Opening and Operating a Retail Bakery

Rick D. Crawford receieved his BS at Indiana University in 1977 and became a Certified Master Baker in?2001. He is currently an Adjunct Instructor at Ivy Tech Community College and is Managing Partner of the Retailers Purchasing Innovative Activity (RPIA). As Managing Partner of the RPIA LLC, not only does the author have 37 years of experience, but also access to hundreds of owner/operators and the best companies in the industry to serve as ongoing resources, giving the book a unique value proposition of knowledge, experience, and resources.

Preface xi Acknowledgments xv PART 1 Planning and Key Decisions 1 CHAPTER 1 Early Steps and Key Decisions 3 Concept to Reality 4 What Are Your Specialties? 5 What Type of Bakery Is Yours? 5 Franchises 14 Failure Is an Option 15 Types of Business Organizations 16 Your Job as a Bakery Owner 17 Timeline Introduction 18 CHAPTER 2 Lining Up Your Experts 21 How to Use the Store Opening Guide 24 Finding the Right Team 24 Training and Education 32 CHAPTER 3 Operating Plans and Resources 37 Government and Nonprofi t Resources 38 Business Plans 39 The Baking Industry 40 Industry Marketing Groups (Boards and Associations) 47 Distributors 49 Trade Shows 52 Trade Magazines 53 CHAPTER 4 Product Mix, Equipment, and Design 55 Finding the Correct Location 56 The Importance of Demographics for Your Business Location 59 Equipment: What Do You Need? 62 Finding an Architect 68 Finding the Builder/Contractor 69 CHAPTER 5 Basic Starting Systems 71 Introduction 72 Computer Systems for Operations 72 Point of Sale Data 75 Food Safety 79 Dealing with Inspectors 81 Hiring Employees 84 Average Sale per Customer 89 PART 2 Store Rules, Labor, and Progressive Discipline 93 CHAPTER 6 Staffing and Labor Management 95 Ensuring that You Get Great Staff 96 Being Honest with Your Staff 123 CHAPTER 7 Rules and Training 127 Progressive Discipline 146 Training Record Systems 151 PART 3 Operations 157 CHAPTER 8 Marketing and Promotion 159 Marketing 160 Social Media 162 Your First Social Media Campaign: Your Grand Opening 169 Traditional Media 174 CHAPTER 9 Sourcing Ingredients and Costing 179 Manufacturers and Distributors 180 Costing Materials 183 Profit 186 Discounting 190 CHAPTER 10 Production Skills and Costs 195 Production 196 Skill Levels 199 Tools for Measuring Productivity 205 CHAPTER 11 What Is Bakery Merchandising? 217 Product 218 Production 220 People 221 Placement 222 Price 223 Packaging 225 Promotion 228 Presentation 231 PART 4 Operations Systems and Growth 235 CHAPTER 12 Pre-Opening, Opening, and Post-Opening 237 Pre-Opening 238 Opening 246 Post-Opening 251 CHAPTER 13 The Bakery Sales Cycle and Day Parts 257 Major Selling Seasons 258 Minor Seasons and Events 264 Promotional Events 267 Wedding Season 268 Black Swan Events 269 Day Parts 269 CHAPTER 14 Promotions: Setup to Execution 271 Types of Promotions 272 Running a Promotion 274 Using Coupons 283 CHAPTER 15 Check-Up, Growth, and Rescue 287 How Are You Doing? 288 Measuring Your Progress 289 Owning the Game of Business 291 When Things Go Well 294 When Things Go Bad 296 Index 299