Grow Your Business make mine a million $ business powered by: count me in

Molly Fuller & Anne McCarten-Gibbs are business partners in Hands on Gourmet, a San Francisco, CA company offering interactive cooking classes for corporate team building and private celebrations. www.handsongourmet.com. The company is a Make Mine a Million $ Business program Awardee. Molly relates some of her money memories, and the impacts they’ve had on the way she runs the business.

Money Memories and Hands On Gourmet

Some of my earliest money memories come from my father. He has given me money messages since I can remember. Dad is entrepreneur; during his first 10 yrs out of grad school he was an accountant. Then he started out on his own. When I was in High School his message was: work for yourself; you can make the most money, and be in the best positions.

I’ve had a check book since 7th grade. I bounced 2 checks in one week. Dad told me I had "pissed away" $32 in bounced check fees. I was shocked by his use of those words; profanity was not usually used by my parents. It conveyed the serious nature of what I had done, and my carelessness.

Money was talked about openly in my family. I have an older brother and sister. I’m the youngest. My brother is the eldest. His "Money Message" was an emphasis to enter the world of finance and business. He eventually did something different. My father stressed that he would be the breadwinner, responsible for taking care of his family. I got the message that I would be taken care of. Breadwinning would not be my job!

My sister, the middle sibling, has Prader-Willi syndrome; my parents have set up a special needs trust so she is taken care of. My parents took responsibility for financial planning for our sister and told my brother and me that we don't have to worry financially about her. This was very helpful to both of us. We can concentrate on her social needs.

Mom was a teacher for five to seven years, when she and my Dad were first married. After my brother was born- she stopped working, and hasn’t earned her own money since then. I have vague memories about Dad lecturing her on spending, but, as I said, we talked about money openly. It was not a taboo subject.

My money memories have carried over into how I run my business and personal finances today. Hands On Gourmet doesn’t have cash flow problems. We haven’t borrowed money and don’t have to. We have a Line of Credit, just to have it, but we don’t use it. I’m not afraid to borrow but Dad said: If your company needs money, you lend it to yourself. He meant that the Owner provides capital, and the company pays back the interest and principal to the Owner, just as one would to a commercial lender or investor.

Some of my financial habits are:

• Always pay bills on time or in advance.
• Always have a kitty, (a reserve fund).
• Save
• Plan in advance:  we developed a 3 year plan at the start
• Value yourself: I set pricing. Dad said: why charge the least? Be the most expensive and the best. He felt it distinguishes a company from the competition. We are pricey and the customers feel like they are getting more value.

I probably would have started Hands On Gourmet anyway, even if Dad had not been self employed. I started my business with my boyfriend and his sister; we each bring different qualities to the business. My Dad didn’t think cooking classes were a viable business. I knew he didn’t get what we are doing when he summed it up as "cooking classes". Now, after seeing our P&L and Balance Sheet month to month, he is the first to admit he was wrong about our business plan.

To put it in terms of the Count Me In 5 Keys to Business Growth, my money memories have given me;

• VISION - confidence, an intuitive sense, and a plan
• BUSINESS PRACTICES - good financial habits; we pay bills on time, keep a kitty, pay ourselves, set price point at high end of market.
• PEOPLE - Each partner contributes to Hands On Gourmet success. We understand our market and customers.
• GROWTH - We have a plan.
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - We continually look for ways to improve our business.