The Lecy Family Bakery Adventure
The Lecy's Baking Adventure
Overdue Update
Happy Easter to all! What a wonderful celebration we have this one Sunday per year. It is a great reminder of the victory that comes following a seeming dark day. As I look back on the last blog entry it seems you were left on the "Good Friday" gloom. Let me tell you of the awesome victories we have seen over the past four months.
December
We began the month with training two men to do early morning production. One of them took several weeks before we knew he wasn't going to be another bread maker attemptee. BOTH have been incredible assets to our team. After our sweets guy walked out on us in November, we had confidence in the Lord that there was something better for us. And, there was - his name is Scott! He is doing so much better than the guy who had been in the job for eight years. And, we enjoy working with him.
Sales during this holiday month were phenomenal, with many buying our bread for gifts.
And, God was good to us personally. He brought me to a point of repentance over my pride (how that came about is a blog entry in itself!).
On the down side, was the lack of enjoying the holiday season for what it was. Many of our family traditions went down the tubes because of the horrendous hours we were putting in. One of the girls introduced me to her friend as, "This is my dad, he works 24/7." OUCH! That is not the family man I have been or want to be. Another broke down indicating that she hates the bakery and what it has done to our family!
January
January was a make up month! Making up sleep, family-time, and life enjoyment. It was also the first time I was able to sleep in while production was taking place.
Even though we didn't make a penny for our own family (sales dropped $12,000 from December to January) it was a much needed month.
February
Janet and I got away to visit friends in Orlando and to attend the annual Great Harvest convention in St. Pete. And, the bakery ran without us for three days! I felt such confidence in our staff that I hardly thought of the goings-on in Lafayette and only called twice to finalize a couple details. What an incredible change from November of last year when I was working many days from 2:30 in the morning to 6 at night knowing the place would not run without me! (some of this was very valid, some of it was part of the pride I mentioned in the December section above)
March
Wheat prices going through the roof have caused us to raise our prices a second time in six months. (A 50# bag of white flour which ran us $10 in September is now at $27).
With two good bread holidays in one month (St. Patrick's Day we offered Irish Soda Bread and Gouda and Stout, and Easter we offered Hot Cross Buns and Honey Bunnies), we may see a month close to December in sales.
This weekend in particular we were once again running crazy with making 200 honey bunnies and innumerable rolls and hot cross buns.
Additionally, a couple weeks ago the local newspaper (Journal and Courier) did an article on us which hit the front page of the entertainment section (Food and Drink) and this past Friday included a picture and information about the Honey Bunnies. Both of these brought people our way - thanks J&C for the free advertisement!
Finally, we just had parent teacher conferences this past week. Janet and I both walked away feeling proud and pleased with each of the girls. And heard from their teachers what we have come to see ourselves - they are all doing well in the process of transitioning to Lafayette. That transition is not over, but we are all further along in the process.
Thanks for your interest in our lives and the Lecy Family Bakery Adventure! If you have not seen our monthly menu, check it out on our currently wimpy Website (full-fledged one coming within the month) at www.wholegrainlafayette.com.
Jerry (for the Lecys)
December
We began the month with training two men to do early morning production. One of them took several weeks before we knew he wasn't going to be another bread maker attemptee. BOTH have been incredible assets to our team. After our sweets guy walked out on us in November, we had confidence in the Lord that there was something better for us. And, there was - his name is Scott! He is doing so much better than the guy who had been in the job for eight years. And, we enjoy working with him.
Sales during this holiday month were phenomenal, with many buying our bread for gifts.
And, God was good to us personally. He brought me to a point of repentance over my pride (how that came about is a blog entry in itself!).
On the down side, was the lack of enjoying the holiday season for what it was. Many of our family traditions went down the tubes because of the horrendous hours we were putting in. One of the girls introduced me to her friend as, "This is my dad, he works 24/7." OUCH! That is not the family man I have been or want to be. Another broke down indicating that she hates the bakery and what it has done to our family!
January
January was a make up month! Making up sleep, family-time, and life enjoyment. It was also the first time I was able to sleep in while production was taking place.
Even though we didn't make a penny for our own family (sales dropped $12,000 from December to January) it was a much needed month.
February
Janet and I got away to visit friends in Orlando and to attend the annual Great Harvest convention in St. Pete. And, the bakery ran without us for three days! I felt such confidence in our staff that I hardly thought of the goings-on in Lafayette and only called twice to finalize a couple details. What an incredible change from November of last year when I was working many days from 2:30 in the morning to 6 at night knowing the place would not run without me! (some of this was very valid, some of it was part of the pride I mentioned in the December section above)
March
Wheat prices going through the roof have caused us to raise our prices a second time in six months. (A 50# bag of white flour which ran us $10 in September is now at $27).
With two good bread holidays in one month (St. Patrick's Day we offered Irish Soda Bread and Gouda and Stout, and Easter we offered Hot Cross Buns and Honey Bunnies), we may see a month close to December in sales.
This weekend in particular we were once again running crazy with making 200 honey bunnies and innumerable rolls and hot cross buns.
Additionally, a couple weeks ago the local newspaper (Journal and Courier) did an article on us which hit the front page of the entertainment section (Food and Drink) and this past Friday included a picture and information about the Honey Bunnies. Both of these brought people our way - thanks J&C for the free advertisement!
Finally, we just had parent teacher conferences this past week. Janet and I both walked away feeling proud and pleased with each of the girls. And heard from their teachers what we have come to see ourselves - they are all doing well in the process of transitioning to Lafayette. That transition is not over, but we are all further along in the process.
Thanks for your interest in our lives and the Lecy Family Bakery Adventure! If you have not seen our monthly menu, check it out on our currently wimpy Website (full-fledged one coming within the month) at www.wholegrainlafayette.com.
Jerry (for the Lecys)
Thanksgiving Week
What a week! We began baking Sunday and Monday while the store was closed.
We made 300 bread turkeys and more than that in dozens of rolls (each rolled by hand!). Oh yeah, and about 150 homemade pies (including the crust). Plus miscellaneous other breads and sweets. And, we all but ran out of products by the end of Wednesday. Sales were up 64% over last year, and we sold in two days what would be normal for a week and a half of business.
Overall, the 2 days went rather smoothly. Only 2 orders were lost out of about 75. One of our great employees organized a system of managing and filling the orders. We hired some extras and had friends join us for an hour here and there to bag bread and rolls and to keep things going. Janet let Hannah get out of school on Wednesday to help, and without her hard work and competent customer service we would have been behind. So, I guess that will become a tradition.
Now it's Saturday and we are enjoying our five day weekend (Yes! we decided to be closed for the whole weekend), still recovering from the busyness of the past few weeks.
We made 300 bread turkeys and more than that in dozens of rolls (each rolled by hand!). Oh yeah, and about 150 homemade pies (including the crust). Plus miscellaneous other breads and sweets. And, we all but ran out of products by the end of Wednesday. Sales were up 64% over last year, and we sold in two days what would be normal for a week and a half of business.
Overall, the 2 days went rather smoothly. Only 2 orders were lost out of about 75. One of our great employees organized a system of managing and filling the orders. We hired some extras and had friends join us for an hour here and there to bag bread and rolls and to keep things going. Janet let Hannah get out of school on Wednesday to help, and without her hard work and competent customer service we would have been behind. So, I guess that will become a tradition.
Now it's Saturday and we are enjoying our five day weekend (Yes! we decided to be closed for the whole weekend), still recovering from the busyness of the past few weeks.
Where have all the real men gone!?!
"The most difficult part of owning your own business is managing employees."
(As we were seeking advice from business owners, this was a common theme of business ownership.)
After training two young men to make the bread in late September and October, we had to relieve them of their duties because they just couldn't get it down; putting me back in the saddle to be the bread maker.
Mid-October we hired a 55 year old former tile laying business owner who was looking for something to keep him busy during retirement, and baking was just the thing for him. After showing up for two days, and seeming to be a great fit, on day three he never showed up, nor gave us the respect of returning my two voice messages.
Where have all the real men gone!?!
A week later we hired a young woman who never showed up for day one of training.
The next week our sweets guy (who had been around GH for 8 years) walked out on us in the middle of his shift after I asked him for the second time, "What is going on?". To which he replied, "I told you I didn't want to talk about it!", then slammed his dough cutter down, grabbed his coat, and walked out. Two days later, he pulled up to the back of the building, sent his 18 year old son in with an envelope containing his building key and local food vendor's credit card. We never received the respect of a face to face, phone call, or even a written explanation why he left.
Where have all the real men gone!?!
Of course, this put us in a bind. Now, not only was I going to be making the bread, but all the muffins, scones, fruit bars, granola, power bars, coffee cakes, and sticky buns. Ever since November 6, I have been arriving at the bakery five days a week at 2 or 2:30 a.m. The first three mornings Janet joined me around 3:30 to assist. The next week I hired back one of the guys I let go from making the bread to be my assistant until after Thanksgiving.
And, on the busiest day of the year (day before Thanksgiving), this young man didn't show up at 3:30 as he was expected to. When I called his cell phone, his message simply said, "I quit!" Again we received no explanation.
Where have all the real men gone!?!
Again, Janet took the brunt of this situation, and quickly arrived at the bakery to help me finish preparation for opening at 7:00.
Please pray for a turn around in this employee situation. This Tuesday I begin training a woman to make bread. We both feel real good about her. Additionally, we have two or three people we will be interviewing on Monday for the sweets position.
Saturday Schedule
We have been getting into a normal schedule on Saturdays. Here is what yesterday looked like:
- 3:00 a.m. Jerry and Gene, our sweets guy, arrive to make 360 scones (adding to the 90 made the day before), and other sweets (muffins, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and bars)
- 4:15 Jerry calls to wake up Danielle and changes focus from sweets to bread
- 4:45 After finishing the first step for three breads, Jerry drives four blocks away to pick up Danielle.
- 4:50 Danielle makes 5 gallons of coffee, bags cookies and stacks scones for the Farmer's Market.
- 6:30 High school senior, Austin arrives to pack his truck for the Farmer's Market
- 7:00 Bakery opens with Dr. Roger Rodibough (local chiroprator) getting his daily coffee and scone
- 7:25 Our first dough hits the table where Jerry, Danielle, Gene, and Emily begin shaping it in preparation for going in the oven.
- 7:45 Janet arrives to take Danielle and another tray of scones down to the Farmer's Market
- 9:30 After coming back from the Farmer's Market, Janet takes hot Cinnamon Swirl, Dutch Apple, and Potato Cheddar Chive bread down to the Farmer's Market (1 mile away).
- 10:00 Hannah arrives at the bakery to help with the slicing, bagging, and clean up process (and customer service)
- 10:30 Jerry takes a trip to the Farmer's Market with lunch loaves and other freshly made bread.
- 12:30 Farmer's Market wraps up and Danielle heads home to take a nap.
- 2:00 The Lecy girls arrive to close up the bakery for the day
- 4:30 Great Harvest Bread Company of Lafayette, Indiana closes for another day.
- 5:30 We finish up for the day, and head out for dinner as a family.
End of first month
What a month! Here are the highlights:
- 23% growth in sales from August 2006, and the best August in the nine year history!
- We have the payroll system in place - this last period we paid the employees a day after the end of the pay cycle!
- We have had several comments on the quality of our bread and the friendly atmosphere (think there is a connection to the growth in sales?!?). A couple people asked what we did to the bread, it tasted so good. When they didn't buy that my hands had magic in them, I told them that we changed the yeast (highly recommended by frachise office).
- Janet put together a gift basket brochure, added items for the lobby (soups, jams, etc.), and worked on the gifting station.
- We had two guys come in from Franchising office for a week. They worked hard on organizination for the bakery and giving us guidance. They were awesome and fun to have around!
And, for September:
- September brings new products we are trying (Potato Cheddar Chive and Apple Crunch breads, Apple Steusel Coffeecake, and Peanut Butter Cookies).
- Jerry is ready to pass the torch of bread making, so he can focus on business growth. We interviewed two people today. The plan is for one to start training next Tuesday, and for Jerry to be done getting up early by the end of the week.
- Price increase. Yes, we must increase the price of our products, which will go into effect next week. Pray for the response of customers!
Thanks for your interest in our lives and bread-making business!
Jerry and Janet
- 23% growth in sales from August 2006, and the best August in the nine year history!
- We have the payroll system in place - this last period we paid the employees a day after the end of the pay cycle!
- We have had several comments on the quality of our bread and the friendly atmosphere (think there is a connection to the growth in sales?!?). A couple people asked what we did to the bread, it tasted so good. When they didn't buy that my hands had magic in them, I told them that we changed the yeast (highly recommended by frachise office).
- Janet put together a gift basket brochure, added items for the lobby (soups, jams, etc.), and worked on the gifting station.
- We had two guys come in from Franchising office for a week. They worked hard on organizination for the bakery and giving us guidance. They were awesome and fun to have around!
And, for September:
- September brings new products we are trying (Potato Cheddar Chive and Apple Crunch breads, Apple Steusel Coffeecake, and Peanut Butter Cookies).
- Jerry is ready to pass the torch of bread making, so he can focus on business growth. We interviewed two people today. The plan is for one to start training next Tuesday, and for Jerry to be done getting up early by the end of the week.
- Price increase. Yes, we must increase the price of our products, which will go into effect next week. Pray for the response of customers!
Thanks for your interest in our lives and bread-making business!
Jerry and Janet
End of First Week
WOW! What a week!
It started out awesome, with the commissioning service here at the bakery. And, ended with one of the best grossing Farmer's Market days of the summer (bring it on!). So, what of this week:
- Now don't call me a workaholic, but I invested 83 hours into the business this week, and Janet about 45.
- The girl's spent many hours here as well. They were put on the payroll, and scheduled hours just like other employees.
- The employees have worked out great! The two who remained from the previous owner have been so helpful in us setting up systems, AND they have been so willing to make the changes we are making. The three new ones have been awesome as well. They have picked up the processes and customer service great.
- In addition to spending time working and figuring out the best way to do tasks, Janet and I spent time with additional business set up items. Time on the phone setting up payroll with our accountant, dialoguing with our new vendor reps and wholesale clients, and picking up supplies needed at the stores to name a few.
- Oh yeah! What about the night I forgot to set my alarm! God is so good. I woke up at 4:30 and was in the bakery only 35 minutes late (but the bread was only pushed back 20 minutes, which no one even realized).
- We made our first (and subsequent) dime after putting out thousands to get this all started.
- AND, now, it is Sabbath time! We are all so ready to rest tomorrow and to enjoy being a family. Monday (which we're not open on) will be a slow day. I need to pay bills, organize a little more, and prep for the week ahead.
Thanks for hangin' with us!
It started out awesome, with the commissioning service here at the bakery. And, ended with one of the best grossing Farmer's Market days of the summer (bring it on!). So, what of this week:
- Now don't call me a workaholic, but I invested 83 hours into the business this week, and Janet about 45.
- The girl's spent many hours here as well. They were put on the payroll, and scheduled hours just like other employees.
- The employees have worked out great! The two who remained from the previous owner have been so helpful in us setting up systems, AND they have been so willing to make the changes we are making. The three new ones have been awesome as well. They have picked up the processes and customer service great.
- In addition to spending time working and figuring out the best way to do tasks, Janet and I spent time with additional business set up items. Time on the phone setting up payroll with our accountant, dialoguing with our new vendor reps and wholesale clients, and picking up supplies needed at the stores to name a few.
- Oh yeah! What about the night I forgot to set my alarm! God is so good. I woke up at 4:30 and was in the bakery only 35 minutes late (but the bread was only pushed back 20 minutes, which no one even realized).
- We made our first (and subsequent) dime after putting out thousands to get this all started.
- AND, now, it is Sabbath time! We are all so ready to rest tomorrow and to enjoy being a family. Monday (which we're not open on) will be a slow day. I need to pay bills, organize a little more, and prep for the week ahead.
Thanks for hangin' with us!
New Great Harvest Owners
It is official - the Lecy's now own the Great Harvest in Lafayette, Indiana! We will open the bakery tomorrow as ours.
Today we:
- Met with the previous owners at the Title Company at 8:00 to sign the deal.
- Came over to the bakery by 8:45 to rearrange, stock shelves, clean, and much more
- Had friends from our church come over to help with the above items
- Made 71 loaves of bread
- Had an employee meeting - trained them in making the bread and customer service
- Had installation of DSL, Credit Card service, and Great Harvest sign.
- Will have a commissioning service at 7:30 tonight.
Please pray for:
- Strength for Janet and Jerry, and expecially good sleep for Jerry as he needs to be up by 3:50 a.m. each morning
- Good connection and training for our employees
Thanks,
Jerry and Janet
Today we:
- Met with the previous owners at the Title Company at 8:00 to sign the deal.
- Came over to the bakery by 8:45 to rearrange, stock shelves, clean, and much more
- Had friends from our church come over to help with the above items
- Made 71 loaves of bread
- Had an employee meeting - trained them in making the bread and customer service
- Had installation of DSL, Credit Card service, and Great Harvest sign.
- Will have a commissioning service at 7:30 tonight.
Please pray for:
- Strength for Janet and Jerry, and expecially good sleep for Jerry as he needs to be up by 3:50 a.m. each morning
- Good connection and training for our employees
Thanks,
Jerry and Janet
Final Week
One more week remains until we own the Great Harvest. WOW! I can hardly believe it is almost here. And, so much has happened over the past two weeks. Where to begin...
Two weeks ago I woke up five days in a row at 3:50 to arrive in the bakery by 4:15. It took some getting used to, but by the end of the week I was having no problems getting to sleep by 9:00. This was a great learning experience, as I finally did hands-on making bread every day.
This past week I was in Dillon Montana for a week of bread school. Once again I received daily hands-on training on making breads, scones, muffins, and cookies. Of course part of our training included tasting our products - I'm sure I gained 10 pounds last week!
While I was in Montana, Janet held down the fort in Indiana, as well as went into the bakery early in the morning twice to learn the sweets making process (she went in at 3:30 one morning!) and took care of several details items to be ready for next week - including interviewing and hiring our final employee.
In addition to the hands-on experiences these past two weeks, I fit in many other preparation items that were necessary. Important items like phone service, internet, and credit card machines, in addition to more dialogue with the bank and other important people in the closing process.
Oh yeah! And, I hired an employee as well. We now have nine employees (four being our girls).
This week Janet joined me in Dillon for a week of training on the how to's of running a Great Harvest. We will arrive back on Saturday, sign the papers on Monday morning at 8, and hit the grounds running.
Thanks for your interest in our exciting adventure - which is feeling more like an adventure every day!
Jerry
Two weeks ago I woke up five days in a row at 3:50 to arrive in the bakery by 4:15. It took some getting used to, but by the end of the week I was having no problems getting to sleep by 9:00. This was a great learning experience, as I finally did hands-on making bread every day.
This past week I was in Dillon Montana for a week of bread school. Once again I received daily hands-on training on making breads, scones, muffins, and cookies. Of course part of our training included tasting our products - I'm sure I gained 10 pounds last week!
While I was in Montana, Janet held down the fort in Indiana, as well as went into the bakery early in the morning twice to learn the sweets making process (she went in at 3:30 one morning!) and took care of several details items to be ready for next week - including interviewing and hiring our final employee.
In addition to the hands-on experiences these past two weeks, I fit in many other preparation items that were necessary. Important items like phone service, internet, and credit card machines, in addition to more dialogue with the bank and other important people in the closing process.
Oh yeah! And, I hired an employee as well. We now have nine employees (four being our girls).
This week Janet joined me in Dillon for a week of training on the how to's of running a Great Harvest. We will arrive back on Saturday, sign the papers on Monday morning at 8, and hit the grounds running.
Thanks for your interest in our exciting adventure - which is feeling more like an adventure every day!
Jerry
Last Day of "Freedom" for a while
I was reflecting on the reality of yesterday being the last weekday of freedom for several months, and it brought nothing but excitement for me! You see, this coming week I will be training full time in "our" bakery. Next Sunday I fly to Montana for two weeks of training (of which Janet will be with me the second week). We arrive back on Saturday, finalize the business transaction two days later (July 30), and open the bakery as ours on Tuesday, July 31. And, then take a week vacation the following week - NOT.
This past week has been filled with more business details. We set up Quickbooks on our computer, cleaned up and arranged the bakery office, transferred utility responsibility, got county permit for the new sign going up, dialogued with Gene (sweets guy) about his recommendation on items to make, and ordered gifting items (baskets, tea towels, etc.).
On top of this, Janet celebrated her 42nd birthday yesterday, and we are preparing to celebrate Hannah's 14th tomorrow and Lydia's 10th on Monday (not to mention the fun we had on the 4th!).
Business Set-up
This past week was primarily devoted to setting up the business. We:
- Ordered business checks
- Met with a Small Business Association representative
- Purchased a cash register, Quickbooks, new sign for side of building, and tickets to Dillon, Montana
- Met with our Accountant
- Put together a hiring packet, AND...
- ...Hired our first new employee (we already have affirmed employment of two existing employees, and need two more)
- Price shopped for credit card services and business insurance
- Applied for certification with the Health Department
- Researched products for the store front as well as gifting ideas
- Looked through the office with current owner to see what's what
- Jerry went golfing with current owner and the two employees that will carry over (important relational time)
On the personal side of things, we:
- Had an all day "Daddy Date". Each girl had two hours to do what they wanted with Daddy.
- Gathered with our church plant family
- Danielle continued taking violin lessons and also participated with a tennis camp
- Had friends come for a visit (Miss Emery and the Riders - cousins today)
As you think about it this week, please pray for the two of us, as we will be at Wheaton College for a prayer ministry conference this coming week. Pray for God to reveal Himself to us, and that our hearts would be responsive to Him.
- Ordered business checks
- Met with a Small Business Association representative
- Purchased a cash register, Quickbooks, new sign for side of building, and tickets to Dillon, Montana
- Met with our Accountant
- Put together a hiring packet, AND...
- ...Hired our first new employee (we already have affirmed employment of two existing employees, and need two more)
- Price shopped for credit card services and business insurance
- Applied for certification with the Health Department
- Researched products for the store front as well as gifting ideas
- Looked through the office with current owner to see what's what
- Jerry went golfing with current owner and the two employees that will carry over (important relational time)
On the personal side of things, we:
- Had an all day "Daddy Date". Each girl had two hours to do what they wanted with Daddy.
- Gathered with our church plant family
- Danielle continued taking violin lessons and also participated with a tennis camp
- Had friends come for a visit (Miss Emery and the Riders - cousins today)
As you think about it this week, please pray for the two of us, as we will be at Wheaton College for a prayer ministry conference this coming week. Pray for God to reveal Himself to us, and that our hearts would be responsive to Him.