Over the past week I hosted a food zealot from Paris and we toured the Bay Area meeting with movers and gastronomes throughout our community as we searched for trends and ideas that were bubbling up in our food scene. I will be posting more information about the meetings in the coming weeks but wanted to note a simple but powerful thought that emerged from the hours we spent discussing where our food scene is going.
No doubt we are deeply political, moreso than many other communities throughout the country. We wear our food choices as political statements, each one becomes a point of advocacy for a concept that is touted whether it be localism, sustainability, organics, natural, fair trade, food justice, food democracy, etc etc.
I work with companies that are in start up or early growth stages and I see one theme emerging over and over again. There is a common desire to do good, to give back and to be a part of a larger food based sense of fairness and justice. Giving back is often used as a mantra, a prerequisite to entering into our brave new food world.
Unfortunately there is bad news for those companies that are tethered to this path.
My thoughts became clear when I met two enthusiastic young entrepreneurs who were launching a new product in San Francisco. When I asked them what made their product different they said this: ”We don’t just give 10% of our profits back to the community. We give 15%”.
Nothing about the product (which by the way has potential) and nothing about how the business.
Next question: Have you made a profit yet? Answer. ”No.”
And when do you hope to make a profit? ”In a few years.”
This said it all for me.
Take a memo to the socially minded entrepreneur: 10% of 15% of 0 still means 0!
Sustainable businesses are profitable ones. The next blog will look at profitability and why it remains so elusive.
One hint: It is not a bad word.
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