Cracked Cauldron Spillings

The bane of all new businesses - the Numbers Game.

What do I mean?

Spread sheets, cash flow analysis, cost analysis, operating expenses - most of which have to be guessed at or estimated because we aren't open yet.

And then, getting our estimates to balance across the board.

Sure, we know what some expenses are, they're pretty fixed. Other expenses are blindsiders - like the insurance liability rates that were just legislated to a higher dollar amount, taking effect in July.

That one piece of legislation increases our insurance rates by 1/3, setting the bar that much higher towards opening. There are other bits of legislation coming up that can effect our bottom line adversely, as well, some of it involves how we'll be able to accept deliveries from some of our local suppliers. While that may not increase the cost of the supplies themselves, it will effect how we have to modify the receiving area. That means it's probably a one-time opening expenditure.

The longer it takes to get the Cracked Cauldron open, the more expensive it becomes. The cost isn't in the supplies or the equipment, or even the employees and training, but in compliance with ever more rules and regulations that make opening a new business a costly venture. Established businesses are usually not covered in these new expenses, or have a grace period with which to prepare for compliance.

So that's what we've been doing this past week - finding out the new and potential stumbling blocks coming our way so we can prepare work-arounds and alter our numbers.

It's a game we appear to be losing.

Fortunately, appearances can sometimes be deceptive.

On a happier note, Cinco de Mayo approaches, and we've been working on making Mexican celebration breads and cookies, and experimenting with the definitive Mexican cake - Tres Leches.