The Sandwich Shop Case Study : Risky Business

‘Herewith appear to be the most pressing matters; one, infective and inexperienced entrepreneurial leadership. Two, the dialectic nature between front of house and back of house, and three, a lack of general training motivation and direction in original concept.’

Although the restaurant industry is perceived to have high risk of failure, the risk of a restaurant failing is not too different from other small businesses. Parsa et al. quantified the risk of failure at 26% in the first year and 57% by year 3. He also described several factors that can influence the risk of failure. Those include physical location, firm size, speed of growth, differentiation from other restaurants in the market, adapting to external trends, and management experience. In terms of location and differentiation, Paul’s bar will be located in a new development designed to attract affluent customers and with very few competitors. Paul’s small firm size increases risk because of barriers to attract partners (i.e. suppliers and bankers are prejudiced against smaller firms) and growth that may be too rapid to manage. On the other hand, Robert already has experience in the restaurant business and should know how to run the bar and subsequent restaurant. Their choice of a piano bar may be in response to local trends that favor success.

Small family operations, like the Little Red Roaster make up the largest part of our country’s business base. The problem is that too many of them fail, not because of the lack of expertise or motivation, but because of poor business decisions. The LRR is a perfect example of a small operation taken over by a very capable and knowledgeable person, Kendra Gordon-Green. She is one of those hard working employees that have been given the opportunity to become an owner-operator of a small business operation. At this point Kendra has not made the transition from employee to owner. Sadly this very situation is the reason most small businesses like the LRR never make. With two locations

Tom needs to take time off of work to spend with his wife and to start a family of his own. 90 hours a week was far too taxing both physically and mentally for him.

At this particular location Dalman has been informed by one of his location managers that they are in violation of new local health codes. On a very small portion of land each Sandwich blitz is located. Lower operating expenses for the business was considered by Dalman and Lei and they say the small portion of land as a competitive advantage. The new local health codes says that the location of their out building and the trash and dumpster enclosures and in violation of their codes. The government inspector proposed a deal with the location manager that if he would be willing to provide food for his department’s holiday party he would overlook the violation. The location manager has then told this information to Dalman. After reviewing the

Dalman Smith, President and CEO and Lei Lee, Vice President and CFO of Sandwich Blitz, Inc., are considering a large scale expansion for their Organization. Lei has found out that two new similar companies will be opening soon and are going to be a direct competition for them. If they expand on a larger scale they would have to open up in other cities and they only have enough resources to open two more stores. Also, the economic decline has dropped the occupancy rate of larger office buildings, which in the past were great locations for. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT Strategy) of a large scale expansion will be discussed.

In prior meetings, we discussed opportunities to increase Sandwich Blitz, Inc. Franchise locations and expansion were the two growth tactics we considered. Looking at our two options and whichever direction we decide, creation of a new position between you, the CEO and location managers is needed. The phases and levels we are about to embark will require an exceptional amount of time for preparation and planning. It will also allow you to focus more on the business insights, development and issues, if there be any.

There are numerous ways of supporting the sandwich generation employees which will benefit both employees and employers. A general social survey conducted on social and community support by Statistics Canada 1996, stated that caregivers felt their employers could support employees more with increased financial support, information related to long-term illnesses and disabilities, counselling benefits and relief assistance. Furthermore, the survey concluded that 44 percent of participants indicated that extra expenses incurred from caregiving could be minimized from some forms of compensation on unpaid work. In addition to extra financial support, one in ten participants believed that information on the long-term illnesses and disabilities can be helpful and effective in providing caregiving services along with some counseling.

Trader Joe’s has internally created a brand for its company using a different strategy as compared to other supermarkets. Its approach of effective relationship-building program pleases customers through unrivaled customer service. This case study presents many factors that play a part in their customer relations strategy. Trader Joe’s does not focus on advertising. Rather, it focuses on effective internal communications with employees to build strong customer relationships. Trader Joe’s takes a progressive approach to internal communications by allowing their employees to bring their own creativity to the workplace, by providing them with the context in which their role contributes to the business success, and asking for employees

secretary of education states that “high-quality education" that encourages "creativity, imagination, and ingenuity’”. It is true that thirty percentage of startup business failure reasons of “unbalanced Experience or Lack of Managerial Experience”, followed by “lack of Experiences in line of goods or services” is about eleven percentage. Interestingly, company competence occupied the highest rate of failure of 46% (Statistic Verification, Entrepreneur Weekly, Small Business Development Center, Bradley University, university of Tennessee Research). In addition, successful entrepreneur usually possess “highly motivated and willingness to take initiative to execute duties” and have appropriately responsible to their activities, decision, and company’s outcomes.

When interviewing Fred I asked him what he thought made his company so useful? He said, “I had to treat it like one of my children, the more I paid attention and nourished it the better it would thrive, leading to a higher success rate.” He had also said, “It is very time consuming and can be overwhelming, but that is what being an entrepreneur is all about, hard work, constant dedication and taking risk”. It was because of the risk that he took that he feels he was able to be such a successful entrepreneur.

1. He has minimal training in business ownership. He has the background of a computer programmer, and is getting his MBA but he is still in the process of learning and doesn’t have the knowledge to start an internet café.

Starting a business is the latest trend. Just take a look at Instagram. Several profiles have the caption ‘Entrepreneur’. At this very moment, there is someone, somewhere working on an idea, a business plan or launching a startup. Entrepreneurship is on the rise like never before. The flexibility and independence that comes with being one’s own boss is attractive and worth taking the leap in starting a business. However, most people don’t know that being an entrepreneur is a grueling journey that can be very lonely and stressful at times. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), 50% of businesses fail during the first year. Starting a business can be a scary task, but the

Subway Sandwich, as presented in the Case Study presented in the Marketing Management MGT 551 class, is an undisputed market leader in a segment that is “firmly established as a nationwide food item for which there is plenty of room in all areas” (University of Phoenix, 2008). However, with a growing competition, changing consumer trends and increased product specialization, Subway’s real strategic marketing challenge is to be able to develop and maintain a differential advantage while sustaining sales growths and profitability.

This case details the position of Carol Sullivan-Diaz, the 28-year-old daughter of Walter Sullivan who died at the age of 56. Walter had bought a Ford dealership in 1983 that eventually grew into what is now Sullivan Ford Auto World. The business sells cars but also services them. Carol is disappointed by current turnover in car sales and sees that the service revenues are below average for this size of dealership. Carol’s now has to decide what way to tackle the future. She can sell the business but will probably only return a value below what it might be worth if profitable or she can look at the operation and see if she can turn it around herself. While she has a bachelor’s degree in economics, an MBA degree and a