Archive for the ‘VIVO Cafe’ Category
Is green the new black? was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
November has been the month of green here at Women in Focus. The whole green topic has made me reflective, a bit out of the blue actually - no colour pun intended! I have paid closer attention to any mention of green or sustainability, and paid a lot more attention to what’s going on in the corporate world. For instance the 2030 Sustainability Plan for the City Of Sydney.
When I say reflective, I do mean reflective in my business - I haven’t quite got to the point of making this blog a “Dear Abbey” retro thing! It must also be this time of the year as well. As the year comes to a close plans for 2012 must be considered. I have begun to contemplate the position my business could find itself in, in terms of sustainability and being green. What if I can’t do more? Or am I concentrating too much on being green and forgetting the fundamentals of running and growing my business.
Is green the new business? was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
There is no doubt that being green in business has spawned a whole other industry or niche market. There are many new companies that have sprung up to advise, develop, resolve, promote and substitute our bad habits for good. The government and Carbon Tax fit in there somewhere as well.
I’m somewhat old school about business - I need to see a product or understand a service for me to be convinced that it exists. Climate change has become a commodity on top of a social enterprise on top of a divided scientific community. It’s a bit like PR when you think about it. Difficult to actually see a return on your investment but can you afford to not do it?
Your Actions in Business Matter was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
We hear the words “sustainable, green, environmentally friendly, climate change” just to name a few, and some of us may either be overwhelmed or confused. Personally I was dismissive as to how any of that mattered to my business. I understood on the personal front, but didn’t really have any idea as to how it would fit in with my business, affect my business or even be effective for my business. After all, my business and the environment didn’t really influence each other did they? WRONG.
During one of my moments of what the corporate world calls “strategic planning” but I call just plain thinking, I was of course drinking coffee. That’s what I do so nothing too mind blowing there. But it was out of a paper cup, and that got the thought process started. This in itself is a dangerous path as my team would attest. It usually results in change, and that is not what my team likes, it is what my business likes and therefore me. And all of us know that Business Actions mean growth, improvements and of course change.
Jobs for the Young in Business was first published on Women in Focus.
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
As an employer for almost three decades, it is safe to say that I have personally hired and fired hundreds of people – very young, young, middle aged, older than me age and a lot older than me age. They all had positives and negatives going for them in terms of interview, trial and hire. Is it different working with young people than same age or older than me people? Yes, and I think my world of hospitality is a great example of talking about youth in business since we work with apprentices a lot.
It’s true that many employers take on youth just because they are a cheaper option. I disagree with this strategy, but that’s just me. I have never employed anyone because they would be a less expensive choice. I hire based on attitude, and if you think that bad attitude and disinterest are realms reserved for the youth, YOU ARE WRONG.
Chicken Salad, No Chicken was first published in Women in Focus
Women in Focus is a recently launched website and initiative by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. It is a place for women to be inspired, informed and connected with other women in business in Australia and around the world. Angela Vithoulkas, CEO of VIVO Cafe Group, will be the Guru on the Business Beat section and will be providing weekly articles on all things small business.
In my business of food, I find a lot of my daily challenges pretty much sum up life as a business owner. It’s the front line of my business war that dictates my strategy, highlights my problems and often showcases dilemmas that will produce profound change or deliberate denial.
My advice on ‘6 tips to a great relationship with your suppliers‘ was first published in Smarter Business Ideas. Read the article here.
As a small business owner for over two decades, Angela Vithoulkas has dealt with many suppliers. Here are some of her top tips on how to successfully work with them.
Are suppliers important to your business? Well, they’re as important as you are, actually.
In the corporate world, they are referred to as stakeholders. In the small business world, they are often considered a nuisance, time wasters and businesses that don’t understand your needs. There have been many moments for me when I have hung up from a supplier and then spent several minutes seriously damaging the handset. It’s not a good look.
The error begins by identifying delivery people as your supplier - they are not. A courier or truck driver, installer or technicians are not your actual supplier. Yes, they represent them. Yes, they usually bring the goods or services that you have ordered. They are not however, responsible for the relationship.
This is where it can all change for your business. Suppliers can impact on your business significantly, both positively and negatively. You should get to know them, make time for them. They are not your enemy. In fact they can be part of your army, if you recruit the right ones. Here is some advice from the trenches:
1. Remember that you are a customer to your supplier. It’s OK to be demanding and fussy. They may not like it, but your customers will benefit.
2. Your business success means the same for your supplier, the better your performance, the better it is for them.
3. Not all suppliers get it. Get rid of the ones that make it hard or make you angry.
4. When you are stuck, ask. Ask your supplier for some ideas on how to market or promote their products in your business. You will be surprised by how excited they can get and how helpful they will be.
5. Be loyal. I have been doing business with some of my suppliers for many years. They constantly find new ways of keeping me happy and I reward this with loyalty.
6. Pay promptly. I know many business managers will be having a nervous breakdown over this one, but it’s a powerful negotiating tool. We all like to get paid quickly and regularly, including your suppliers. I find service, price and quality is often influenced by consistent payment terms.
Small business doesn’t mean small influence. You don’t need to be a national chain to get a discount from your supplier, you just need to ask and listen. They may not be able to give you exactly what you want, but before you dismiss them, ask what they are prepared to do. I have a beverage supplier who couldn’t give me a dollar discount on product but could give me free product on volume, which brought down the unit price.
Everybody’s happy when everybody gets something. Deals that are out of balance will inevitably lead to another issue. Think of it as small business karma. It hardly sounds like cutthroat business dealings, but the goal shouldn’t be to eliminate your suppliers. Leave that sentiment for your competitors
How often do you get to interview a former Prime Minister let alone Australia’s second longest serving one? I’m assuming not often.
I had started reading John Howard’s Book Lazarus Rising, and wondered what it would take to have a book signing event here at VIVO Cafe. So “my people asked his people” and my night with a PM began to take shape. Then came the offer: would I like to interview him? Well, yes. I think. I suppose I could. Probably. I said yes before I thought about it too much. How hard could it be to ask intelligent questions, keep an audience interested, keep him interested, look and sound as if it was actually an everyday occurrence and NOT make it political. Okay Angela, stay calm, you’ll be fine.
On Tuesday 3rd August, we set a World Record - a foursquare event. What’s foursquare? Go to www.foursquare.com and see. This blog is about the motivation, inspiration and dedication that made it happen, in spite of our hurdles.
How do I do it? Did I just wake up one day and say “let’s set a world record?” Sort of. I said it then I did it. From inception to execution it took 14 days. And fear only ever set in on Tuesday 3rd of August at about 12.30am. Along with the cyclone winds, electrical blackouts, cancelled trains & buses.
This was an experiment, an idea to see if social media could actually create real business for small business. Money business. Countable (new word) money business.
Read the rest of this entry »
5.00am: It’s a typical day at VIVO Cafe.
Of course I say that in the car while driving to work. I listen to AM radio in the hope that I will know a tiny bit of what’s going on in the world around me. Sometimes my work bubble extends so much over my life bubble that it can, does and will totally take over. Especially on a day like today, that is about to send me over the edge. So far all is as it should be, but not for long!
5.01am: First phone call, two staff have already missed the train, they will be one hour late. As it’s against the law to SPEED and I can’t magically appear at work, I now have the ‘drive of stress’ to contend with. The one where you develop road rage against everything because the world doesn’t get that you need to go to work faster. Right now. We have over 100 booked for breakfast starting at 7.00am and we need to unpack furniture and basically get ready for the entire day. Breathe. Even after 25 years as a business owner, or maybe especially because of these 25 years, I still get worried when calls start early. It’s never good. It always gets worse. This isn’t pessimism, or a self fulfilling prophecy or me being negative. This is life in a small business and in the cafe world when you start to run late early on, you very rarely get ahead.
I suppose its easy for me to comment on customer service since that is my business, but it appears to me that a lot of lip service and not customer service is taking place.
The art of serving a real life flesh and blood person seems to either scare people or totally disinterest them. The retail sector is the worst because the evidence is in our face so to speak. Not so obvious via telephone or email but just as frustrating and unsatisfactory. The whole customer experience seems to have been relegated to the bottom of the bottom of some unimportant strategic list. It also seems that most business - big or small, operate in this way.