Thanks for Waiting

Sorry for the delay - seems that my New Years resolution to post more often seems to have fallen by the wayside, as so many resolutions do. In my defence I'd like to say I've been busy, & I have, but that's no excuse, so I won't say it, I'll just try & bring you up to speed with all that's been happening.

Word is spreading. Slowly, a lot more slowly than I'd like, but it is spreading. I think I've mentioned before that marketing is not one of my strong points. In fact, I think it is the Devil's Work, a Black Art understood by just a select number of robed acolytes, who, if this were a few hundred years ago, would have been burned at the stake for their seemingly magical ability to conjure up custom using nothing more than incantations & cantrips, otherwise known as copy & straplines.

My own foolish efforts have done little more than part me from my money, & as I don't have much to be parted from, I've stopped being foolish. I can't claim that I have begun to be clever but I have taken to using Guerilla Tactics. Jay Levinson's book is all about low cost or no cost marketing, so I am starting there. I have negotiated a deal with a young lad who lives more locally to the school than me for him to print & distribute flyers for me. I'll email them over & he will pin them up in all the places where people spend a little time - coffee shops, libraries, swimming pools, places like that.

I have begun taking ads in the local parish magazines. Most of them come out every 2 or 3 months & reach about 1500 - 2000 people. Ads costs £50 or so (for the whole year) so they definitely qualify as low cost. I'm not sure the ad is any good yet, but these mags often have a waiting list, so I'm getting the space first then tinkering with the copy.

I'm also exploring what I have taken to calling Synergistic Marketing. That's where I try to get someone else to promote us to their customers. When I was doing my research for this thing, the one glaringly obvious facet (that I still missed) of almost every other school I saw or visited, was that they were part of another business. Doh! Seems so simple now, but they all have an existing stream of customers already. And I didn't notice at the time, but now I have, so we need to replicate that by trying to do things with other businesses that will benefit us both, without costing any money upfront. You know, where the whole is greater than the sum. Synergistic, like I said.

So, we're trying to put together a butchery class for the customers of the local butchers (of course), plus we're trying to persuade a couple of other businesses that one of our classes would make a great prize for their customers. One of those businesses is a national chain, so I can't say too much just yet, but if it comes off, well... that would really be something. We're doing a similar thing with a local magazine, I've been put in touch with a local restaurateur who might want to do something & just this afternoon, I had a call from a man who owns 3 retail outlets who wants to talk to me about running a more professionally oriented class. So there's opportunity everywhere it seems, just hope we can bring 1 or 2 of them to fruition.

That's some great feedback

This is so good, I had to share it! I found this site called issuu that lets you convert pdf files into something that looks like a book. The feedback section of the Just Cook website was getting a little chocka so I thought I'd have a go at using this thing & here's the result.



Not bad. Not bad at all. Go get one for your website from http://issuu.com/ & don't forget to tell them I sent you.

The Monkey in the Trees

Wow. Is it March already? I guess time really flies when you're working a full time  job for money plus another one for your dreams.

Hopefully I will find the time & discipline over the next couple of weeks to post a few updates about the highs, lows & progress at the school but for now let me leave you with a few words of encouragement from Chris K (probably soon to be CK, copyright infringement lawsuits from Calvin Klein aside), that happened to land in my inbox at about the right time - thanks Chris & if you read this you can send this monkey those cases of Twisted Pit now...

Hey Tim.  Just came across your blog.  Tough stuff, but you know, resilience and positivity always win the day.  Sounds like you're back on track.  

For what it's worth I have built our olive oil business over the past 3-years while holding down a full time job and the CEO of a software company.  It's essentially two full time jobs...the day starts at 6am with a (sometimes) 2 hour commute to Toronto, and ends close to midnight after deliveries, new retailer setups, and customer communication.  Saturdays are spent doing tastings at retailers and Sundays are spend reacquainting myself with my oh-so-patient wife and kids.  There's been many a times when my adventurous side screamed for me to throw caution to the wind, quit the day job, and go for broke on the oil.  However, a good friend counselled me to be like "the monkey in the trees"....never let go of the vine you're holding until the next is firmly in your grasp.  I've heeded his advice and am glad of it.  The oil business hasn't grown as fast as it potentially could have, but three years in and we're just a few short months away from full sustainability.  Consider your move back in to the workforce as an investment in your business.  Simple as that.  And then drive at it as hard as you possibly can.  Keep going my friend!  You are well on your way.

Chris K

Now the good...

OK. The good news is, we have a plan, in three parts;


Phase 1. Get a job

Phase 2. Pay the bills

Phase 3. Concentrate on increasing business at the school in the time between working & sleeping


Phase 1 is complete.

Phase 2 is ongoing

Phase 3 is the way it always was. And it's going OK, despite the lack of time & marketing budget;

We continue to get enquiries & interest & feedback from customers is brilliant, so I know the totally hands on concept is the right one.

We had a couple of classes that were hosted by Manju Malhi & Ursula Ferrigno, both of whom have taught at plenty of other schools & both of whom said Just Cook is the best set up & equipped school they've taught in, which was nice.

They also confirmed that we are the most hands on school they know of & both of them really enjoy making sure everyone gets to do as much as possible, which is more confirmation we are on the right track.

So it's good news all round, really.

And first the bad news...

So, it's been a while since I last posted an update. How very remiss of me, I will attempt to rectify the lapse.

First the bad news. Money, or rather, lack of it.

I knew I had overspent. I knew that things had cost more than first quoted & that the unexpected had happened, costing more money. I've even mentioned it in previous posts. But I hadn't ignored the fact. Actually, I thought I had resolved it. There is this scheme run by the government in conjunction with all the major banks called the 'Enterprise Finance Guarantee'. It used to be called the small firms loan guarantee scheme, but after those same major banks screwed us all & needed bailing out, Gordon & Alastair revised it & changed the name.

Essentially, it is a way of the government getting finance to people & businesses who really need it, but don't have the normal security that the banks require. There is even a part of it that says it is inappropriate for a bank to take a charge over your principal residence. Sounded like just what I needed, so I had a quick chat with my bank, who said, "Yep, should be fine. Finish building the school, sort out a cashflow statement, business plan etc & we'll have a chat, but should be no problem."

So, I did all that, met the bank guy at the school. He looked suitably impressed & sounded comfortingly positive. He took my figures & went away, said he'd be in touch. A couple of weeks went by, then a couple more. I started to get concerned so I gave him a call. No answer.

Rang again, left a message. Tried once more, eventually got hold of him. He said "Yeah, sorry, been a bit busy. Anyway, we like your idea but we want to see 6 months trading history & some sales growth before we do anything."

What? Have you even bothered to look at the cashflow forecast? "Of course I have" (this was said a little bit huffily, as if to say how dare you question me?) So I said, well if you've looked at the cashflow forecast, how do you expect to get 6 months trading history when we clearly show a need for funds in the next 6 months? How do you expect any kind of sales growth if we aren't spending anything on marketing, which we won't be able to, if we haven't got any money? What the hell use is this EFG scheme if you aren't going to apply it the way you're supposed to? And why the hell did you get bailed out by the taxpayer, ie me & the rest of the British public, if you aren't going to hold up your end of the bargain & start lending us OUR OWN MONEY? (In case you're wondering, I was feeling a trifle peeved at this point)

Anyway, long to short, the bank weren't forthcoming. Neither were the Government owned bank next door. I'd already wasted 5 weeks waiting for a call that never came, so I thought it would be a good idea to waste another 5 weeks trying to persuade them that I was right & they were stupid. Not a great plan, in hindsight.

I needed a new plan and quick. My wife, sharp as a pin & cutting like a knife said "You don't need a new plan, you need a new job. And quick. Becasue if you get one, you can use whatever is left after you've paid the mortgage & a few other essential bills, to invest in marketing to build the business."

Sounds like a plan to me.

Kids in the Kitchen

Last week we ran our first children's cookery class. The idea was simple - give the kids a couple of hours of cooking time & their mums a couple of hours of me time.

I persuaded Ursula Ferrigno to run the class, I was on hand to run around clearing up & provide drinks, the room was set for the first task - making pasta. All we needed was the kids.

10 of them duly turned up at around 10 to 1, aprons were issued & mums told to come back around 3. Then we were off. Making pasta, kneading the dough, making pizza, kneading the dough, making a mess, chopping tomatoes, making a mess, rolling out the pasta - the time flew by. So fast in fact, we ran out of time & were still waiting for a couple of pizzas to come out of the oven when the mums returned. And my word, what a mess!

But, everyone had a great time. The kids really impressed me with their attitude & aptitude. All of them turned out some great food & I have heard from a few mums that the kids haven't stopped cooking since the class.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Anyone know Jamie?

Some of you, the ones who have followed this blog from the early days (& thanks for doing so), may remember that I made a promise. In writing. If you head back to January's posts you'll find it, within the entry titled A Vision. Or you could just click HERE.

Anyway, I had promised that when the Just Cook Cookery School was up & running, I would write to Jamie Oliver & offer him the use of the place, for free, because his Ministry of Food project is a great idea & I agree that everyone should be taught how to cook.

Except I don't know him, or where to send the offer so that I am sure he will get it.

I've emailed Dan, the webmeister who looks after all that stuff for Mr Oliver. I've even tweeted @Jamie_Oliver, but 140 characters isn't really enough to express myself. No wonder I've not heard anything yet.

So, if anyone knows the man, tell him to get in touch. There's a free cookery school up for grabs.