Alpha Entrepreneur Case Study 4

Jim WilderWild Orchid Café/Company’s

Coming Catering

Aa

Led by President / Owner: Jim Wilder

- Company’s Coming Catering – in business 15 years

- Started in marina…moved to Eastport, an Annapolis Suburb

- Wild Orchid Café - gourmet restaurant – in business 5 years

- Spun off from catering business

- 20 employees – a very diverse workforce

Wild Orchid Café & Company’s Coming Catering

Eastport, Md.

Quality Food Products Delivered at Cost-Effective Pricing

- Jim climbed up a tree after a storm to release some branches

- He fell 30 feet and became instantly paralyzed

- Jim has been paralyzed since 1979 and uses a wheel chair

What is his disability…how did he become disabled?

- Jim worked at several restaurants after becoming disabled

- The environment did not accommodate his disability and his bosses were unwilling to adapt the facilities at a time when few were making accommodations

- He started his own business to have control of his work environment and the restaurant business spawned the catering business

- Mission: Deliver quality food at cost-effective pricing

Why did he start his business and what is his mission statement?

- The kitchen was not accessible Jim and his partner re-designed the kitchen for accessibility

Jim took advantage of the carpentry skills of his partner’s father to rebuild the kitchen

- Initially , landlord didn’t think person in wheelchair could run business

Jim teamed with partner’s skills to prove he could do it.

What access barriers did he face when he started his business and how did he overcome them?

- Business was self-financed with $5,000

- Started with low-overhead, only $400/month rent and no rent in winter

- Attracted high-income corporate clients for catering - Jim and his partners saved their profits to re-invest in expansion

- After 10 years they re-located with an option to buy their facility

- Two years later they sought an SBA loan to bu the restaurant building

How did he finance his business and its expansion?

– Many Banks Turned him down

-Banks were unwilling to invest in the restaurant business which is considered risky

- Banks wanted assurances they wouldn’t have to take over the business

- Looked for advice from others and selected bank that did SBA loans…then got introduced to the SBA process…SBA worked well

- He believed disability possibly helped him get the loan although there is no way to assess this.

What barriers did he face in obtaining financing for expansion?

- He had to write a credible business plan

- He outlined his past 10 years of demonstrated success and furnished income statements to prove the viability of his business.

- He had to put up significant collateral..in the end he thinks this is what convinced the bank to make the loan

What was involved with getting the SBA loan?

- Jim and his partner started with small investment and low overhead

- Saved $20,000 to re-invest in new expansion when property became available

- Catering income is inconsistent so they opened the restaurant to provide a more regular income

- Restaurant patrons often become catering clients so the two businesses help market each other

- Catering business evolved from serving mostly marina traffic (75% of business then) to mainly serving high-end of business corporate clients (75% of business now)

How has his business changed over the years?

- Jim ensures quality products and service

He observes the way people are greetedHe monitors plates coming back to kitchen If food comes back uneaten, changes are madePeople are accommodated if they have problemsHe and staff try to react to conditions before they become problems.

- The business is customer oriented

They make the customer’s experience the best it can be.

What strategies did he implement to maintain a competitive advantage?

- Word of mouth is his best form of advertising but he does use newspaper ads

- Jim advertises to a diverse population, periodically changing the demographic target

-Advertises in various media:

rock radio stationsconservative publicationslocal newspapers

How does he advertise his business?

-His mobility was once hindered by the lack of ramps and curb cuts due to city efforts to preserve historic attraction of the area.

-Curb cuts in the last 15-20 years improved his mobility around town

-Access to different restaurants and kitchens helped him increase his professional knowledge and start his own business

-Technology-based accessibility in restaurant makes atmosphere better for customers and employees

How did technology help or hinder him in growing his business?

ADA has been good for the restaurant business… It brings in more customers

A little bit of renovation paid off big

By opening doors for clients and workers, it attracted more customers.

How has his business been affected by the ADA and Title 5 of the Rehabilitation Act?

-He likes the chaos of the restaurant business and takes an active role in running it

-Jim set up an out-of-the-way workstation for himself… He does part of the work and supervises what comes out of the kitchen…. Employees can work without tripping over him

-He used to try to do everything himself

-He got what he wanted but that didn’t leave him any time or energy, thus he realized he was micro-managing

-He learned to delegate some administrative tasks to employees who are also dedicated to quality

-He looks for employees who fit that niche and that can accept the responsibility

What is his management style and how has it been affected by his disability?

A few people didn’t think he was capable of running the business because he didn’t run it the way they would because of his disability

Actually, he believes that being disabled helped him

Disability forced him to slow down and take time to think and make careful plans , strategize…his planning has helped his day-to-day running of the business

Restaurant is an ego-driven business with great stress that requires measured responses

Did he have any problems with employees because of his disability?

-He gained extensive product knowledge from his vendors and suppliers

-Vendors have been very willing to help with product advice…if he succeeds they succeed

-Jim’s wine supplier designed his first wine list and taught him how to pair wine with food

- Vendors are great partners for credit and referrals in addition to product/service enhancement

How did he benefit from strategic partnerships and alliances?

His board member is his wife who has:

-Knowledge and experience in the catering business

-A strong business sense in dealing with clients

-Complementary skills and handles tasks he isn’t good at.

What characteristics did he look for in choosing board members and how did they help him execute his business plan?

Jim began his business wanting to have the freedom to control the barriers in his work environment

Later, he wanted more out of the business, becoming more idealistic

He takes pride in being able to support himself and a staff of 20 and helping them feel good about where they work and the product they produce

How has owning and operating the business changed his attitude?

Football coach told him “sometimes you have to play hurt”…

-This helped him get through rehabilitation

-He realized you can’t give up on life when you don’t feel good

A general manager at a former workplace taught him how to motivate people

-That knowledge helped him work with other people.

Who were the mentors who influenced Jim’s attitude and guided him to success?

-He probably wouldn’t do it again because of all the obstacles

-By getting into it before he knew what was involved, he was at a point where he went ahead anyway because he hated to fail

-He would have taken more time to look at the business aspects of the restaurant industry

-He’s realized that business knowledge is just as important as serving fine food

If he had it to do all over, what would he change about how he ran his business?

He would advise that becoming an entrepreneur is a great thing …

-Operating a business is a great confidence booster

-It gives a person a goal and the ability to help others

Operating a business helped him in other ways….

-He stopped feeling sorry for himself and overcame his anger

-The business gave him goals and the ability to help other people instead of having other people help him

What advice would Jim give to someone with a disability who wants to become an entrepreneur?

- (410) 268-8009

- e-mail: wilderorchidcafe@comcast.com

- 909 Bay Ridge Drive Annapolis, Md. 21403

How does one contact The Wild Orchid Café?