Patrick O'Brien of O'Brien's Gourmet Catering at Invstor.com

Patrick O'Brien

Columbus, OH (USA)

Role(s):

Startup

Founder/Owner/Principal

O'Brien's Gourmet Catering

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Location: Columbus

Industry: Hospitality

Year Founded: 2008

Number Employees: 10-50 people

Description: 1. O’Brien’s Gourmet Catering A. Description Of Company My father and I will be starting what I like to call a very diverse Catering company. What I mean by that is we will cater five star meals, but we will also do tailgating type events as well. We will provide whatever type of food that our customer desires, it’s all about them. We do have set menu’s for all our different types of catering, box breakfasts and lunches, gourmet breakfasts, lunches and dinners, as well as wedding receptions and high school dances. However, we provide those menu’s as a guideline, but you may request anything and we will do our best to cater to your needs and wishes. The most successful catering company in today’s economy is one that doesn’t confine itself to being too ritzy and basic. You must be diverse and broad when it comes to catering, because you will attract many more people to your business that way. Our menu’s will be available to the public on our website, and we will also be providing corporate proposals to certain companies we believe will help us make a profit. The business will be a partnership between my father, Michael O’Brien, and myself Patrick O’Brien. It will be a 60/40 ratio, Michael, being majority owner. Even though I will be part owner, I will work as the Executive Chef at O’Brien’s. I don’t believe in being an owner who sits in an office all day. If you want to have a successful company, you have to make it successful yourself. My father shares the same views, and he will be doing much of our marketing and sales because of his experience. We will at open our doors for outgoing deliveries at 8:00 am, and do Caterings whenever the customer wishes. We will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner events. Our main focus will be corporate meetings, high school events, and weddings. We will push our box lunches onto many corporate companies throughout Columbus and surrounding areas. We will NOT go outside the Ohio border, but will deliver anywhere in Ohio. Delivery charges will be accessed. B. Marketing Plans We at O’Brien’s believe that the most successful marketing is personal contact. We will build business brochures and proposals we will personally take to corporate companies to present our entire menu, and what we have to offer. My father currently manages nine million dollars in business where he is currently employed, most of which he sold himself, so we have more than qualified people to make sales for the company. Even though we do believe in personal contact, we realize that we cannot reach everyone through that method. The folks with WAAB marketing will be helping us design a website so that we may advertise to a more broad audience. Our website will provide our Hors’ Dourves menu, box breakfasts and lunches, our regular catering menu, and our tailgating menu. It will have an area where you may read about the history of O’Brien’s, and also a link so that folks may apply for a career with our company. Our mission statement and handbook will be posted as well. WAAB has also given us Ideas about certain radio commercials that we should look into, as well as posting weekly adds in the Columbus Dispatch in the Food section. Michael O’Brien(Majority Owner) is good friends with the Vice President of WBNS as well. In the front portion of our lot will stand a 5x8 sign with our company logo, so that everyone from Polaris Parkway will see us. You’d be surprised how many customers we will get that will tell us they just saw us as they passed by. Our main form of marketing will be in reputation. Being consistently good in the business your in will create consistent business with the same people. As our company grows, our reputation will slide through Columbus by word of mouth, which is really the best form of marketing aside from personal meetings. C. Competition We as a Catering company realize that we are in a very competitive business. We believe that our pricing and variety of cuisine will eventually put us ahead of the competition. No one in Columbus has a very vast menu with the exception of O’Brien’s. We truly believe we will be competitive immediately because of experience and what we offer as a company. Our main Competitors are as follows: -Cameron Mitchell -Sandman Gourmet - Catering By Design -Perfect Plate Catering All the companies I have just mentioned have established themselves as very successful Catering companies. They are also not willing to go outside their menu’s very often. Their lack of diversity and willingness to deliver exactly what the customer wants will really hurt them in the long run, especially when O’Brien’s gets fully established. D. Operating Procedures Initial Business Plan Tentative Date to begin Box Lunch/Food Tray Service …(URL removed)uary 1st Tentative Date to begin business for Corporate Caterings and Weddings…(URL removed)il 1st From January 1st, until April 1st, we will provide our quality box lunches and food trays for corporate meetings or companies. They will include sandwich trays, breakfast Danish and donut trays, fruit displays, wrap trays, hors’ Dourves trays, cheese platters, and vegetable platters. We will also provide small breakfast and lunch orders for corporate companies off our catering menu. In the Kitchen Every day will begin with the posting of the event sheets, which will show all boxed orders, breakfasts drop offs, and all other catering. I will also post production sheets for each event, telling myself and my Sous Chef exactly how much to make for each party. I will also post who will be delivering each party, and what van they will be taking to do so. My day as the executive chef will begin at 4-5am, depending on how many breakfast orders we have. We will employ 4 delivery people to drop off box breakfasts and lunches so I do not have to leave the building and can manage the kitchen efficiently. The way the kitchen runs must be organized and timely. After my Sous Chef and I have prepared all the boxed meals for the day, I will then prepare the outgoing catering food for either breakfast or lunch. My Executive Sous Chef will assist me in the preparation in all meals and boxed items. Daily Marketing Michael O’Brien(Majority Owner) will spend most of his time in sales and little in operations except for larger Catering events. He will be the one to deliver proposals to corporate companies, trying to build our business every day. Daily Organization and Behind the Scenes work Food cost must be accessed every day making sure it NEVER exceeds 30%. I(Patrick O’Brien) will manage all inventory and stock, as well as making the orders to our purveyors, and overseeing that the kitchen is running smoothly. Cleanliness in the kitchen will be one of my main focuses as well. Signs will be posted throughout the kitchen about cleanliness and how I want things to be. Inventory and Stock The last thing I will do every day will be inventory. I will put into our system how much of each item we used for that day, so we know how much to be ordering on a regular basis. This will be an excellent way for me to make sure we never run out of food, or any item. I will then make my orders so I will receive them the following day, and we’ll be ready for production. E. Personnel I will employee the following positions: Majority Owner- $72,000.00 annually before taxes Michaels job will consist of sales growth, human resources, and development of our business. Co-Owner/Executive Chef- $72,000.00 annually before taxes Executive Sous Chef- $12.00 Per Hour(Cannot guarantee 40 hours) The Sous Chef’s job will be to help manage the kitchen, help with menu development, manage inventory and stock, and help with larger outgoing Caterings. Four Delivery Drivers/Caterers- $10.00 Per Hour (Cannot Guarantee 40 Hours) The delivery workers/caterers will be expected to make on time deliveries of food, and serve the food at times, as well as be on call servers for large weddings and other corporate events. We will also employee four other servers that will do nothing but serve at larger events, and they will be paid the same amount. Janitorial/Utilities $10.00 Per Hour This person will work three days per week focusing on maintaining the building cleanliness inside and out, making sure all parts of the facility are functioning properly, and occasionally washing dishes if we get backed up. As our company grows, we will begin searching for line cooks that will be paid nine dollars per hour to start. Every hourly employee will see a one dollar per hour raise after one year with the company. Business Insurance Here are the area’s that I am considering insuring for my company to protect all of our assets. Property and Inland Marine -Building at replacement cost/renters insurance -Automatic increase in building amount(inflation guard) -Contents at replacement costs or actual cash values -Automatic increase of the contents for seasonal fluctuation -Loss of income & extra expense on an actual loss sustained basis for 12 months or other extended period -loss of income &extra expense from power interruption -Loss in value of undamaged building portion, demolition or increased construction cost to meet ordinance or law requirement -Comprehensive equipment breakdown coverage -Coverage extension to newly acquired buildings and contents -Fire Department service charge and extinguisher recharge cost -Debris removal & pollutant clean up cost -Back up of sewers or drains -Accounts receivable and valuable papers coverage -Computer equipment including media & records -Transportation Coverage -Spoilage Coverage Crime -Employee Dishonesty -Forgery & Alteration -Money and Securities…Both inside and outside the premises -Money Orders and Counterfeit Currency General and Other Liability -Operations and Premise liability including parking lot liability -Personal and Advertising injury liability -Products and Completed Operations liability -Contractual and Owners Protective liability -Hired and Non-Owned automobile liability -Employee benefits liability -Liquor legal liability Automobile Liability -Vans and Reefer Truck Financial Data A. Expenses Salary for Michael O’Brien, and Patrick O’Brien $1,500.00 per week for both employees. -Asking for 6 months of salary for each employee up front due to the business just getting started. We will be doing good business off the bat, but the first six months are the hardest, especially for the catering companies. ($60,000.00 in total) Initial Advertising ($8,000.00) This includes the making of brochures, flyers and logos for the company. We will also look to get our company signs made with this money as well. To help us hire: Asking $10,000.00 in initial salary for additional employees Initial Leasing Expenses, Asking for six months up front $24,000.00 ($4,000 per month) Building we will be leasing Old Carraba’s Building on Polaris Parkway 4200 Polaris parkway Equipment to get Business Started Food Prep and Kitchen Supplies (URL removed) 60 Gallon Steam Kettle……………………………….............................$10,964.00 12 Gallon Tilt Kettle……………………………….................................$5,580.00 Tilt Skillet……………………………….................................................$9,343.00 Speed Racks (6) at $84.99ea……………………………….....................$509.94 Food Processor by Robot Coupe………………………………...............$399.99 Meat Slicer………………………………................................................$482.99 Scale for Baking………………………………........................................$277.99 Pastry Bags 2 per case (10 cases)…………………………….................$259.90 Pastry Brushes (6pack)……………………………..................................$35.99 Rolling Pin……………………………….................................................$33.45 Sifters……………………………….........................................................$19.80 Cooking Spoons (12 pack)…………………………….............................$10.99 Spatulas (10 pack)……………………………..........................................$23.99 Kitchen Carts (4)………………………….............................................$689.20 12 inch Tongues (12 pack)……………………………..........................$10.99 Turners (10)………………………….....................................................$95.50 Cheese Box Grater………………………………....................................$53.25 Plastic Cutting Board (10)………………………………...................... $119.90 Cutting Board Rack (2)……………………………................................$79.98 Knife Rack………………………………................................................$11.99 Fruit Corer……………………………….................................................$25.99 Ladles(10)……………………………......................................................$59.50 (URL removed) Roasting Pan ($57.00ea, 10)…………………………….........................$570.00 Fry Pans 8 inch (2) at $17.22 ea………………………………..............$34.40 Fry Pans 12 inch (2) at $40.48 ea……………………………….............$80.96 26x18 Sheet Pans ($10.98 ea, 50)……………………………................$549.00 Mixing Bowls 1.5 QT ($1.36ea, 10)……………………………...................................$136.00 3 QT ($2.16 ea, 5)…………………………….......................................$10.80 5 QT ($2.98 ea, 2)…………………………….......................................$5.96 16QT Colander………………………………........................................$24.90 12 in Strainer………………………………...........................................$21.50 2in Hotel Pans ($14.83ea) 50.…………………………….....................$791.50 4in Hotel Pans ($18.99ea) 50.…………………………….....................$949.50 Half 2in Pans ($9.29ea) 50.……………………………........................$464.50 Half 4in Pans(11.58ea) 50.…………………………….........................$579.00 Stock Pots 40 Qt (4 at 287.15ea)………………………………............................$1,148.60 24 QT………………………………................................................... $1,014.40 16 QT………………………………....................................................$303.96 3 QT Sautee………………………………..........................................$1461.90 2 QT Sautee………………………………..........................................$1226.40 Food Storage 18x26 Lexan……………………………….........................................$1253.50 12x18 Lexan……………………………….........................................$629.50 Dining Room and Catering Supplies Folding Tables (15) at $105.99ea………………………………........$1589.85 Folding Tables Round (15) at $96.99ea……………………………..$1454.85 Table Dolly Rounds (2) at $163.99ea………………………………..$327.98 Table Dolly (2) at $178.99.……………………………..................... $357.98 Metal Folding Chairs (200) at $56.99ea……………………………..$11,398.00 Chafing Dishes (30) at $111.90ea……………………………….......$3,357.00 Carving Station………………………………...................................$454.83 5 Gallon Beverage Cambro……………………………….................$1,225.00 Hot Boxes, Bottom (4) at $710.00ea………………………………...$2,840.00 Hot Boxes Top (4) at $296.30ea……………………………….........$1.185.20 Other supplies including server equipment…………………………$1,150.00 Plate ware, Flatware, Glassware Plate Stands……………………………….........................................$80.00 Round Plate Stands……………………………….............................$80.00 Plates Canvas Squares ($149.99 for 12) 25 Cases…………………………$3749.75 7.5 in ($96.99 for 12) 25 Cases………………………………...........$2424.75 11in ($117.99 for 6) 50 Cases……………………………….............$5899.50 Monaco 10 in ($64.99 for 6) 50 Cases………………………………..............$3249.50 12.5 in ($106.99 for 6) 50 Cases……………………………….........$5349.50 6.5in ($59.99 for 12) 25 Cases………………………………............$1499.75 8.5 in (50.99 for 6) 50 Cases………………………………...............$2549.50 Flatware Total……………………………….....................................$6456.25 Beverage Ware Total………………………………..........................$6271.00 Delivery Trucks we must lease Taylor Dealerships 2003 Chevy 3500 $9,981 2005 Chevy 2500 $7,950 Reefer Truck 2000 GMC T7500 $13,900 [<a href="(URL removed)">send me a message</a>] B. Expense Balance Sheet Total Supplies Expense………………………………..................................$135,125.80 Initial Executive Salary Expense………………………………....................$60,000.00 Initial Employee Salary Expense………………………………....................$10,000.00 Initial leasing expenses (6 months)……………………………....................$24,000.00 Marketing/Permits/Licensing/Insurance……………………………….........$25,000.00 Unforeseen Expenses………………………………......................................$10,000.00 Total Expenses………………………………................................................$264,125.80 C. Breakeven Analysis This is based upon fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs are things that you must receive in order to make a profit, in other words, the price does not change. A variable cost would be our product that we sell, and how we will have to price our products based upon the cost, or cost-based pricing. We are ideally looking for a food cost to be under 30%. Our pricing will have to determine whether we will reach that goal or not. D. Pro Forma Income Projections and three year summary Our Business goal is to be open for boxed items and small caterings by January 1st of 2009. We will initially provide customers with boxed breakfasts and lunches, and also small breakfast and luncheon Caterings. Here is a breakdown of what we expect in January of 2009-March 2009 ? The graph above goes in order January, February, March, and then follows with the totals. It shows how many box meals we project we will do for each day, and how much we will revenue. The total amount we project to make for a three month span is $335,250. Now, we must take 27% of that away due to expenses. Total for January 2009-March of 2009 $291,667.50 Total Projected Revenue less expenses for first Year $1,166.670.00 A Typical Successful Catering Company that is growing, will grow 12% each year. O’Brien’s expects to grow by at least that margin. Here is a breakdown of the first three years of business for O’Brien’s Catering. ? - 2. Financial Data A. Loan Application We will be meeting with the SBA to try and get a loan guarantee before we approach a bank for the actual loan. We believe that we should have all our information straight before we approach a bank. The most important part of this process is receiving the actual loan guarantee. We realize companies typically don’t receive the entire amount they are asking. We are asking for a rather large sum of money, but you must realize what it takes to open a catering company. There are many aspects of this business, and many different tools you MUST have to run a successful operation. It’s important to ask for the proper amount of start up funding, so that you give yourself the proper and responsible opportunity to become successful. B. Capital Equipment and Supply List