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This may help your view of the business, don't let the budget scare you, you may be able to replicate this on a smaller scale:

Making A Healthy Profit In The Juice Bar Business

Cari West blends pleasure and profit into a successful smoothie enterprise.
HAIDEE JEZEK
MARCH 01, 1996
From the March 1996 issue of Startups
A group of high-school students lounge in plastic lawn chairs on the sidewalk outside a small San Clemente, California, shop called Blaz'n Blenders. They laugh, talk and gossip, while slurping the contents of large, white containers-real fruit smoothies. Inside the shop, three young employees, behind a seemingly sterile counter, fulfill orders by moving like a video on fast-forward. One of the speed-workers turns out to be the owner, Cari West.

"This is our rush hour," says the 25-year-old West. "The high school kids come here for lunch, and we have to put out 80 to 100 smoothies in about 20 minutes because they have to get back to class."

As a home economics major at California Polytechnic Institute, San Luis Obispo, West got her idea by frequenting similar stores. "I watched the bigger juice stores throughout college. I watched what they did and how they did it."

After college, West decided she wanted to be an entrepreneur rather than work for someone else. She then set serious sights on smoothie success. "I wanted to capture the feeling of my small home town, San Clemente, but operate a high-tech business." She then looked to her family for more ideas. "My family and I used to experiment with milkshakes every Sunday, so you could say this is in my blood."

West's family has made many contributions to her dream business. As the daughter of a CPA, West says she learned to be very organized and number savvy. Her sister, Lisa, wrote her graduate thesis on the particulars of opening a smoothie shop. "We got the numbers down and said, 'Let's go for it,'" says West.

Actually getting Blaz'n Blenders Inc. off the ground, West says, was exciting, but difficult. "The beginning was really tough for me, because I didn't know where to get milk and juices and other goods in bulk. I went to other juice bars and researched more."

Unlike many start-ups, financing was readily available for West. She incorporated her store to include her father and sister, investing money from them and from her own savings. West's first store cost about $47,000 to start.

"Equipment was approximately $15,000. That includes everything that is plugged into the wall, such as blenders and refrigerators," says West. Building the store from scratch cost West $30,000. That included interior decorating, plumbing, electrical work and construction. Signage and logos cost approximately $2,000.

One big help, West says, was a family friend who happened to be an architect. "He took me to the different restaurants which he had built. I looked at their equipment and designs. Then I went to tile stores and equipment stores, and designed Blaz'n Blenders from the inside out."

West opened the first Blaz'n Blenders in November 1993. Her immediate success inspired another store, which opened in July 1995 in nearby Dana Point.

"I've already paid back my sister, although she's still a full partner,' says West. "I solely run the business, do all the marketing, manage both stores and do payroll."

West's second store was more expensive because of demolition costs and its waterfront location in the Dana Point Harbor. West noted, however, that equipment cost less the second time around because she knew where to get better prices. "I was smarter the second time. I learned to go to auctions, buy used equipment or discounted new equipment with a barely noticeable dent. And I still got the warranty," West says.

West stresses that for her business, like many others, location is key. "The fact that we're in Southern California, where the temperature is mostly warm, makes my business profitable. My Dana Point store is a gold mine because of its location, but my first store is located in a small shopping center where the surrounding area is currently under development, so it's not as profitable."

West's San Clemente store pulled in $120,000 in gross figures in 1995, and she expects her second store to double that amount in the '95-'96 season, with a gross profit margin of 40-43 percent.

"I use the best ingredients, so my profit margin isn't as high as it could be; my food costs are 50 percent of all my expenses," confides West. Rent comprises approximately 10 percent of West's overhead, while labor adds up to 20 percent.

"It's a volume game," says West. To do well, she buys the best quality fruits, frozen yogurts and sherbets to maintain flavor and texture-and keep customers coming back. This also helps her advertising angle; her product's healthful ingredients attract health-conscious customers.

To further attract customers, West advertises in local magazines, newspapers and health clubs. "I distribute a lot of fliers and sponsor local sporting teams to advertise my business," she explains. "Community promotion is really important." And she's managed to capture the community spirit in her products as well, by naming some of her smoothies after local beach towns. Names like San Clemente Squeeze, Dana Point Date and Laguna Peach go over well with the tourists, as well as the locals.

West is happy with the path she has taken. "There is nothing I would do differently. There are always so many obstacles that come in your way. You can't let those obstacles affect you; overcome them. Everytime I came across an obstacle, I looked back and learned something."

Growing up with the business itch, West looked at the founder of Mrs. Field's Cookies, Debbi Fields, as her mentor. "She started out small, and look at her now," observes West. "I remember hearing that she said she baked cookies because she loved doing it. The best kind of job for you is something you'd do for free. I love working with people and food. I never get burned out or bored-crazy, sometimes, but not bored."

West says that, like her immediate family, she's always been business-oriented. "When I was younger, other kids got stuffed animals for Christmas. I was playing with a toy cash register and I ironed my money."

As her entrepreneurial venture blazes through its second year, West underscores her need to control all aspects of her business. "I need to learn more about bookkeeping. It's easy to put off because I have an accountant-my dad-who does all that, and I have so many other things to do. But I need to learn how to do it."

West adds that knowing how to do bookkeeping and understanding numbers is important, even if someone else is officially keeping track, because it allows her to see where her money comes from and where it goes.

West's latest venture is offering a business opportunity package. For a one-time $20,000 fee, West helps clients open their own smoothie bar. "I provide a consultation package, answer all their questions along the way and assist with the start up and operation procedures," she explains. The package includes employee training materials, purchasing contacts, proprietary smoothie recipies and the option to buy the rights to use the company name and logo.

While West deserves credit for her hard work, she says her product is the secret to her success. "I may use expensive ingredients, but my stores are in locations where I can afford it. My location and my product are the two most important parts of my business."


Haidee Jezek is a freelance writer in Calabassas, California.

Please send here: Charles_oti@yahoo.com
Thank you

Those ignorant of tradition should ask questions - this is not about the value of the bride price but what it stands for. They are still married until the refund is made. Why this is hard for some commentators here to understand is surprising.

Pls has anyone that applied for the position of procurement specialist got an invite? I applied in Dec last year.

I need it

N186.405 as of today (mastercard fcmb)

Pls send the details here:
Charles_oti@yahoo.com

Samabu07:
Can't a Born-again forgive his/her partner? What kind of born again attitude are we creating with our creator this days?

If you are truly born-again you will learn to forgive because marriage is till death do you part. I'm 10000% sure the joy and excitement of your wedding didn't make you deaf to that line....

If you divorce, you can't get married again till your divorced partner dies otherwise you will be committing adultery with whoever that marries you. Lots of folks turn a blind eyes to that fact...

God's your strength!

Thank u my dear. People just apply the scripture selfishly - even if u divorce on the grounds of adultery, the condition is that u have to remain single, otherwise u should forgive your spouse and continue to live with him/her. There're no grounds to divorce and remarry. This is the bitter truth.

SleekReek:
The way Tithe is being preached is erroneous, like for instance
1)If you don't Tithe you will be cursed with a curse.
2)Your Tithe must be paid into the storehouse that is where you are fed the word of God,the church you attend.
3)You don't give your Tithe, you pay your Tithe, for it is not yours it belongs to God.
4)Your Tithe belongs to God the remaining 90% is yours.

This is the Truth the dispensation of Grace is even stricter than the dispensation of the Law, in the dispensation of the Law Tithe was mandatory but in the dispensation of Grace ,10% doesn't belong to God and 90% to you, all 100% belong to God and you give to the advancement of His kingdom as instructed by God for all your earn is by the blessing of God, with may entail giving much more than 10% which must be giving willingly and cheerfully because you love God and not out of any manipulative compulsion that if you don't tithe you are cursed with a curse and that the Tithe must be paid in your local assembly(for God can instruct you to give 10% 05r even 20% of your income in a month to a man who you know is genuinely serving God but is not even part of the assembly you attend.)

2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;…

This is the plain truth. God bless you for sharing this.

Thanks dear, just got the manual on cosmetics. God bless you

Gentlemen, please keep your posts clean and free from name calling. I find the write-up rich and interesting, which should make for a good debate. When you have strong aguments, insults become detractors, name-calling is used to support only weak arguments.
Cheers

Wish most nigerians are this logical....

[There’s no big reason why we must be together as a country – Agbakoba]

Olisa Agbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, took a deserved rest after his participation at the recently concluded National Conference. In a chat with journalists recently, Agbakoba addressed key national issues and fielded questions from the press on a wide range of issues that covered the conference, Boko Haram insurgency, 2015 election and more. OLUSEGUN ABISOYE was there. Excerpts:

National conference fallout

I’ve been out of the country for a while; a well-earned sabbatical after the National Conference. But I think in the context of what I’ve even seen across the world, the conference produced good results. What I think the challenge would be is, where do we take it from? That is the challenge.

You know, in a country that has multi-ethnic, linguistic fault lines; there’s no way you can get perfect results. For me, I was personally, initially, deeply taken aback by the deep level of division, first between the North and the South, very deep levels of division.

Therefore, the consensus the South thought it could build on the issue of regionalism was even opposed by Lagos. So, you can see how difficult the problem was. Lagos opposed it, Ebonyi State opposed it; Ebonyi said they are the least developed state in the South and therefore, if we have regionalism, they will be affected. I say these to underscore a very important point – that the problem in Nigeria is not about ethnic nationality, it’s about development.

And the National Conference, if the President through his Implementation Committee, thinks up good recommendation, I’ll be satisfied with it (even though I don’t think I agree with that). I thought that our recommendations should have gone straight to a referendum. You know, when you bring politicians to review our report, there is a likelihood that in their own interest, they will not do what the people of Nigeria want. So, that is a concern.

But full marks to the President, he’s the one who has gone the farthest ever since Babangida began deceiving us back in the 90s and Obasanjo himself tried to get his Third Term. But let’s give praise where praise is due because this President has surprised even me. He has been the one who has been the most candid in the debate.

But I think he needs to think very carefully whether this Implementation Committee is the right vehicle. I would have thought that the right vehicle would be to put it to a referendum. So, I do think that the referendum is the proper way to go.

Let me also add that as you may be aware, there might be an ‘earthquake’ in the UK. And the UK is supposed to be our fathers, yet Scotland wants to leave. And as it is going, it looks like Scotland may leave the United Kingdom.

So, I think the time has come for us all to agree that if we cannot stay together as a country, we should go our separate ways. There is nothing intrinsically correct by saying that Nigeria must continue to exist.

In fact, by saying that Nigeria must continue to exist, you are forcing the North down our throats; we rebel against it. What is the response of the British Prime Minister to Scotland wanting to leave? He hoists the Scottish flag on his house. He goes to Scotland and he is right now in Scotland; he is persuading.

But here, it is all about force. The Secretary to the Federal Government says there shall be a conference but the no-go area is to talk about Nigeria’s dissolution. There is nothing sacrosanct about the existence of Nigeria. Nothing! Nothing sacrosanct as far as I’m concerned! If we cannot exist together, too bad. I personally think Nigeria has the human capital to be Africa’s giant. But it’s not by force. That’s my point; it’s not by force.

We can point to the example of our colonial masters, just now entertaining a big debate about Scotland leaving. Scotland is saying to itself, ‘we are not getting a good deal in United Kingdom, so why should we be in the United Kingdom?

There are two guys involved – Alister and David Cameron; David for Scotland stay in England, Alister is for it to go. Scotland is saying, ‘if we’re by ourselves, all the oil in the South would be ours. David feels that is an attractive argument and he says, ‘you know what, I’ll devolve more powers to you.’ But here, all we hear is force – ‘We must stay together!’ Why must we stay together? We are all collectively in our individual corners, able to be individual countries; and maybe, that’s the way to go, even though I see the strength in being a big country.

The other interesting thing is in ‘staying’. All you hear is stay. I don’t know how many of you have heard about the Catalans. There are at least six separate entities in Spain; none see eye to eye. Spain was originally colonised by the Moles, who came from Morocco. So, there’s a lot of Islamic influence in Spain. Those are called the Andalusians. Then you have the Basque who don’t even want to be in Spain and they’ve formed their own Boko Haram called ETA.

Then the people around Madrid are related to the French and they are called the Castiles. It is the Castiles who dominate Spanish life; but the Catalans, Barcelona. And these are the ones who supply 30% of the revenue. But the Castiles in 1675 subjugated the Catalans. Till today, there is that big argument between the Castiles and the Catalans – all too familiar when I was touring Spain.

So the answer was to create autonomous regions. That is the only way Nigeria can work – autonomous regions. So, there is a President of the Catalans; he is in charge of all the Catalans. It is like saying there is a president of the South-East; he is in charge of all the issues concerning the South-East and so on and forth.

So the Nigerian problem has to be confronted frontally. We are absolutely divided by many things. And unless we understand that division, we cannot solve those problems. As I said, there is no big reason why we must be together. If we are not going to be together, let’s agree to part in peace. That is part of the Eritrean Constitution and the Ethiopian Constitution as written by Professor Nwabueze. What Professor Nwabueze found out was that when you tell people ‘you can go’ nobody goes. So enough on that.


2015 elections

It is a great disappointment that the clap seems to be happening with one hand (as regards the election). I don’t see two hands. At my age, I need to speak directly and truthfully. I can only see one hand in the clap. And if there’s only one hand, the clap cannot be good.

What I mean is that President Jonathan is not facing opposition. He needs to face opposition; he needs to be challenged by issues. APC is simply not a party. It is a party waiting to take power, that is all and that is the truth. That is why Nuhu Ribadu can cross from APC to PDP; when I was abroad and read it, I couldn’t believe it.

How can you be in APC and cross to PDP? How can you cross parties? So the President is clapping with one hand and needs strong opposition. The call would be for multi-pluralism to take place in Nigeria. This is because when you have two strong teams, you are likely to have a strong result.

But right now, President Jonathan is clapping with one hand. And as I see it, unless we are all telling lies, I don’t see the opposition. The APC is a party in tatters; they are fighting each other; there is a clear South-West APC, there is a North APC.

I don’t know if the South-West wing of the APC and the North APC will work together. I don’t see that happening soon. But the PDP with all its challenges seems to be the only act in town; and that is terrible in a country of 160 million people. And that is terrible because the result of the 2015 election is almost for me, nearly predictable.

Playing people-centred politics

This is leading me to the third issue of how we can get around our ‘poverty-in-the-midst-of-plenty’ country where we have a lot of resources, a lot of assets but they are not properly deployed. And it is also because our politicians are not interested in issues. A politician is only interested in how many people will support him because he wishes to win the governorship race, not because of the issues he can take to the people. Nigerians are still not part of the equation. We don’t count. What I saw on my trip is how strong people are.

Do you know there is a party called Ukip led by the gregarious Nick Farage? He has a racist agenda and he’s presenting it as if Labour is very soft on immigration and the Conservatives are also very soft, so he holds the largest bloc of votes in the European Union. That is serious.

But in truth, the penetration of the UK economy by East Europeans is becoming really strong. This is because initially, at the end of the Cold War, it was very interesting to lure the East Europeans with European Union passports. Now, what is happening to the UK economy is that they are being overrun by East Europeans – the Polish, Romanians etc, and they work harder.

But what struck me in the Nick Farage example I cited is that he had taken his case to the people – and rightly or wrongly, he is winning them to his side – (Of course, I don’t like it as a black person). But my point here is, the issue is the politics of the UK and it is likely that the general election will be lost by David Cameron and the new prime minister will be Ed Miliband.

They can forecast all these things because they can see the trend. What excited me about their politics is that I may be unhappy with Nick Farage as black man, but if I was a white British man, I’ll be cheering him on. Right now, he is the single most popular British politician behind Boris Johnson, mayor of London. These two are tapping into the emotional needs of the people.

But our politicians don’t do that; they don’t tap into the issues; they don’t create the issues that will excite the people and I’m sure you know why – it is because our votes don’t count. So we ought to find a way. And I regret that we the civil societies have lost some of our bite. But don’t blame us because our strength was confronting the military.

I wish we had a way to challenge the politicians. If you are not a popular person, why should you stand for election? There are several men who have been in and out of jail who are governors and who are in the House. But because your votes don’t count, they are there. So that is going to be very insightful for 2015 given that PDP is clapping with one hand, given that there are no issues in politics; the result is going to be business as usual.

Time to decapitate Boko Haram

I think our first task is to look around the world, and ask whether what we see happening in ISIS, whether what we see happening in Yemen and elsewhere; whether our Nigerian intelligence and military and infrastructure is doing what it ought to do.

I’m speaking for myself: If I was the Commander-in-Chief, I’ll be inviting the chief of defence staff; Alex Badeh should be dismissed…if you lose command, you lose a mission, there is only one result in the army – you are off! If the President fails to send a strong message that the mission is not accomplished, then the chain of command will be weak. In the army, there can’t be disobedience to superior command. How can you have Nigerian soldiers, carrying our equipment and running into Cameroon? It tells you that the army is degraded.

The only way you can end the Boko Haram insurgency is by the resolute decapitation of its leadership. There is no other way. Because they (Boko Haram) will put a knife in your back first; second, they won’t spare you. You saw what ISIS did with those two Americans; we have to realise that Boko Haram is copying the tactics of ISIS.

ISIS declares a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and they (Boko Haram) declared it here and we are all eating ice cream. This is the most serious challenge facing Nigeria. And the only way is for the President to send the strongest possible message that enough is enough. First is to say that the military high command has failed in its duties and should be relieved of his functions – immediately!

If you don’t do well in football as you all know – we all follow football very well – if you don’t do well you are put on the bench. I take nothing from Alex Badeh being a nice man, but the point is, if a mission has not been accomplished, there has to be consequences. If there’s no consequence, then nothing will change. If you don’t bring all your reports for your editors to put in tomorrow’s paper, you are not going to have your job…so there has to be a consequence of failure.

We have to agree that Boko Haram is serious, we have failed and we have to try new tactics. And the new tactics is to completely degrade them. Don’t forget that the Americans have come with their human intelligence, aerial intelligence, photographic intelligence, electronic intelligence and have shown us that where they (Boko Haram) are…what are we waiting for? Go and degrade them. When they are degraded the entire thing will be over. That is what to do, otherwise the infestation will grow. It will grow.

Ebola wake-up call

On the Ebola thing, my comments would be that full marks go to the Lagos State government and the Federal Government for the framework to contain it. But this ought to be a wake-up call that we need to introduce a very strong health insurance system in the mould of what Obama did.

If you like call it Jonathancare; I don’t care if he takes that glory. But we need something on ground which makes Nigeria’s health delivery system world class. The Indians have done it. But we are not committing enough people to deal with some of these issues.(MTN is not liable for this message)

Urgently in need of 50,000Mt of blco. Price range is 73-76 naira less 4, free boarding of supercargo. Seller's mandate only should contact me: 08039113437.

@dadojo, God bless you my dear. Pls email me the manual @ charles_oti@yahoo.com, I will call you later for the video.
My best wishes

GodMode:

The bible can not accurately tell future. The bible and other "holy books" are scripts that are been followed thereby making it seem like its predicting the future.

There is no god

With this mindset...... Pathetic! Only God himself through the holy spirit can save you. Reasoning with you is a waste of time, I'm afraid.

Charles_oti@yahoo.com. Thanks

Pipeline Coating
Chemical Resistant Epoxy
Decorative Epoxy Flooring
Polyurethane (PU) Flooring
Car Park Coating
Injection Grouting
Water Repellant
Anti Carbonation Coating

http://www.cleancoats.com
contact local agent at
+2348039113437
charles_oti@yahoo.com

Oticharles2@gmail.com

Many thanks

zhukafa:

Have they raised you a PROFORMA invoice , if yes, which shipping agency was used?

Their price offer is on ex-works basis. Their recommended shipping agency will charge $5.5 per kg, however u can arrange for your own shipping and link them with the agency. Do u have any with a cheaper rate in mind? Thanks

zhukafa:

What are you buying from the company?

Ruler calculator

zhukafa:

Yes , $200 . It was packed well. For the weight, I can't remember . That was the amount I sent to the company to do the shipping for me.

Ok thanks, I'm currently making inquiries on this, a company offered me $0.45 unit price as their best but the packing is 200pcs / ctn and weighs about 16kg/17kg per ctn. This means that the 5000pcs will weigh about 425kg, and if air-shipment costs u about $5.5 per kg, then that's a lot of money for air-freight.
Please will appreciate if u can email me here: charles_oti@yahoo.com for further discussions. Thanks and God bless

[b][/b]

zhukafa: Back to the second thing you can import.

In the year 2011, I imported Brazilian human hair. My dear friends , before I start, I would like to let you know that online business is the easiest business you can do ones you have little computer knowledge. And also try to do researches on what people needed.

Brazilian hair 100% kanekelon , they come in sizes and makes. They have 10 inches, 12 inches, etc. the lesser the inches the lesser the price.

Some I bought for $20 ( now 3220 naira) was sold for 12, ooo- 15,000 naira.

Third thing I imported was calculator ruler. Lols, some people might ask what is that, but I tell you the truth, it added enough money to my pockets.
This is how is goes , you will be giving minimum order quantity, let say 3,000 - 5000 pieces. In my case, I ordered for 5,000 pieces.

Now this is the mathematics:
5,000 * $0.40. = $2,000 ( 322,000 naira.)

Dhl cost. $200 (32,200 naira)

Bank charges $55 (8,855 naira)

Custom duty charges (12,750)

Now total expenses :
322,000 + 32,200 + 8,855 + 12,750= 375,805 naira.( total cost of money invested)

Now sales : I supplied them to about eight different schools bookshop at the rate of 150 naira.

5000* 150 naira. = 750,000 naira.

Now profit: profit = total sales - expenses

750,000 - 375,805 naira = 374,195 naira

N/B. dollar was Calulated by 161. Current exchange.

Isn't it a good one.

........ To be continued

Pls what was the weight of the 5000pcs of ruler calculator? I'm surprised u spent only $200 on air-freight.

Very cheap offers. The two vehicles are sailing now and expected to arrive in less than 10 days. Contact to negotiate:
Charles_oti@yahoo.com

Seller urgently needs to raise money. Pls call this number to negotiate:08039113437
Or email: charles_oti@yahoo.com
Cheers

We urgently need 5000mt of lpfo to be delivered to a tankfarm in Calabar. Seller's price offer must cover the cost of delivery to the tankfarm(CIF/TTO).
Please only direct mandates should contact me: 08039113437, charles_oti@yahoo.com

Please get in touch if u can supply.
Charles_oti@yahoo.com

@nissaprts, pls what's the price of 2004 infiniti i35 brain box?
Pls also confirm the price of the gear handle(the removable wooden handle)? U can email me here: charles_oti@yahoo.com
Thanks