1st Q 2008 - State of the Bakery is Promising

I know I know... far be it for me to be openly optimistic. But a close friend told me a long time ago that when you are your lowest, it can only get better.

The state of the bakery with a quarter of the year behind us is... promising. It appears we have begun to turn things around. Each of the past 3 months has seen an increase in sales from the month before. Expenses for the past 3 months has been reduced each month in the same period. We are spending $1000 less per month than the end of last year. We have had a few big party orders that continued the momentum and helped pad the slow days. Things are looking up.

We are down to 2 employees now. One of our front of the house girls is off to have her baby -- she is due any day now -- so Ann has picked up the hours to cut some of the labor costs. She is at the bakery from 7am until 9pm three days a week, which is tough, but it is what needs to happen to keep us moving forward. We are closed on Sundays now to give everyone (read: Ann) time to rest. For the first time we are thinking about actually getting away for a day -- something we couldnt imagine 5 months ago!

Ann's hand decorated cookies are continuing to be a hit. Our biggest obstacle seems to be our location -- while looking in from the outside it would seem like a great place to set up shop, our complex management (Cencor, if you're wondering) can best be described as... typical. We are not allowed to put up any signs in the windows, in front our space, near the street... and we are told over and over from customers that the awful parking situation is one of the biggest downsides of coming into the complex. These are all things we can't do anything about.

The chain Panera Bakery and Cafe opened up down the street, and another chain smoothie shop is opening next to them. The chains are the only stores that can afford the rent in these new complexes, which only hurts us as small business owners even more.

This quarter we updated the website and menu boards, secured a new provider of Austin brewed organic coffee, began an advertising campaign in a local newspaper thanks to a loan from Prosper, and have begun better inventory control and replenishment scheduling.

What I have seen this quarter is that each customer is a godsend. Each customer that walks in the door has the ability to change our day around. Each customer has the opportunity to make our day -- from the regulars who support our bottom line to the miracle makers who order trays of goodies and pay in cash so all of the income goes back into the business instead of credit card companies... we are gaining a better understanding of what we are, and what we are not. We are not Panera bread. We are not the Smoothie Factory. We are not who we were. It is our customers that will make us who we are. One cookie at a time.