QUESTION:
I want to start a tapsilugan business here in Valenzuela, Bulacan. I have already done my costing. My problem is: Who will be handling this business while I am at work from 9-6? I have been thinking to open from 3 pm-11 pm perhaps. Or I might start at 6 pm onwards. Do you think my business would earn following those business hours?
I’m planning to resign when the business starts to pick up. This is also one of my retirement plans. Even if I want to, I can’t quit my work because this is where I will secure my start-up capital.
Would you advice me to go on with my plan? Frankly, I am very eager to start, even if I can’t devote my full time to the business.
My husband has an electronics business. My two sons are employed, while my youngest is still studying.
Marina Pacis Poon, Valenzuela City
ANSWER
Hi Marina!
Would you be comfortable handing over the reins of your business to an employee/assistant?
If so, then you might hire someone to sub for you while you’re still working at your full-time job.
Nonetheless, I am afraid you have to take time off from work to at least get your business off to a right start. As you set up operations, take under your wings at least two assistants. Maybe a neighbor? An unemployed sister, cousin, pamangkin, tita? Or someone referred and highly recommended to you by a person you trust. Make sure at least one of these assistants is an experienced cook, preferably in a tapsilugan or carinderia or canteen or some eating place, similar to yours. Run them through all the operational procedures. Take them with you when you go to market to shop, train them in proper food handling, in serving, waiting, dealing with customers, in cashiering, record keeping. Then when you feel they have learned enough, try leaving them by themselves for hours at a time.
Even when you feel secure enough to go back to work, check on your store every now and then. On your way to work, on your way back from work, at odd hours you can afford to take time off from your job. You have to do on-the-spot checks so that your employees would always be on their toes.
These on-the-spot checks are not enough, however.
You need to monitor your sales and profits. You can do this by making a simple cash-in, cash-out record.
Here’s a template of the cash-in- cash-out plan.
Cash In Cash Out Plan
Cash in
1. Cash at the beginning of week/month __________________
2. Cash from sales of week/month __________________
3. Any other cash in__ __________________
Total Cash In __________________
Cash out
1. Cash out for supplies used for the week/month __________________
2. Cash out for labor for the week/month __________________
3. Cash out for Rent for the week/month __________________
4. Cash out for Electricity, Water for the week/month __________________
5. Other cash out (transportation, etc.) __________________
6. Total Cash out __________________
Cash In minus Cash Out = Cash at the end of the week/month
____________ – __________ = _________
Here’s another thing you could do:
When you shop for meat, fish, poultry, and ingredients, calculate more or less for how many orders what you bought is good for. For example, if you buy ingredients for 1 kilo of tapa, estimate how many orders can be served when the tapa is cooked. Since the order is for tapsilog, include cost for one sunny side up and a cupful of sinangag into the cost per order plus your mark-up. That should be your selling price per order. Multiply the number of orders with the selling price per order to get the total expected sales from that tapa dish. Do this to make sure your employees turn over to you more or less the right amount of revenues.
You can also ask them to record each and every sale for the day. See if the record matches what they turn over to you at the end of the day. Study the trends of your sales – is it going up or down? If you see sales declining sharply, ask them what the problems are.
We hope these tips would be useful. Good luck .. we hope your planned business would prosper soon enough to enable you to quit your job and be a full time entrepreneur!