Marcela Flores Newburn

Rico Mexican Kitchen

Marcela decided to launch her business after a few drinks in the pub one afternoon with friends. Her home-made Mexican salsas and sauces have proved a big hit amongst friends and at local food fairs in Belper, Derbyshire and beyond. Following one particularly successful recent food trade show that her sauces are now stocked in Harrods and are being trialled at Selfridges!

However, Marcela is still preparing the salsas and sauces herself in the home kitchen as well as trying to manage all other areas of the business. Can she juggle the demands of the business, the cooking and being a mother of two and take advantage of these fabulous business opportunities? Follow Marcela in Fishbowl 2 over the coming weeks and months to see.

http://www.ricomexicankitchen.co.uk/

Friday, 29 January 2010

New Year's Resolutions? Still going strong... just.

2 blogs ago I listed my plans for the early part of 2010. Well, this year is about tackling my paperwork and systems demons. I’m determined to implement good systems for solid financial management and credit control. It may sound really simple but now I’ve hired a book keeper, I don’t have to be tied up doing this time-consuming task which is best left to the expert. We are devising a financial control system, it’s developing really well and I feel much more on top of things.

My desk was nothing short of a bombsite. I decided that if I were to develop a solid financial system, the office systems needed to dramatically improve too, just like a tall building needs good foundations. Paperwork has been a weakness that I needed to tackle head on, improve, and move forward. Now the trick will be to maintain it.

This year is also about improving sales and breaking even. I have had my head down, chopping, mixing, potting, sending samples and selling. I will keep an update about my progress towards breaking even, but for now, my mantra is sales, sales and sales. Now that Christmas has long gone, shops are looking for new things to stock, I’m keeping focused... if you have any suggestions to help me on my quest to break even, do contact me through twitter... and wish me luck!

P.s. in case you wondered, I AM going to the gym! (but not every day)

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, 5 January 2010

The good, the bad & the ugly of 2009 and plans for 2010

The New Year is a perfect time to reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly times past, to learn from the them and to decide on the next moves.

The Good:
J Having invested in going to some trade shows, with specific objectives and clear ideas of what I wanted to get out of them.
J To have worked with experts in their fields to advise me on the following:
ü  Strategy and business plan creation (Connect Mildands, Ginem); 
ü  Technical issues on food manufacture (Campden BRI, Food and Drink Forum, Nottingham Trent University)
ü  Issues around innovation (Food and Drink iNet)
ü   PR (Lava)
ü  Packaging and web design (23 Skidoo, Invosis, Design Futures)
ü  Sales (The Tasty Company)

The Bad:
:-S  On a day to day basis, I’m still running the show on my own- this needs to change.

The Ugly:
L WIP- To have spent too much money on packaging which will last me for many months- work in progress can kill viable businesses.
L The Bank which changed its mind and said “no”, after my manager , who had agreed in principle to loaning us what we needed, got transferred to a different branch.

And the next moves for 2010:
-To employ a book keeper/credit controller
-To employ a fantastic admin person- please do contact me if you know of anyone!
-To have the manufacturing unit up and running
-To increase our sales
-To go to the gym!!

Labels: , , ,