the costs of running a business

guidosp1


Joined: 30/12/2008
Posts: 341

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 08:12

hi everyone i just being reading some comments about prices and people complain about how expensive it's eating out and it's better to buy in the supermarket etc. etc. etc. i dont think that many of you have the remote idea how hard and difficult is to attempt to run a business. when you enter a restaurant you must understand that you will not pay for a bottle of wine the same price you pay in the supermarket and everybody

knows that. if you buy in the supermarket some turkish plonk like doluca,yakut,chankaya etc. which i find very expensive (10.95 tl for doluca = to 5 pounds) five quid for some turkish plonk???. you can buy a bottle of frascati and have the change for that !!! you must expect to pay in a restaurant between 25 to 30 tl (we sell a good italian chianti at 30tl). the reason why you will pay 25 or 30 is because that restaurant have to pay the rent wich swing between 600 to 1500 POUNDS per month. he/her paid lots of money for decor, furniture and equipment so enable you

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 08:28

The cost of running a business has shot up a few folds in the last couple of years. The overheads are freightening and many businesses are closing down. One can see lots of empty shops waiting to be rented.



The economic crises in TRNC will deepen in the next few months and probably the government will default on the payment of wages and salaries. I am afraid the first ones in line to suffer will be the restaurants. Good luck.

ismet

guidosp1


Joined: 30/12/2008
Posts: 341

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 08:30

seat down and enjoy your meal, he/her paid for licenses, social security and trust me that it's not a cheap chap!!! pay contributions taxes , electricity , staff and stock and somewhere he/her suppost make some profit that's on a 19tl gros profit on a bottle of wine!!!. so you tell me how that hell anybody can turn around and say that that restaurant it's expensive!!. yes you can buy a bottle and drink it at home but i can assure you that the restaurant in question will not be there anymore becouse didnt get the support from you or from your friends. we as restaurants have lots of competition and unfortunately not many customers, we try our best to keep the prices low because otherwise we will loose your custom, but then againg we have to keep the business afloat and that means try to make some profit so we are able to pay our costs.

guido

guidosp1


Joined: 30/12/2008
Posts: 341

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 08:33

ismet i think you hit the nail on the head the governament try to squize blood out of a stone and unfortunately we are sthe stone!!

guido

guidosp1


Joined: 30/12/2008
Posts: 341

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 08:43

business permits social security contributions for you and your staff, licenses, electric, gas, stock, rent,furniture,council tax, rates, vat, taxes, petrol, car payments, rent/mortgage or living accomodation and our time.........profit???? .

guido

rigsby


Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 912

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 10:41

Mr Lilly, My wife went to Rome last week and your countrymen charged her a fortune for a simple cup of coffee,Relocate,Relocate,???? I too know about business costs.All the best.

dozza67


Joined: 11/07/2008
Posts: 607

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 11:14

It's not just the government that is squeezing the businesses, it's also the greedy landlords. We know of businesses that have closed down because some owners/builders have doubled and trebled the rent making the business unviable. When will they learn that everyone is in a recession and not just them. When these businesses close down, nobody wins, the owner/builder has lost his rent and cannot find anyone else to pay and the owners of the business have gone to the wall. It's all such a shame and so many people lose out.

Teresa


Joined: 21/11/2007
Posts: 1018

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 11:26

Guido you dont have to justify yourself on here, most people dont have the faintest idea what is involved in running a business. It was hard enough in the UK but 10 times harder here. They dont see the hours of paperwork that has to be done once you are closed, they dont see the hours of prep that has to be done before you open.

Keep up the good work and the good reputation.

davedee



Joined: 01/12/2008
Posts: 479

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 11:48

Guido i came very close 3 years ago to opening a restaurant in karsiyaka,thank god the stupid landlord got greedy before i went in(£50 per month more than agreed)so i walked away.



As much as i would still love to have my restaurant in the sun i thank god for that greedy landlord,i can see it must be very very difficult to make sensible profits with such stupid rents and regs.



keep up the the hard work and perhaps those that survive will one day be rewarded.



Dave.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 14:35

hI rigsby I can fully understand your concerns re your wife being charged. The restaurant cafe bar wowners have to pay a fortune in rents in the historic beautiful places such as rome venice etc. and sadly these are passed on. Also because of the thousands of tourists they get perhaps they feel justified to pass on these. Theresa You know only too well how hard it is also thats why we dispair when we hear the moans. Davedee you had a vey lucky escape. How are you both xxxxx

davedee



Joined: 01/12/2008
Posts: 479

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 15:16

Hi Lilly we are fine cyprus on hold at moment awaiting our seventh grandchild due on 13th june but could be any minute. xx

MarkVPiazza


Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 530

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 16:52

Unless you own the premises outright, I don't think you have a chance of running a profitable restaurant in the TRNC (and a good chance you will loose a lot of money)



Mark

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 20:05

Mark you are so right. Dave very best wishes for the forthcoming birth. thats also my grandsons birthday. Let me know what you have xxxxxDozza they will never learn its all for today and no thought of tomorrow xxxx

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 20:23

Some landlords can be sensible. I have storage space of 180 sq. meters and two years ago I paid two dollars per square metre per month for two years in advance. It expired end of April and finally we met today to discuss the new rent. It took us just ten minutes to reach an agreement with a reduction of about 13%. It was a fair deal.

ismet

The-Wicks


Joined: 27/05/2007
Posts: 2279

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 20:36

Hi Guido and Liz. I fully appreciate what you are saying and you have my sympathies - it's a pretty thankless task, isn't it? Having visited the TRNC for many years, we have seen lots of businesses go bust. A prime (quite recent) example is the old Cousins restaurant down by Denizkizi beach. The owner told us that they had no option but to quit there because the Landlord increased the rent by a stupid amount. Result - premises are empty so Landlord gets no rent at all! This is what I will never understand about the mentality, e.g. few customers in bar - put up prices - then, no customers in bar. I've said it before, They Just Don't Get It!!



Love to you both



Jeannie

xxxx

Stonehousepub


Joined: 21/05/2009
Posts: 755

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 20:43

totally agree..

Stubs


Joined: 01/07/2008
Posts: 641

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 21:03

Lilli



Running a business anywhere in the world is not easy but in the TRNC it is even more difficult.



There was a saying we made up whilst there............How do you make £1 million in the TRNC, start off with £3 million!!!



A good friend of mine was willing to open a business over there and invest a considerable sum importing and exporting products. In essence he was going to be doing direct trade. After various meetings with accountants and various government ministers they told him that they wanted 20% tax on his income. As they were non-taxable sales he could not claim back any tax relief from his purchases. So if he sold £100000 worth of goods the government wanted £20000 in tax. As his business worked on between 5 and 10% margin he would loose money. After much negotiations the government offered the first 80% of sales tax free and the remainder at 20% which works out an average of 4.75% tax on turnover. So he had .25% to pay for his business expenses.



(cont)

Stubs


Joined: 01/07/2008
Posts: 641

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 21:13

He told the minister for finance that it did not work and explained his reasons, but the minister could not see it. This was someone who was offering the opportunity of direct trade, would have probably employed 3-4 well paid professional staff and created a new business sector not done in the TRNC.



Compare that to the south. To do the same thing over there he would pay 10% tax on his margins and not the turnover. A huge difference. He pointed this out to the minister who told him he should perhaps consider opening his business there then. Subsequently he did and currently employs 4 people in his office there.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 21:46

stubs unless they can line thier own pockets they will never see the wood for the trees. Apart from the lovely people we have met here I sometimes wish we ha gone that side Life would have been easier. Quality and quanity of products different culture as regards eating out tax etc xxxx

Stubs


Joined: 01/07/2008
Posts: 641

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 22:19

Lilli



From what i have read on this and other bb's as well as from friends who still live over there they have had nothing but praise for your place.



You don't have to justify your prices to anyone, not everything in the world is based upon price. If it was we would all be driving one of those Dogan cars, wearing clothes made from curtains, living in a squat.



From what i gather you and Guido have a business which you care very much about, enjoy running and give genuine value for money for your customers.



Just remember you can't please everyone all of the time but if you please most of the people most of the time then its a result

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
26/05/2009 22:23

Thank you Stubs we do try but as you know here goalposts keep changing. We do care very much and everybody who comes in leaves as a friend. I just get upset when people on here complain about prices going up and how can you charge 2tl for a beer etc. It wasnt aimed at us but I think Guido just tried to point out the costs of operating here.I hope we get the opportunity to meet you soon xxxx

Stubs


Joined: 01/07/2008
Posts: 641

Message Posted:
27/05/2009 00:58

Hi Lilli



I know only too well about the goalposts changing over there. The problem is that the the people moving the goalposts dont really know where they should be in the first place.



The next time i'm out i will make a point of coming into your place most def. Ive heard some rave reviews about Guido's cooking.



Stubs xx