Working as a team

While Jerry and I were shopping for ingredients for our tasting at our local Ranch 99, we began discussing ideas about getting The Pig off the ground. We'd always planned to bring our products to local farmer's markets before branching off into to catering and ultimately, a storefront, but how would we ever get there?

The equipment needed for making buns in bulk was very expensive--commercial steamers were several thousand dollars and other portable electronic devices needed for on-site cooking such as a deep fryer and grill were several thousand more. That's not to mention packaging supplies, licensing fees, etc. So I thought that asking local restaurants and restaurant supply stores for their retired kitchen wares would be a good idea. Based on my own experiences growing up in my mom's restaurant, I knew that when kitchen gadgets and appliances became worn out or outdated, they would often be placed into into storage "just in case" the new ones broke, but were often left to collect dust.

And so, I asked Jerry if he thought it was a good idea to seek out local businesses for their old appliances.

"Hey what do you think about asking restaurants to donate their old stuff to us?"

"Eh, I don't want to ask people for stuff. I'd rather do it myself," he replied.

"Ok, but we have like no money. This stuff is gonna be super expensive and if other people have it and don't need it, then why not?" I asked

"I just don't like asking people for stuff like that," he replied again.

"Well," I said, "if you're gonna work in the restaurant business you really can't be too proud to do certain things 'cause everyone has to start somewhere" I sniped.

He looked irritated.

"Look, I'm not too proud to do anything. I'm OK with doing all that stuff, I just don't want to ask for free stuff."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't look at it that way then. Maybe you should look at it like people wanting to be a part of something that reminds them of their past. I know that if 20 years later a young couple came to us for help, I would genuinely want to do something for them, if only because it's a little like reaching back into time and doing something for myself that I couldn't do then."

Suddenly, I too became irritated.

"You know, you don't listen to my ideas. You totally just shoot them down without even considering them. And who made YOU boss anyway?"

I realize now that I was having an argument about a fictitious company that had not yet even sold its first bun, which is silly yes, but so what? This was something that I'd always wanted to do and I'd be damned if someone else was gonna hijack it.

By now, we had paid for our groceries were walking home in silence.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"Yes. You get so mad about this stuff and I don't know why. And I DO listen to your ideas!" he exclaimed.

"Ok, look I've wanted to do this for a really long time and aside from that, I just don't want to end up like my parents. I want this to be a real partnership and if I feel like you're not listening to me, then it's not a partnership."

He seemed exasperated now.

"But this is nothing. I mean, we have NOTHING. Why don't we just cross that bridge when we get there?" he asked.

"Well, by the time we get there, we'll be too far gone. We'll be completely set in our ways and THIS (I motioned at the space between us) will be normal." I replied.

"Ok," he finally reasoned, "I understand, but we won't be like that. We'll work together. I mean, doesn't the fact that we're talking about this now show that we'll never become that way? Our parents never would have talked about this."

I became silent.

"Yeah, you're right," I finally replied. "I'm sorry."

And so, dear reader, the moral of the story is that yes, I can be a bit neurotic and Jerry can be a bit stubborn but also, finding the perfect business partner is oftentimes not the same as finding the perfect life partner. A lot of the time, the qualities that you once loved about the other person become some of the hardest things to deal with when running the business as a team. Another issue is the fact that there simply isn't the same sense of professionalism when dealing with your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance. I mean, how can you act professionally when you've seen the other person eat cheerios from the box in their underpants or dress in drag for Halloween? But I think that in the end, if you really decide that you want things to work out, then it will. Nuff said.

p.s. I'm still the boss of him.