Janet's Irish Pub & David's Life As A Visionary
People think it’s easy to be me, and, well… I guess they’re right. I have a pretty good gig as the BT “Director of Customer Experience”. For some reason it seems like it’s easier for me than it is for the people around me, but I can’t explain it. You could ask them but they’re too busy getting the work done to think about it. Regardless, it hasn’t always been a picnic.
It’s hard to be a visionary with poor depth perception. I’ve always been able to see what’s coming, just never sure when. It’s like I have lazy eye syndrome. Both eyes actually see clearly but there is a difference in refraction between them. Late diagnosis has frankly been quite costly. Once diagnosed, I learned that I had outgrown most simple remedies and my only hope was what is a therapy called called “perceptual learning”. The disciplines learned through this therapy are being used in the plan development for Janet’s Irish Pub. That’s where you come in.
Many customers have expressed enthusiasm for the pub and shared their belief that we will be famously successful. But visionaries like myself have been here before, striding boldly forward to clapping and cheering only to arrive at the game long before anybody else shows up. Sure they’d appreciate it; but what are their lives like? Will they show up? Will they pay? How often? My gut tells me that having a place to stop in for a club sandwich or small plate and a pint of beer where you would see your neighbors, catch the game, listen to some live music or play some darts in a clean and classy environment would be well received in the neighborhood. I also think the neighborhood has seasoned; the majority demographic has aged and the children of many households have matured to the point where their parents can leave the house for a night out. But there’s no place to go. I know folks are tired of driving downtown and going into Beaverton is a form of aversion therapy. Good music, good food, polished atmosphere and hospitality – the stuff of success. Plus, having the pub would allow us to sell out the restaurant and upgrading the kitchen for the combined business resolves an existing deficiency. We would end up with over 140 lineal feet of outside dining along the building perimeter. So what’s the problem?
Well, the business would change. We would go from having six employees to 22. We’d be open seven days a week instead of five, so we would need to rely on management structures instead of our own omnipresence. The base level payroll nearly triples and it’s difficult to minimize because the business is more spread out. Click here to view the current Bethanys-Table-Pub-Expansion-Plan and see how the pub will be made part of Bethany's Table.
The big problem is cash. The cash to build, the cash to close and the cash to restart the business adds up to nearly $250,000. No conventional financing is available so we’ll need to attract private investment. The initial pro forma demonstrates that the loan can be repaid relatively quickly. I think that the business plan is shaping up nicely but here is where I need to use “perceptual learning” to move forward. It’s where you come in.
There is a lot of business talent in the neighborhood. I would like to share the plan and tap this talent pool. I want people to come at it from their different viewpoints and add that perspective to the market study. I need to have the financial plan scrutinized and critiqued. Willl you like to help? If so, Click on "Contact Us" in the left upper corner panel to email me your contact information and I will get in touch with you.
And/or feel free to add your comments below.