Letter to the Health Department

Here is my letter to the Health Department stating the changes I would make to my pastry stand in order to meet health codes. Its entertaining, in retrospect, to see how nitpicky and exacting I had to be to meet their standards.

Revisions: Mochis

To: Patricia Ryan

From: DF

Date: June 20^th 2006

The following are responses to the topics you listed in your memorandum:

My commissary is a permitted facility with the Seattle King County Health Department.

1. There is no mop sink at the commissary. The dishwashing sink provides water for a mop and bucket, which is used to clean the floors.
2. There are two public bathrooms nearby. One is approximately 175 feet away from the cart (when I am operating) and the other is approximately 325 feet away.
3. There are two drain boards for the three compartment sink: one on the left side and one on the right side of the sink.
4. I will ensure that the Mochi is kept below 41 degrees.
5. I will keep a bleach bucket by the cart.
6. There is no water system in my cart.

 

The following are small items I neglected to update on my original health plan:

1. Instead of packaging my Mochi in Saran wrap, I am packaging it in wax paper, which, according to the Dixie Corporation, is microwave safe.

2. The top of my Mochis will have a bit of powdered sugar sprinkled on them.

3. Instead of refrigerating my Mochi after I am done preparing it, I will freeze it.

4. I stated on my menu that I will serve “Mochi with Cherry”, but on my operational procedures I said I will fill the Mochi with either chocolate or strawberries. I meant to say on my menu “Mochi with Strawberry” not “Mochi with Cherry.”

5. I said my drinks will be: Tropicana OJ: $1.35 (Costco: 24 packs)

Tree Top Apple Juice: $1.35 (Costco: 24 packs)

Kirkland bottled water: $1.00 (Costco: 35 packs)

Rather my drinks will be:

Crystal Geyser bottled water: $1.00 (Cash and Carry: 35 packs)

Minute Maid Lemonade: $1.15 (Cash and Carry: 12 packs)

Thomas Kemper Root Beer and Vanilla Cream Soda: $1.35 (Cash and Carry: 24 packs)

 

Thank you,

 

DF

D.b.a. Mochis

An Observation Part 4

…the main thing that all people can take solace in is the fact that NO ONE can manage the social world. Everyone is unsure about other peoples’ motives and goals. The key is to be selfish. Do not think about what others are thinking. Do not cater to others or make calculated moves in order to manipulate the social world to your liking. Managing and anticipating the social world is impossible and if you try to do it you will be overwhelmed. You must shrug your shoulders, trust your intuition and go into situations with unfounded confidence.

This is especially difficult for me because I am obsessive about manipulating situations. In the business world, I can manipulate. I do not have to have unfounded confidence; my confidence is based on fact that I know the motives and goals of companies and employees. Once a goal is known, I setup a strategy and execute.

In conclusion, the business and social worlds are separate entities. They do not share one underlying principle that one can learn and capitalize upon.

An Observation Part 3

…when goals and motives are completely known, it is possible to go into a situation with the utmost confidence. All that needs doing is concocting the plan of action. The business world is beautiful in this way. I dream of being a ‘Beast of the Industry.’ I know what this entails. The rise to the top is a chess game in which everything can be anticipated and managed because all the variables are right out in front of me.

I have no clue what success as a socialite entails. I use to think I knew, but my motives and goals change so frequently that defining success as a socialite can only bite me in the ass. I would likely define it differently a month from now.

Socialization is not “cut and dry.” It cannot be anticipated or managed, thus it is difficult to be confident when seeking social upward mobility, no matter what your definition of this upward mobility is…

An Observation Part 2

…What type of friends are important? There are goofy, smart, party loving, listening, garrulous ect ect. Which friends add to one’s success as a socialite? Is one amazing romantic interest superior to multiple mediocre ones? Everyone has different opinions as to what makes someone a successful socialite. A sorority girl might desire accumulation of friends, romantic interests and associates regardless of quality, while a goth might want one friend and one romantic interest. Ultimately, social choices come down to what gels best with one’s lifestyle.

There is something to be said for being a desirable/respected person that way you can attract the friends you want and carve your social life to your liking. While being respected maybe a tangible aspect of social success, it is only one element of sociality.

The fact is social success cannot be defined because everyone has different motives and goals. Moreover, friends, romantic interests and associates all wash together and change titles frequently i.e. sometimes a friend will become a romantic interest; is this upward mobility or just change of title? Depends whom you ask.

Now, lets look at the business world. Upward mobility is clearly defined as increased finances and status. The goal is universal. There is no ambiguity as to why a financial analyst might do an excel spreadsheet on a Saturday morning when he/she could have been sleeping. The motives are clear. He/she increases the financial wellbeing of the company, increases the chance that he/she will be promoted, and the chance that he/she will receive a pay raise.

In the business world, people complete projects: tasks with ostensible conclusions. How to reach that conclusion may not always be simple. Yet, motives and results are void of ambiguity. The business world is “cut and dry.” I like this, I thrive upon this…

An Observation Part 1

I have been thinking lately about the connection between the business world and the social world. Does a single underlying principle connected the two? If a person could succeed in one world, could he bring that same mindset to the other world and also be successful? Before I began my analysis, I hypothesized that the two worlds would indeed parallel one another. Each would have different constituents and goals but the same underlying principle would apply.

While my analysis simplifies things greatly, to the point in which I cannot declare it as truth, I believe that I have caught onto something. I would need more factual information in order to be completely credible. Let me start by listing the goals of the social and business worlds.

Business: 1. to increase the financial wellbeing of one’s parent institution 2. to increase one’s own financial wellbeing 3. to increase one’s status/position.

Social: 1. to make friends 2. to make associates 3. to make romantic interests 4. to be respected.

The business world places an emphasis on upward mobility and accumulation. The social world is much more ambiguous. ‘Making friends, associates and romantic interests’ can be seen as upward mobility and accumulation, but it not necessarily need be. Some people don’t desire this social accumulation. Others are fiends for it. Upon further analysis, the social world only becomes murkier…

Advantages of Entrepreneurship

To keep with the list theme, I shall do it again! According to a nice man from Wikipedia these are the advantages of entrepreneurship. Note: I agree with each one, thus, I have posted them all.

1. Enormous personal financial gain
2. Self-employment, offering more job satisfaction and flexibility of the work force
3. Employment for others, often in better jobs
4. Development of more industries, especially in rural areas or regions disadvantaged by economic changes, for example due to globalisation effects
5. Encouragement of the processing of local materials into finished goods for domestic consumption as well as for export
6. Income generation and increased economic growth
7. Healthy competition thus encourages higher quality products
8. More goods and services available
9. Development of new markets
10. Promotion of the use of modern technology in small-scale manufacturing to enhance higher productivity
11. Encouragement of more researches/ studies and development of modern machines and equipment for domestic consumption
12. Development of entrepreneurial qualities and attitudes among potential entrepreneurs to bring about significant changes in the rural areas
13. Freedom from the dependency on the jobs offered by others
14. The ability to have great accomplishments
15. Reduction of the informal economy
16. Emigration of talent may be stopped by a better domestic entrepreneurship climate

Are You an Entrepreneur?

While I am not an expert psychologist, I have an idea of what type of people make good entrepreneurs. I have compiled a list of attributes:

Analytical, Passionate, Energetic, Outgoing, Persistent, Creative, Responsible, Dedicated.

Uncertainty

Economist Frank Knight does a good job discussing risk in a theoretical way: “The behavior of the entrepreneur reflects a kind of person willing to put his or her career and financial security on the line and take risks in the name of an idea, spending much time as well as capital on an uncertain venture.” Knight classified three types of uncertainty:

• Risk, which is measurable statistically (such as the probability of drawing a red color ball from a jar containing 5 red balls and 5 white balls).
• Ambiguity, which is hard to measure statistically (such as the probability of drawing a red ball from a jar containing 5 red balls but with an unknown number of white balls).
• True Uncertainty or Knightian Uncertainty, which is impossible to estimate or predict statistically (such as the probability of drawing a red ball from a jar whose number of red balls is unknown as well as the number of other colored balls).

Utilize Connections

(In starting a Biz) I must stress the importance of making use of every possible thing at your disposal. This includes all of the connections you might have i.e. people with whom you are associated. If you are starting a bank, talk to your Dad’s second cousins grandma who is the Vice President of a local bank. Get tips from her, see what she can do to aid your business.

There is a temptation to make use of one’s connections judiciously. This is because you do not want to seem imposing. Calling someone for their services is certainly imposing. But… remember two things. One, this is YOUR BUSINESS that your trying to get off the ground. Very few things in your life will be this epic. There is no better time to utilize a connection, so don’t try to save the connection for a more important time. Either you will lose the connection by that time or a more important event will never arise and you will regret not making use of the connection.

Two, unless the connection you are trying to utilize is a potential competitor, the person will likely be happy to help you. Its human nature. Other people like being a part of epic events and your starting a business qualifies as epic. Thus, remember that other people will likely enjoy helping you in your endeavors. This should make you feel confident in asking for their services.

I’m Stubborn

Something I learned about myself while starting my pastry business: I’m stubborn. Don’t be stubborn! In social settings its good to make compromises, because people enjoy you more. In business, stubbornness can lead to failure, because you could wind up operating your business in the wrong way and fail to change course. For example, I had my heart set on starting a stand from which to sell my pastries. Never mind that there are no food stands in Seattle. I devoted ridiculous amounts of money and time to making this stand a reality. In the end, it was a poor venture; I lost more money than I gained. I had some idea that this was going to happen even before I created the stand. I had just spent so much energy on my current course of action that changing would have seemed like failure and my stubborn head could not fathom a bruised ego.

A key in business and life is to be flexible. If you believe that everything you set your mind to must become a reality, you will run into problems. Before I started my business I was unaware of the degree to which I was stubborn. Now I understand this part of my personality and work to fix it. Entrepreneurship, indeed, helps you understand yourself.