Entrepreneur's Startups Spring 2017

“You pay a premium price for popcorn, but they only butter the top layer. An inch down, you’ve got almost a whole bucket of popcorn that tastes like cardboard.” Bric Simpson was a genuine movie buff: He hit the theater about five times a month. That also made him attuned to the finer points of snacking, and he had some problems. “You pay a premium price for popcorn, but they only butter the top layer. An inch down, you’ve got almost a whole bucket of popcorn that tastes like cardboard,” he says. In 2009, Simpson and his wife were shaking a popcorn bucket to distribute the butter when she said, “You know what we need? A lid.” Today, Simpson has made that lid—along with a company, Kernel King, that sells about 100,000…

“ If you want to open a bakery, go work in a bakery.Baking is the easy part.” JOANNE CHANG OWNER FLOUR BAKERY + CAFE BOSTON $38,350 That’s the cost of the eight-month Pastry & Baking Arts program at New York’s Institute of Culinary Education. Save it. Real-world experience will teach you payroll, ordering, inventory, and all the other important stuff. “Learn these aspects on someone else’s dollar, not your own,” Chang says. “ You must innovate so there’s always something new for guests to discover.” DOMINIQUE ANSEL OWNER DOMINIQUE ANSEL BAKERY NEW YORK, TOKYO, LONDON SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS That’s how often Ansel changes his menu. Highlight what you do well, but don’t be hemmed in by it, or customers will consider you a one-trick shop. “ Don’t sacrifice your personal happiness for your bakery, or you will lose both.” KEVIN GARDNER CO-OWNER FIVE POINTS BAKERY AND…

“Baking is nothing like what you see on TV,” Chang says. “Hours are long, pay is low, and the work is extremely physical. Your nights, weekends, and holidays are gone forever.” Here, what a baker can expect to make across the country, according to data culled from the American Bakers Association. ALABAMA $50,567 ALASKA $50,171 ARIZONA $47,614 ARKANSAS $46,128 CALIFORNIA $51,779 COLORADO $46,459 CONNECTICUT $61,854 DELAWARE $37,690 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA $54,695 FLORIDA $39,359 GEORGIA $57,221 HAWAII $38,551 IDAHO $38,003 ILLINOIS $61,013 INDIANA $47,995 IOWA $48,383 KANSAS $45,260 KENTUCKY $50,343 LOUISIANA $39,943 MAINE $37,080 MARYLAND $51,266 MASSACHUSETTS $48,463 MICHIGAN $49,034 MINNESOTA $58,751 MISSISSIPPI $34,521 MISSOURI $49,305 MONTANA $34,391 NEBRASKA $46,613 NEVADA $43,342 NEW HAMPSHIRE $39,347 NEW JERSEY $58,385 NEW MEXICO $38,898 NEW YORK $47,708 NORTH CAROLINA $46,487 NORTH DAKOTA $43,243 OHIO $47,008 OKLAHOMA $44,861 OREGON $49,262 PENNSYLVANIA $50,476 RHODE ISLAND $35,197 SOUTH CAROLINA $43,685 SOUTH DAKOTA $43,362 TENNESSEE $52,298 TEXAS $46,286 UTAH $44,073 VERMONT $42,999 VIRGINIA $53,125 WASHINGTON $53,456 WEST VIRGINIA $35,401 WISCONSIN $41,789 WYOMING $29,424…

“ The smaller your niche, the easier it is to connect with a core customer base. Plus, your social media presence will be more impactful.” TYA TIEMPETCH OWNER THE RABBIT HOLE MIAMI Tiempetch’s shop has 17,000 Instagram followers, but not just because of her wares. She takes photography seriously, down to composition, lighting, and styling. If that doesn’t come naturally, she says, pay a pro for pointers. Then use your best shots everywhere—from Twitter to Yelp. “ The entire business of antiques, clothing or otherwise, is based on who has the most knowledge and the better contacts to resell at a profit.” CHRISTOPHE LOIRON OWNER MISTER FREEDOM LOS ANGELES HIT THE ROAD “Buying trips are rarely glamorous, but they’re requisite for keeping fresh inventory,” Loiron says. Go often. MAKE FRIENDS Buddy up with—and tip!—your local dealers and rag houses (warehouses that sort discarded clothing).…

Gems are often found at estate sales, but don’t barge in. “It is a real honor to be allowed into someone’s home to look through their loved one’s things,” Wiseman says. “Be patient and kind, and pay the most you feel comfortable with. Vultures earn a reputation, but compassion will earn you respect in your field.” The average American donates 14 pounds of clothing per year, according to the Council for Textile Recycling. Much of that will end up at rag houses. The best is divvied up to resale and consignment shops; the rest is shipped overseas (which is how teenagers in, say, Bolivia can enjoy someone’s dad’s old polyester shirt) or recycled.…

“ Don’t forget the internet! There are many tools that can be easily used to capture additional revenue by offering your most unique products online.” BEN LEHMAN CO-OWNER CREMA NASHVILLE WHAT CAN A COFFEE RETAILER DO ONLINE? Plenty! Lehman’s site, Crema-coffee.com, sells bags of coffee, gift certificates, coffee subscriptions, brewing gear from respected brands, and even books—because coffee can be a lifestyle as much as it is a drink. “ Define your identity, but adapt. When we began, we only did pour-over. Morning customers asked for a quicker option, so now we brew by the batch, too.” PHIL GOODLAXSON OWNER CORVUS COFFEE ROASTERS DENVER COFFEE-SHOP MATH To start, Goodlaxson estimates: $40,000 in equipment $10,000 in marketing 30%–35% of monthly revenue should go to monthly operating expenses once you’re established When considering a location, Goodlaxson uses this metric: Within one or two years after your shop opens, sales…