paper just did an article on them, and the 5.7 million spent by them in the last 24 months created/retained a whopping 5 jobs. And people are obviously a little twisted over that not so stellar performance. they’re all drawing 6 figure salaries in that office, but no money is going to help places expand or develop.
Grease trap;
If you are on city sewer, an under-sink model should fit you fine (depending on the code in your area) In most places, you typically only need an underground trap if you are on septic.
Heres a few traps for under $500.00 http://www.webstaurantstore.com/search/grease-traps-restaurants.html depending on the flow rate and capacity that you want. If your people are careful it may only need attention annually.
I am working with a good friend who is also my contractor, so far the 3 places Im looking at I have it narrowed down to 1 place, and cost is min… compared to other 2 locations becuase of tap in fees and grease trap, the one place is already pd for on tap in fees and grease trap is not required according to the county, it was a pizza shop before closed down, county said no grease trap required on that one
Our EDC is great here, I worked with them 8 yrs ago had a loan and pd it off, they have helped well over 50 businesses and start ups with loans
Also according to the county here, only time grease trap is required is for restaurants going into new builds or places that never had a pizza shop. Also the state of MI will no longer allow underground tanks anymore, and they must be located out side, stating underground tanks are deteriorating and has potential of seeping into ground.
My guy who cleans my trap only coming in once a yr, said my tank is always clean, I dont deal in grease, no fryers, I also have 2 screening systems under sink before it hits my tank which is actually located in the shop under flooring in back of kitchen
But will check out your link you sent me and pass info to my contractor THANKS
just can not wait to get out of this building UGH… cant come soon enough for me
Its great to hear that your EDC is actually doing what they are supposed to do.
I’m betting that your current landlord thinks you’re bluffing, and I bet he/she changes their tune when they realize that you aren’t.
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!
[QUOTE=“daisy1, post: 96245, member: 11019”
Any words of encouragement or advice ???[/QUOTE]
Hi Daisy,
Asking your peers is definitely a great source of experience to draw upon, but why not ask your customers directly? Who else knows your products and service as well as you do? Who is most willing to promote your business to friends and family? Who has a vested interest in your success or failure (if you close, they get no more delicious pizza)?
I’d say, organize an event at your business once a quarter in which you are thanking your existing customers for their patronage, and ask them to bring friends and family, as the night will be all about them. While they’re there, ask them to take a brief survey or just have an informal discussion with them about what they like, don’t like and ideas they have for bringing new or repeat business to you. Remember, your customer don’t want to hurt your feelings so they may not always share what they’re thinking, openly. Give them a way to do it anonymously while they’re there, like a good old fashioned “Suggestion” box.
When properly educated and motivated, your customer-base can be the most cost-effective and hardest working marketing team your business will ever have.
Hope that helps.
This post is old if you read through the current postings we moved last year and business be better
Hi Daisy,
Very glad to hear. I had read that you’d applied for a loan to move however I missed the part of actually moving. Last you posted was that you were planning on moving out of the building. Congratulations!
Thanks for the update.
Sorry yes I did read my last post and that was the plan moved last June business couldn’t be better increase sales by 500% weekly
Congrats! Location location location
You can’t out Market a bad location. I’ve moved both my shops and both moves were more then worth it. Everyone told me I was nuts
Holy Crap! 500% growth is spectacular!
I “Was” proud of my 80% growth year to date compared to previous years, 500% is outfrickenstanding!
Well 500% might be a bit high but we went from doing 2k to well over 5k a week
How do you do that I didn’t even know you could get that info?
It is on our city’s website under finance department/reports. The last ten years by month by category. Restaurants is a category so I can compare our results to the city wide change in restaurant receipts.
The info is generally posted by about the end of the first week of the second month following. For example, today is March 2nd, our sales taxes for January were due two week ago and I will be able to see city-wide sales tax receipts by the end of this week or maybe monday or tuesday of next week.
Sales taxes collected is public information. Not sure if all cities are as prompt at posting it, but my guess is that you can get the info for your area too.
That still exceeds a 100% growth rate, my shaky math tells me you saw a 150% increase. Still absolutly amazing and I am very happy for you!