Butter Lane @butterlane-blog - Tumblr Blog

A growing trend: Restaurants protect their wait staff with a no-tip policy — and higher wages http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/05/a-growing-trend-restaurants-protect-their-wait-staff-with-a-no-tip-policy-and-higher-wages/ (via The Raw Story[http://www.rawstory.com] )

Sometimes the #Minis are so cute I can't let them go

#minis

Early at butterlane - these #cupcakes look almost too pretty to ice :) #readyforSaturday

#cupcakes #readyforsaturday

Early at butterlane - these #cupcakes look almost too pretty to ice :) #readyforSaturday

#cupcakes #readyforsaturday

Emilio makes cupcakes even prettier :) #BoysofButterLane

#boysofbutterlane

New wall art at #butterlane #ParkSlope :)

#butterlane #parkslope

Was so cool to be invited to San Fran for Yelp's 'Meeting of the Minds' in Small Business. They are a class act and working hard to make that platform meaningful - and fair. I truly oved talking to the other small biz's! So much to to learn from each other; so many fantastic stories. I feel like I've got great (international) sounding board now. Fascinating...

Complete Guide to Tumblr Etiquette http://on.mash.to/1buCg9L

Loving our pretty new yellow wall in #ParkSlope :)

#parkslope

This is my friend Michele's Kickstarter campaign. She runs a terrific dog treat small biz called "Bite My Biscuit" in California. (This is her & sidekick Monroe.) She's done really well, and now needs to 'amp up' to meet demand. I love Kickstarter for this - they're really helping small biz's find that extra few thousand dollars to buy an oven, or hire one more set of hands. They're helping all of us #bootstrappers out there, like Michele. Anyway - buy a few dog treats (my dog Millie loves them AND I think they cured her itching) AND help a terrific small company. Go Michele!!

The Fix-It Connundrum

Man, we spend a lot of time fixing stuff at Butter Lane. The A/C stops, the internet goes out, the bench breaks out front...some weeks it seems relentless. We have a great handyman (actually, a great handywoman) who comes about twice/mo for the big stuff. We depend on our porters for the rest: hammering, planting, painting. (Thanks guys; my back can't take it anymore.) And thanks to our customers, who understand that we don't have Corporate Design Dept. It's pretty just me and our managers :)

ObamaCare - What's Our Take?

Lots of restaurant owners worried about this. We all want our staff to have basic healthcare. But I also know that Butter Lane can't afford the thousands this will add to our cost structure. I'm hoping that the big launch in Oct of the new healthcare options will add clarity. Ultimately, I think it could be great for all of us - we get more loyalty and happier employees, they get affordable healthcare. Any other thoughts? Tweet me @PamButterLane

Loyalty Programs: Why so Hard?

I'd love to hear what other restaurants & shops are doing. This always stumps us. Sure, we can do a hole-punch card...but it's kind of hard to track - and we'd rather do something more modern. Our next version will be the "digital" loyalty card from Swipely. It automatically tracks purchases through a credit card - so you receive an email every time you use it along with your 'score.' I think it's our best bet, but would love to hear options.

We launched our new website last week! Finally. We built this one in Wordpress, which is easier for us to edit and navigate. It looks very simple, but the mechanics underneath were a bear. Shopping cart, payment platforms, class scheduling....ugh. We still have glitches but I think of it in 'beta.' (So hold your emails!) Our next one will be in Wix - my favorite user-friendly platform. Wordpress is still surprisingly complicated to work in (IMO).

So we lost our Sandy arbitration hearing with #Hartford. I'm still incredulous. Basically, you go downtown to a fancy boardroom, sit down with an insurance rep and an arbitrator, who are sympathetic but completely unhelpful. Nice, but total waste of time.

Quick review: We, like many other small businesses, filed a claim for lost revenues during Sandy. This is an extra clause we paid specifically for, because it worries me. But because our closing was due to a power outage, which Coned said was because of flooded lines .... aha! Hartford sees an exclusion. Hartford says that b/c we have no flood insurance, we're not covered. My flood insurance exclusion includes covering ConEd?? Huh? Crazy. Well, we're not the only ones. Small biz's are being denied everywhere on same, surreal reasoning. Too bad many are going under during the fight. I'll keep an eye on Mr. Trump's negotiations, and maybe go back at it in the fall.

For now, I have to go back to work. I have a lot of insurance premiums to pay. #smallbiz #sandy #insurance #coned

Which Mayor will be best for Small Businesses? I'm not sure. None seem to be focusing on us much, even though we are the main engine of job growth right now.

How can they help us? Most candidates are talking about streamlining the permitting process. That's fine, but to me, it's all about money. Call me crass, but we need help staying profitable, pure & simple.

That's easy: 1. BRING US MORE SALES - Block parties, orders from gov't agencies. Get creative! 5% more sales to a small biz can make all the difference. 2. CUT OUR COSTS - Lower our payroll, rent, or utility bill. 3. HELP US GET PAID FROM SANDY - Many small biz's are failing after Sandy largely b/c the Insurers are refusing to pay for lost revenues. A real candidate would step into this shameful situation and force Coned & Hartford/Travelers to pay small biz's together. But instead we see "Closed for Business" signs popping up, and thousands of jobs lost.

Does anyone know which candidate will help us most? #NYC #Mayor #SmallBiz

They must! I lost my arbitration hearing with Hartford yesterday. They say our lost revenues during Sandy were basically Coned's fault. Their power lines were flooded & we don't have flood insurance so....now, what? It's an absurd argument - an opinion I share with Donald Trump - see link. (A first for everything!) It would be funny if it hadn't nearly put us out of business - and HAS sunk so many others. (Notice all those 'goodbye' aigns on restaurant doors? Thank Hartford and their kin.) Well, I don't have a team of Trump lawyers, but I'd love to join a #classactionsuit. Anyone no one? I'll post here what I find. For now, back to the bakery. #smallbiz #nyc

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