The Struggles of Owning Your Own Business

Many times when people hear we own our own business, they talk about how great it must be to be your own boss – which it is. But there are also so many challenges small business owners face on a daily basis.

Of course, the biggest challenge has to do with money. As the owner, you are responsible to cover your operating costs. This includes your utilities, rent, payroll, and in our case the cost of food and beverages. This may sound like common knowledge, but what I think many people don’t realize is that before we ever see a penny of profit, all of these things need to be paid first.

Along with these expenses we also have to take into account our start up capital, which even after two years we still struggle to pay back. There are many times, especially in the beginning, that we did and still do not see any profit.

Time can also be a great challenge. We have an especially small business in a few ways. Crave only has a few employees and a space with an even smaller kitchen. Thanks to our growing popularity, we are busy with orders and packed with customers quite often. We need to produce a large amount of food in a small space in a small window of time. This means hours before we open, we are there preparing.

We also cater a lot during the weekend, which means even though we are “closed” on Sunday to try and have a little time to recoup from the week and spend some family time, we are still there.

In order to try to keep our costs down, these hours are spent working usually solely by my husband, the chef. Fortunately, it’s a lifestyle we’re used to and we learn to organize our personal lives around it, but free time and vacations are something we seldom see.

Another obstacle is competing with the larger businesses. Because we are purchasing smaller quantities, our costs tend to be higher. This is reflected in our pricing and is ultimately passed on to the customer. There are many consumers who shop around for the lowest prices and good deals – especially in today’s economy. Luckily we offer a high quality product and more personal service, which can be attractive to the consumers who look for more than just a bargain when shopping for food.

Along with the competition of big business, there are also the other local businesses. There are many choices in Merrick where you can go when you’re hungry and not looking for a formal meal or sit down restaurant. There are still many locals that have no idea who we are, what we do, or that we are even there. We have to constantly find ways not just to get our name out there, but give consumers a reason to first come into Crave instead of going somewhere else.

Because of our unique offerings and “mom and pop” shop atmosphere, once someone comes in, they are more than likely to continue to shop at Crave. We are lucky to have a huge percentage of repeat customers and a lot of word of mouth business.

There have been a few times I have been ready to throw in the towel and work for someone else, it would make life much easier. But, that’s not what I’m about. I love a challenge, and I love what I do and hope to continue for a long time.