Competition...A little too close... - Page 3  

I believe I treat my employees very well, and I'm confident they would tell you that. I am sorry that you worked in an environment like that because it doesn't have to be that way.

But the bottom line is that it IS my name on the door. And when any employee wants to write me a check to cover the $100,000 I've invested in this biz, then they can tell me all day long how to run it.

Until then ....

.... it's MY name over the door.

(psst! And Ms. Ray makes my a$$ tired! Hubby bought me a T-shirt for Christmas that said "Yumm-o!" because he KNEW it would pi$$ me off! I wouldn't walk across the street to see her in person if I had 10 free front row tickets.)

I don't doubt that you treat your employees well. The employers I worked for were @$$holes. They hired a cook who made a mistake once and filled the parfait cups (just granola and yogurt) with sour cream instead of yogurt. It was only about 4 of them - but they left her a scathing note calling her stupid - and even showed it to me and laughed about it. And once the boss' husband met me and she thought he was flirting with me - well, I was the next target.

Now, I am in the process of opening my own business - which will be very similar to theirs. And while it will be my name on the door and my @$$ on the line, I would NEVER disrespect anyone that worked for me. I think if you treat people well, they will respect you and treat you well. I always went above and beyond for those employers who treated me like gold.

Anyway, my argument isn't about employer/employee relations. It's about what kind of image you want to project online. If anyone here wants to portray themselves in what I feel is a negative light - more power to them. However, I feel there are some here who are new and impressionable. I would hate for someone to hurt their business before it even got started by taking the wrong advice from people they admired. I'd like to point out that I do admire both Indydebi and TxKat. I envy and applaud your successes and your willingness to pass on information. But that doesn't mean I won't occasionally (respectfully) disagree with you.

With thinking like this, you are well on your way to being successful!

isn't there a saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? wouldn't that work with you biz neighbour? i would like to know what you found out about a clause in your lease and use that justifiably(sp) so in stopping them from selling similar items. for however long you guys are sidebyside i would think it best to be on good terms-jmho

The point of my original post was not to denigrate the cupcake shop down the street. It was to assure the original poster that if she had a great product, then competition wasn't really an issue because quality will win out over time. I made a special point to mention that our competition was underselling us by $.75 a cupcake and we were busier than ever.

My employees are well paid, they have health benefits, and they have something rare in this economy...job security. Everyone else is laying people off. We're hiring. And that isn't because I'm so nice. It's because I am ruthless in guarding and growing our market share. Once upon a time, my job was to make cake. Now, even though I still make some cakes, my real job is to make sure everyone of my 23 employees can pay their rent and that I am still in business a year from now to honor my commiments to brides that have booked with me. If that upsets the people down the street, I can live with that.

The point of my original post was not to denigrate the cupcake shop down the street. It was to assure the original poster that if she had a great product, then competition wasn't really an issue because quality will win out over time. I made a special point to mention that our competition was underselling us by $.75 a cupcake and we were busier than ever.

My employees are well paid, they have health benefits, and they have something rare in this economy...job security. Everyone else is laying people off. We're hiring. And that isn't because I'm so nice. It's because I am ruthless in guarding and growing our market share. Once upon a time, my job was to make cake. Now, even though I still make some cakes, my real job is to make sure everyone of my 23 employees can pay their rent and that I am still in business a year from now to honor my commiments to brides that have booked with me. If that upsets the people down the street, I can live with that.

The point of my original post was not to denigrate the cupcake shop down the street. It was to assure the original poster that if she had a great product, then competition wasn't really an issue because quality will win out over time. I made a special point to mention that our competition was underselling us by $.75 a cupcake and we were busier than ever.

My employees are well paid, they have health benefits, and they have something rare in this economy...job security. Everyone else is laying people off. We're hiring. And that isn't because I'm so nice. It's because I am ruthless in guarding and growing our market share. Once upon a time, my job was to make cake. Now, even though I still make some cakes, my real job is to make sure everyone of my 23 employees can pay their rent and that I am still in business a year from now to honor my commiments to brides that have booked with me. If that upsets the people down the street, I can live with that.

tkkat....your comment about working 70 hrs a week hit a sad nerve with me and I'll tell you why. I lost a brother almost 14 yrs ago at the age of 45, because he didn't know how to enjoy his life. He had a Phd. from Notre Dame University, and many other degrees that he had worked very hard for. His biggest problem was he could not slow down. He worked "70 plus" hours a week and killed himself in the process. He came down with a bacterial pneumonia that could have easily been treated with antibiotics, if he had only taken the afternoon out of work to see his Dr. By the time his wife drove him against his will to the Emergency room, it was too late and he died 4 days later after falling into a coma. His Dr. said he died of exhaustion.

It's great that you work so hard and tirelessly to keep your business going but please don't let your life pass you by. My brother didn't know the meaning of "a day off" or a "vacation". He couldn't say no to anyone and he paid the ultimate price for that, he gave his life for his job and you know what, I'm sure he was missed, but he wasn't indispensable. He was a professor at UTEP and had a private practice besides teaching full time.

What good is the success and the money we make if we don't make the time to enjoy it? Life is way too precious to waste it working every minute. I don't know how old you are but I'm assuming that 50 yrs from now you won't want to look back and regret that you wasted your best years. Work 10 hrs less a week and do something for yourself and your family, you'll be happy you did.

Deb

P.S. I don't, not post my business site because I'm concerned that my competition will see it. I really could not care less what my competition thinks of me, however I do care what my clients think and that's why I choose to not post pics of sold cakes or a link to my business site.

tkkat....your comment about working 70 hrs a week hit a sad nerve with me and I'll tell you why. I lost a brother almost 14 yrs ago at the age of 45, because he didn't know how to enjoy his life. He had a Phd. from Notre Dame University, and many other degrees that he had worked very hard for. His biggest problem was he could not slow down. He worked "70 plus" hours a week and killed himself in the process. He came down with a bacterial pneumonia that could have easily been treated with antibiotics, if he had only taken the afternoon out of work to see his Dr. By the time his wife drove him against his will to the Emergency room, it was too late and he died 4 days later after falling into a coma. His Dr. said he died of exhaustion.

It's great that you work so hard and tirelessly to keep your business going but please don't let your life pass you by. My brother didn't know the meaning of "a day off" or a "vacation". He couldn't say no to anyone and he paid the ultimate price for that, he gave his life for his job and you know what, I'm sure he was missed, but he wasn't indispensable. He was a professor at UTEP and had a private practice besides teaching full time.

What good is the success and the money we make if we don't make the time to enjoy it? Life is way too precious to waste it working every minute. I don't know how old you are but I'm assuming that 50 yrs from now you won't want to look back and regret that you wasted your best years. Work 10 hrs less a week and do something for yourself and your family, you'll be happy you did.

Deb

P.S. I don't, not post my business site because I'm concerned that my competition will see it. I really could not care less what my competition thinks of me, however I do care what my clients think and that's why I choose to not post pics of sold cakes or a link to my business site.

I edited to delete triple post.........this site is wacky today sorry!

I think one of the biggest mistakes women in particular make (to generalize just a bit) in running their businesses is that they falsely believe that their competitors are obligated to "play fair", or to ensure that everyone should get to be successful. I agree with the OP that it is very naive to assume that the business across the street will (or should) refrain from selling what you're selling because it would be mean or unfair to cut into your business.

If there's a demand for a product, if you're in that business and you're smart, you try to fill it and fill it better than your competition. That's what capitalism is all about. The expression, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" is apt. You have to figure out what you do better than anyone else and then go after that with ferocity.

I have a feeling that the owner of the business across the street isn't losing sleep over the fact that they've taken some of your business away when they sit down and can pay their bills and make their payroll. Leah, and Debi and txkat are all right. You have to use sound business principles to run a successful business. Playing well together and making sure everyone is happy isn't part of that equation. I think some women have a hard time suppressing that urge to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy when they try to run their business, and it's to their own detriment. Business is business.

I think one of the biggest mistakes women in particular make (to generalize just a bit) in running their businesses is that they falsely believe that their competitors are obligated to "play fair", or to ensure that everyone should get to be successful. I agree with the OP that it is very naive to assume that the business across the street will (or should) refrain from selling what you're selling because it would be mean or unfair to cut into your business.

If there's a demand for a product, if you're in that business and you're smart, you try to fill it and fill it better than your competition. That's what capitalism is all about. The expression, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" is apt. You have to figure out what you do better than anyone else and then go after that with ferocity.

I have a feeling that the owner of the business across the street isn't losing sleep over the fact that they've taken some of your business away when they sit down and can pay their bills and make their payroll. Leah, and Debi and txkat are all right. You have to use sound business principles to run a successful business. Playing well together and making sure everyone is happy isn't part of that equation. I think some women have a hard time suppressing that urge to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy when they try to run their business, and it's to their own detriment. Business is business.

I think one of the biggest mistakes women in particular make (to generalize just a bit) in running their businesses is that they falsely believe that their competitors are obligated to "play fair", or to ensure that everyone should get to be successful. I agree with the OP that it is very naive to assume that the business across the street will (or should) refrain from selling what you're selling because it would be mean or unfair to cut into your business.

If there's a demand for a product, if you're in that business and you're smart, you try to fill it and fill it better than your competition. That's what capitalism is all about. The expression, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" is apt. You have to figure out what you do better than anyone else and then go after that with ferocity.

I have a feeling that the owner of the business across the street isn't losing sleep over the fact that they've taken some of your business away when they sit down and can pay their bills and make their payroll. Leah, and Debi and txkat are all right. You have to use sound business principles to run a successful business. Playing well together and making sure everyone is happy isn't part of that equation. I think some women have a hard time suppressing that urge to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy when they try to run their business, and it's to their own detriment. Business is business.

I think one of the biggest mistakes women in particular make (to generalize just a bit) in running their businesses is that they falsely believe that their competitors are obligated to "play fair", or to ensure that everyone should get to be successful. I agree with the OP that it is very naive to assume that the business across the street will (or should) refrain from selling what you're selling because it would be mean or unfair to cut into your business.

If there's a demand for a product, if you're in that business and you're smart, you try to fill it and fill it better than your competition. That's what capitalism is all about. The expression, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" is apt. You have to figure out what you do better than anyone else and then go after that with ferocity.

I have a feeling that the owner of the business across the street isn't losing sleep over the fact that they've taken some of your business away when they sit down and can pay their bills and make their payroll. Leah, and Debi and txkat are all right. You have to use sound business principles to run a successful business. Playing well together and making sure everyone is happy isn't part of that equation. I think some women have a hard time suppressing that urge to make sure everyone is taken care of and happy when they try to run their business, and it's to their own detriment. Business is business.

I SWEAR I only hit "submit" one time.