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Jamie Oliver lost £25m trying to rescue restaurant chain but what has he learned from failure?

Jamie Oliver lost £25m trying to rescue restaurant chain but what has he learned from failure?

A lot of authors and motivational focus on successful people like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett. They talk about copying the habits of successful people, learning from successful people and that’s all fine.

But you can also learn from failure. You can learn from bad habits as well as good habits and you can learn from other people’s mistakes rather than making your own.

A good example is the recent collapse of UK Jamie Oliver’s restaurant empire. The business not only went under, Jamie sunk £25 million of his own cash trying to save it.

I assume that he had no personal liability for the business debts, so he could have just walked away and let it go instead of throwing good money after bad.

However, I’m not sure if Jamie has learned from his own mistakes and doesn’t seem to accept that he even made any apart from being misled by his management.

In a recent interview for the Times, the TV chef blames high rents, or the landlords, business rates and competition from delivery services like Uber Eats and Deliveroo for the downfall of his business, which saw the closure of 22 restaurants and the loss of 1000 jobs.

Whilst the above list might be factors in the story the decline of the business, they are just external factors.

He does not seem to accept that he and poor management had a hand in the mess, although he admits that the “wool was pulled over his eyes” and he had “poor advice”. I’m not sure if that is more in relation to him pouring in £25 million of his own cash to save a sinking ship rather than the mismanagement of the business prior to it going into administration.

A good leader takes the blame as well as the credit for the success or failure of business.

Either way, he’s blaming someone else. To be fair, he might not be able to bare his soul in public, as we are not very forgiving towards failure in this country. Privately he might just be saying, “sorry I screwed up” or words to that effect!

If he felt that rents were high in the prime spots he took on, why did they sign those leases for over 22 restaurants in the space of a few years?

When you sign a lease, you must look at all the clauses and rent review periods and look forward to project future rent rises.

Landlords have businesses to run too. Whilst people may not have any sympathy for what they often called “greedy” landlords, it should be remembered that many of these prime city centre buildings and shopping malls are owned by your pension funds. If they go down, so does your pension.

If rents are too high, the buildings would not be let or the landlord would not be able to find tenants.

There is some evidence that we could be reaching saturation points for shopping developments and maybe rents are too high. Primark are now asking for 30% reduction in rent because of deals done with administrators for companies which have renegotiated rents.

Regardless of that, Jamie took on these leases in prime areas at top rents whilst riding the crest of a wave.

There would have been a lot of competition for these spots and I’m sure the landlords felt that Jamie Oliver was almost a prime blue-chip tenant and good for the rent. Landlords will be left sitting on empty premises with long rent voids. Nobody ever mentions that the landlords might have mortgages to pay when these high-flying businesses come crashing down to earth with a bang.

I was also a commercial landlord and know what it’s like when a tenant pulls the plug.

As for business rates, they are a known fixed cost which would have been factored into the business plan from the start. Not all councils have raised their business rates in recent years. He’s just jumping on the retailer bandwagon of complaining about business rates in relation to online services like Amazon which obviously do not pay business rates for premises.

The truth is, the problem had less to do with increasing costs than decreasing revenue.

You can’t control external factors like taxes, but you can control internal factors and the way you run your business.

Jamie cites home delivery services as a reason for a fall in profits. He does not say why he did not join the booming home delivery market by using companies like Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo to deliver his food to his customers?

You know the old saying, if you can’t beat them join them.

It’s interesting to note that none of the above companies own or run a restaurant or takeaway establishment. They make money on delivering food and actually help smaller restaurants gain wider access to the online market in much the same way that Amazon does for small retailers.

Just Eat is now valued at £112 million after takeaway.com increased its stake in the firm founded in 2000 by Danish investors. The combined group will be worth over £8 billion

Uber recently launched on the US stock market valuing the company at $82 billion.

Uber Eats is in talks to buy Deliveroo which raised £400 million in venture capital when it launched in 2013 and is now valued at £1.5 billion. Amazon were also interested in acquiring Deliveroo but the deal was blocked by the competition commission.

I like Jamie Oliver and admire many of the things he has done to help young people, even if some critics say he is motivated by self-publicity! I also love his great food and simple TV recipes, and I’m actually able to follow them! I even have one of his books.

I certainly don’t gloat over any business failing and feel sorry for the people lose their jobs.

Having said that, I think Jamie should admit some simple truths.

Firstly, he took his eye off the ball big time. Even if he was not running the business hands on himself, he should’ve been keeping an eye on the figures long before the business went into a downward spiral.

Unprofitable branches should’ve been closed, costs reduced and management shaken up.

Secondly, the management could have adapted the business to a changing market, such as home delivery or lower spending during the Brexit period.

The sad fact is, that the restaurants were not quite as good as the hype. Sorry Jamie, unfortunately the food was overpriced and as a customer I felt that I was not really getting good value. Everything was extra for this and extra for that to complete an already expensive main course. I don’t mind paying for a really good meal, but the food was not quite up to the prices and was not fine dining.

I tried several of his restaurants and did not see much change in the menu or special offers that would attract new customers.

I was never asked to register to a mailing list or app for special offers and discount vouchers, as practiced by other chains like Prezzo or Bella Pasta. Today I received another email from Bella pasta offering a £10 special to encourage me back through their doors.

Sadly, there was nothing there that made me want to rush back to any of Jamie’s outlets, although a discount voucher would have helped.

Thirdly, you have to question whether or not he expanded too quickly or open more branches then the management were able to cope with. The company must’ve taken on huge borrowings to open up so many restaurants in a short space of time.

I would imagine they paid premiums for some of the leases on the sites. I don’t think they would have got much change out of £1 million for the set up and fit out for the premises of the restaurant branches.

Jamie was riding on the back of his celebrity name and frame. The public loved him and he could do no wrong. Maybe he believed too much in his own publicity and thought he could do no wrong?

I personally wondered why he did not open up a select few restaurants, like Gordon Ramsey, in a few prime spots or use his name to offer franchises or joint-ventures where he was not taking on all the risk. Yes, it’s easy to say that with hindsight.

I do hope Jamie learns from his mistakes and I’m sure he will be back. I believe he also has overseas branches which are not affected by the UK collapse.

The main thing that is that when you make a mistake or things go wrong in your business, you can’t just blame external factors and you have to ask yourself questions like,

What could I have done better? Where did I go wrong?

How did I f*** it all up!

There is an old acronym, which has almost become a cliché, when setting up a business plan: S.W.O.T, which stands for:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

You Fill in the blanks.

In summary, failing can be a useful learning experience as well as a stepping stone towards success, as in the classic Thomas Edison experience of 10,000 attempts to invent the right lightbulb.

Most successful business people have suffered Major setbacks at some stage in their business career.

Steve Jobs was fired from the company he founded, but was later brought back to rescue it and make Apple one of the most valuable companies on the planet.

Businesses also have to adapt to changes and threats. In the 1970s, the oil crisis caused petrol prices to skyrocket. American gas-guzzling carmakers were caught short and were almost put out of business by Japanese car makers who made smaller and more fuel-efficient cars.

They regrouped and adapted and come out with their own fuel-efficient cars.

Now they face new external threats from regulators and electric car makers like Elon Musk’s Tesla, whose firm was recently valued on the stock market at more than 100-year-old multinational companies like General Motors and Ford, despite never making a profit!

Do you think they are going to just sit back and let Tesla steal their market? Of course not! They are already developing their own electric vehicles, which will no doubt be cheaper and more accessible than the luxury Tesla. They may even buy out companies like Tesla that threaten to take too many bites out of their lunch.

Do you think these companies are going to say, “oh well, the regulators have brought in these new emissions laws and higher taxes so there’s not much we can do about it”?

You can learn from both your past successes and failures by analysing what went right and what went wrong.

The author and speaker David Goggins says he always falls back on a military debrief format used to analyse every operation from his days when he served as a Navy Seal. If he has failed at something, like a world record attempt, he looks at everything that went wrong from preparation and training, to omitting to anticipate possible threats, obstacles or weaknesses in his plan. He then goes back and tries again without making the same mistakes.

It took David two or three attempts before succeeding at many of the things he tried to achieve, such as becoming a Navy Seal or breaking the world 24-hour pull-up record. He talks of that moment of pushing past pain and finding success just the other side or one step beyond his biggest failures.

I talk more about practical steps to managing your money, getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System, the Stars Who Lost it All and much more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

A low-price asset is not always cheap – look at value not price

Many years ago, are used to get a newsletter mailshot from a company recommending penny shares.  Penny shares traded at 10, 20 or 30 pence per share, and the idea was that you could buy these ‘cheap’ shares in the hope that they will go up in value massively compared to buying a blue-chip stock.

The company was offering a paid newsletter subscription which would send you a monthly report on the penny shares to buy.

In reality, the shares were not cheap, the value was the same as the price. They were high risk investments that could’ve gone either way. Furthermore, the share price depends on a many factors including the number of shares issued.

In the same way, buying a property because the price
seems cheap may not always be the best policy. Just because you see a property
for £50,000, which looks cheap compared properties in another area, does not
follow that you’re getting a bargain. You might be just paying £50,000 for a
property that is worth £50,000. There may be a reason it’s worth £50,000. 

You need to do your homework to ascertain whether or
not the property is really worth £50,000 and to find out the real value of the
property.

Value versus price

There is a difference between the price of something
and the value. Sometimes the price of a property or share accurately reflects
its true value, but not always.

As an investor, we are always aiming to buy a
property or asset below market value, not below market price, so don’t be lazy
and always do your research.

The stockmarket has been rising for over ten years

and is due for a correction. The UK economy goes through a recession every ten
years or so and the last downturn started after the 2007-8 financial crash.
Economies go through cycles of boom and bust and it is at those times of low
confidence when the markets drop, often irrationally, that you will find real
below market value bargains.

Recessions are scary, but they do open up opportunities to
acquire assets at greatly discounted prices. For instance, if and when the
stock market has a correction, or crash, there will be a number of good
company’s shares on sale at well below asset value. That will be the time to
buy. 

Now is the time to learn and do your research and have your
funds or funding in place.

The same applies to property, even if you don’t have much
cash. During property downturns when properties are at rock bottom prices,
lenders typically restrict or even stop lending! I have witnessed this
first-hand on a number of occasions when I knew there were bargains in London,
but could not get the finance to buy them.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have been able
to acquire those properties without using traditional mortgage lenders or
mortgages.

Can you acquire property with ‘No Money Down’? Yes you
can!

Learn multiple no money down strategies by joining me at
the “No Money Down Weekend” in London on 27 July.

For more information, email me at charles@charleskelly.net

Medical Health Tourism Uproar as NHS staff revolt against new rules

Medical Health Tourism Uproar as NHS staff revolt against new rules

NHS doctors and nurses object to checking patient’s immigration status.

The government argues that the new procedures have brought in an extra £2 billion to the NHS.

Should the British NHS Treat Anyone Free of Charge Regardless of their Residential Status?

What's your view?

http://www.moneytipsdaily.com

Home Based Business Ideas UK: 4 in 10 Brits forget to cancel paid subscriptions

Home Based Business Ideas UK: 4 in 10 Brits forget to cancel paid subscriptions: Check those subscriptions as you might be paying for a service you don’t use. 4 in 10 people forget to cancel subscriptions cos...

4 in 10 Brits forget to cancel paid subscriptions

Check those subscriptions as you might be paying for a service you don’t use.

4 in 10 people forget to cancel subscriptions costing British people £338 million per month. 

We’ve all done it, we sign up with the best intentions and then forget about it. Gym memberships, courses on trial or streaming films. Like me, you may be tempted by a free trial but find out later that you are still paying because you forgot to cancel after the free trial ended!

42% of people continue to pay for service they don’t use

A lot of these payments come out by bank direct debit but, which are easier to check by printing off a list of your bank direct debits or going into your bank and asking for a list of your bank direct debits (and standing orders). Direct debit’s and standing orders are easy to cancel at the bank or on your online apps.

However, a lot of online and American companies take recurring payments by credit card which are trickier to cancel and more difficult track unless you religiously check your credit card statement every month. 

In my book, you can read about the ‘3 R’s of Money Management’, outlined in Part 3 on ‘How to Grow and Manage Your Money’. 

As I’ve said in previous podcasts, making money andkeeping money are two different skills.

To cancel these, you have to contact the company, which can be difficult if you’ve lost contact details, all the credit card company.

Calling your credit card company, which is a mission in itself, frequently results in them telling you to contact the company and asking them to cancel the subscription. Not very helpful.

They are also reluctant to refund money or reverse the payment when you inform them that it has been taken in error.

That’s why I like using my Monzo Bank card because it alerts me on my iphone app every time a payment is deducted from my account. Saved me money recently when click funnels were taking too much money from my account as they had upgraded me without my permission.

Check out Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness, on Amazon - http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

www.moneytipsdaily.com

Ignoring this travel tip could bankrupt you

If you’re planning your holidays this year, make sure you
have adequate travel insurance. Ignoring this advice could bankrupt you or
leave you with a huge bill.

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance covers things like medical expenses, trip
cancellation or delays, lost or stolen baggage and personal liability while
you’re travelling. The type of cover you need depends on the countries you’re
visiting, the activities you’ll be doing on your travels, e.g. winter sports or
summer holidays, and the length of your trip. Your age and health will also be
a factor and you may need to find specialists providers. You’ll also need to
state whether you want travel insurance for a single trip, multiple trips or
for backpacking, as cover may vary and typical policies cover trips of up to 30
days at a time.

Why do I need travel insurance?

We love to travel, but accidents do happen, which can incur medical
bills, delays, lost items and thefts. All of these unforeseen events can prove very
costly if you’re not properly insured. 

Whilst it sounds like a no brainer to take out insurance,
which can sometimes cost as little as £10 for a short trip, 1 in 4 people do
not take out any travel insurance for their holidays, according to Compare The
Market.com. When you consider the minimal cost of a policy and the fact that
travel insurance providers paid out £370m in 591,000 claims last year,
according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). 

The potential costs of travelling without insurance for
emergency medical care are horrendous. The ABI has examples of what has been paid
in 2017 for claims that you would have to pay for yourself (in some cases, on
the spot or before medical treatment) if you had no insurance cover:

·       
£768,000 was paid to cover the medical costs of
treating a traveller who suffered a stroke in the USA.

·       
This includes £60,000 for an air ambulance back to
the UK.

·       
£125,000 to pay for surgery following a jet-ski
accident while holidaying in Turkey.

·       
£136,000 for treating complications following an
insect bite in Chile. This included paying for a nurse to escort the traveller
home.

I have seen first-hand what happens when people have no
insurance. Two friends of mine had family deaths on holiday in Spain. One family
had travel insurance, but the other did not because he was driving instead of
flying to Spain. It cost the family a fortune to fly the body back home and pay
all the handling charges.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re taking the family to the
beach, a student on your gap year taking the trip of a lifetime or simply
making the most of your retirement, you must find a travel insurance policy to
keep you covered.

As I say in my book,
the wealthy know how to preserve their money and protect themselves against
liability. As I’ve said in previous podcasts and in my book, making money and
keeping money are two different skills.

Make sure you watch your back because you never know what’s
coming your way.

Read about money mindset in my book, Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness, on Amazon
- http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

Money Tips News Roundup 6 July 2019 - House prices continuing falling in London

Money
Tips Daily Weekend News Roundup 6 July 2019

Summary of the leading finance stories this week:

Amazon is 25 years old looks set to dominate the world,
although I’ve heard that before with other companies like Facebook.

House prices continue to fall in London. According to the
nationwide survey house prices in London fell for the eighth consecutive
quarter and grows in other parts of countries slowed to just .5%.

Earlier this week it was reported that the salary needed to
buy the average property in London is now £84,000. This figure also reflects
the tight lending policy imposed by the government a few years ago in order to
stop another house price boom and bust.

Excessive stamp duty does not help the situation

This news may be good for buyers and even investors who want
to pick up cheap properties. However, stamp duty is a factor. For instance, if
you Bought a three-bed house or similar price property in London inside zone
three or four for £575,000 to £600,000 your stamp duty would be over £34,000.

Then look at the yield. If you were able to get a rental of
£19,000 - £20,000 pa your gross yield would be around 3%. Some agents in London
are claiming that 3% is a good yield! Nonsense. If interest rates were not so
low – 2%ish on a buy-to-let mortgage - and landlords were not taking interest
only mortgages, most London property deals would not stack up at all.

Inheritance tax (IHT) is to be simplified and possibly tightened
up following a review by the office for tax simplification. One of the
suggestions is to reduce the seven-year rule to 5 years, but I expect loopholes
to be closed in order to squeeze even more money out of the taxpayer! What does
this mean for you? Seek tax advice from an expert if you are worried about IHT.

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt continue to fight out the
battle for the leadership of the Conservative party and, by default, the
country’s next Prime Minister. Both candidates are promising big rises in
spending, which makes you wonder where the money is going to come from.
Government ministers have previously said that there is “no money tree” and
this is true. All the money that is collected in taxes is spent on running the
country and more is usually needed which means borrowing and issuing government
bonds.

Stock markets at all time-high

Like any business, you can make cuts here and there and try
to save on salaries or marketing, but unless you produce more, make more sales
and make more profits you are just juggling figures and robbing Peter to pay
Paul.

Coming out of the European Union would in theory save £39
billion on the EU contribution, although how much we save in net terms we are
not exactly sure. However, they could also be a recession and I slowdown in the
immediate aftermath of Brexit.

Stock markets steadied as Trump reins back on his threatened
trade war with China, but are at an all-time high following a ten-year bull
run.

The price of gold has risen in the last few months indicating
that investors are looking for a safe haven for their money.

Britain’s oldest builder, Brighton based R Dutnell and Sons
(now there’s an old name) went into liquidation. Quite sad because the firm had
been trading since 1591 And been run by 13 generations of the same family. Can
anyone save them?

On the good news front, Jaguar Land Rover have agreed to
invest hundreds of millions of pounds building the new generation of electric
vehicles in the UK.

Amazon has enabled thousands of authors to easily
self-publish their books online, as I have with my book, Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness! Published on Amazon! 

See link
- http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

If you want to quit the rat race and work from home, but
can't quite replace your income from your paid job, why not try and gradually
make the transition over a period of time? 

You can learn how to get started on Amazon or Facebook by
following the steps of people who have done all the hard work for you and now
want to pass on their knowledge.

For more information on Amazon and Facebook courses email charles@charleskelly.net

Amazon Birthday Week - Zero to $1 trillion in 25 years

Happy Birthday Amazon, zero to $1 trillion in 25 years

Just 25 years on from when it started, Amazon has grown from
start-up to one of the most valuable public companies on the planet, with Mr
Bezos now the world's richest man.

Amazon started as an online book retailer but has become a
global giant, selling multiple products with membership subscriptions, physical
stores, groceries for sale, its own smart devices and a delivery system which
can get things to customers in an hour.

In 2018, Amazon became the world's second-ever public
company to hit a $1 trillion valuation, after Apple, and it has the
second-highest market valuation in the world, after Microsoft.

Amazon has sales of over $234 billion and is expected to
rise to over $300 billion by 2020. Their subscriptions alone exceed $100 million
a year – in recurring revenue!

One of the reasons the company has grown is their partner
programmes which enables online entrepreneurs and retailers to sell goods on
the Amazon platform at a fraction of the cost of setting up a physical store.

In the past, you needed technical knowledge and skills to
set up websites and marketing ability to work online. You needed to find a way
of driving traffic to your site.

Amazon has solved these problems with its readymade store
monthly visitors exceeding 199 million in the US alone.

The internet has opened up a new world of learning, working,
socialising and doing business. We no longer need to go back to school or
university to learn new skills. We can work from home, start a business or find
a new life partner all from the comfort of our home.

Amazon has also enabled thousands of authors to easily
self-publish their books online, as I have with my book, Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness! See link
- http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

If you want to quit the rat race and work from home, but
can't quite replace your income from your paid job, why not try and gradually
make the transition over a period of time? 

You can learn how to get started on Amazon or Facebook by
following the steps of people who have done all the hard work for you and now
want to pass on their knowledge.

For more information on Amazon and Facebook courses email charles@charleskelly.net

Money Education for Children by Money Tips

The Importance of Teaching Children About Money at a Young Age

How much pocket money should parent s give to their children?

Should they earn pocket money in return for chores?

Teaching kids the value of money.

Help your children to develop a positive money mindset from a
young age, as it will have lasting benefits throughout their lives.

If you are interested in developing and improving your money
mindset, check out more on this subject in my book, Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness, on Amazon
- http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook

How Safe is Your Money in a Peer to Peer Lending Platform?

More P2P lenders losing investor’s money and in trouble, as FCA impose restrictions.

One scheme issued funds before planning permission was granted and the deal is now in default.

Find out how you can learn how to do your own deals from professional trainers, rather than putting your cash into the hands of others.

Property investment is not just about buy-to-let or becoming a landlord. There are dozens of strategies from development and conversions to rent to rent and lease purchase options which require little or no deposit and no mortgages.

You can learn these strategies and more by attending short courses where you get to meet expert trainers and investors, as well as network with likeminded people. Who knows, you could meet your future business or JV partner at an event?

If you like further details a property courses, such as a one-day introduction to property investing, drop me a line to charles@charleskelly.net

I have a limited number of complimentary tickets to attend an excellent course run by experts, which will give you a clear overview into the market.

Here are some of the courses coming up in the next few months:

• Multiple Streams ff Property Income (Three days of world-class training)
• Beginner Property Secrets (Full days training)
• Deal Packaging Discovery Day
• Serviced Accommodation Discovery
• No Money Down Discovery

For full details and a list of further courses click here to learn how to become a UK property investor or go to http://bit.ly/2ZVAVtvcourses.

35 Year Mortgages Help Stretched First Time Buyers Borrow More To Buy Pr...

Longer term mortgages to help stretched first-time buyers on the rise.
Barclays Family Springboard Mortgages explained.
Watch your pension manager to ensure you are not losing out in poor performing funds.
Will you be able to retire?
If you like further details a property courses, such as a one-day introduction to property investing, drop me a line to charles@charleskelly.net
Learn the Secrets of Making Money in property
I have a limited number of complimentary tickets to attend an excellent course run by experts, which will give you a clear overview into the market.
Here are some of the courses coming up in the next few months:

• Multiple Streams Of Property Income (Three days of world-class training)
• Beginner Property Secrets (Full days training)
•  Deal Packaging Discovery Day
• Serviced Accommodation Discovery
•  No Money Down Discovery

For full details and a list of further courses click here to learn how to become a UK property investor or go to http://bit.ly/2ZVAVtvcourses.