Change and the Little Red Dot

It's been a long time since I blogged. I've been so busy with my restaurant. But there's so much energy in the air it's hard to ignore. It's the energy of change.

Change is sweeping the world. The future is exciting. What excites me the most is a little red dot 85 miles north of the equator. Singapore. My homeland.

Singapore will have their General Elections on May 7. The PAP will retain control of parliament but it'll be interesting to see if the opposition makes any gains.

I'm one of the "losers" so labeled by the PAP because I chose to seek greener pastures elsewhere. I guess being a "lesser mortal[s]", it's only natural I'm a "loser". But how does that make me a "bacteria"?

Yes. The PAP has called Singaporeans "losers", "lesser mortals, and "bacteria". Great way to win votes.

I love Singapore and think the PAP did a great job, but maybe it's time for a little change and a huge dose of humility.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not easy. Especially if it's betrayal by someone you trust[ed].

Somehow, it wasn't difficult this time. I must be getting more mellow as I grow older. Maybe it's maturity. Who knows?

Groupon Or Not To Groupon? NOT!

Groupon has been trying to get me to advertise with them for a while. They make it sound good by telling you it's free advertising and you will drive up business volume. What they don't tell you is that it eats into your margin and you'll probably make a loss.

Here's how the math breaks down, and this is just a simplified example. They expect the business to make an offer of at least 50% discount. They take 50% of the sales. Industry average for food cost is 30%. So for every dollar sales, 50 cents is discounted, 25 cents is Groupon's share and 30 cents is food cost.

You're losing 5 cents on every dollar before including rent, wages, utilities and insurance.

The Groupon people tell you that it'll bring in lots of new customers. They don't tell you that most of these customers won't come back unless they get another coupon.

I still believe that the best way to build a customer base is to offer a good product and a great value.