Just Jeff’s Filming The Dragons’ Den

By now, you may or may not know, that CBC decided not to air my filming for Season 3 of Dragons' Den. I’d like to share my experience with all of those who have followed my Dragons’ Den Ride. First off… No the Dragons did not invest. Keep in mind the Dragons are already rich, and have no interest in investing in anything that can’t make them big bucks in 2 years or less. With that in mind, I don’t think I aired because the Dragon’s couldn’t “beat me up”… I knew my numbers, I have sales and profits and a growing history. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make for exciting TV when you’re competing against people presenting hemp laced macaroons and serving upscale dog food to the Dragon’s!

Anyhow, this is how the day went as I remember.

I had to be at CBC Toronto Studio at 6am. Once I arrived (along with about 10 other pitchers) we were brought back stage to unload our props and meet the producer. All pitchers then had to quickly describe how we were going to pitch (and use our props). Once everyone got the thumbs up, we were all brought onto the Dragons’ Den Set (the one you saw on TV) They told us all to do the same thing…”come down the steps, walk to the X on the floor in front of the Dragons and begin your pitch. Your props will be ready for you.
Then we all went into a waiting room (where they fed us snacks and beverages). As you waited, they had a few investment advisors to assist you with your pitch and a TV showing last year episodes of Dragons’ Den.
I think I was in that room for about 3 hours, then they called me. I went to makeup and within 10 minutes I was at the top of the stairs waiting to walk down to the Dragons. I remember the backstage gal asking me if I was nervous…….yup was my answer!......then she said go!......I can’t believe I didn’t fall down those steps (I was so nervous)….I walked to the X and delivered my pitch… as I pitched I was boiling the bagged food in water describing the concept, telling them about growing sales and talking current profits. I remember once the food was ready having difficulty with dividing my food up onto 5 tiny little side plates as CBC wanted me to do. A lot of this is a blur, but I do remember the clicking of the plates as I brought them all the samples (my nerves). They really enjoyed the food and Robert said I could cook for him any day! Jim seemed really interested. I think he walked up to my table twice checking out the packaged food.
The funniest thing was from Kevin (go figure)….I was asked about the shelf life of the product and I told them what consumers want is fresh, fresh….not 40 days out. When I mentioned I only have 10 days, Jim talked about injecting gas…and I voiced my concerns about using preservatives, but said I was open to other means of shelf life extensions….Kevin then said “So what you are saying is you would put Rat Poison in your food to make a buck” I said I wouldn’t go quite that far Kevin!
Brett was pretty boring. … I really think he was judging me more then my concept...he asked about whether or not I was drawing a salary… at which I told him I was (there was some confusion there)… he then said I over evaluated my company…he was out.
Kevin kept saying there was no money in it for him….he was out. Robert said I had a good little business and wanted me to convince Jim, but otherwise he was out. Arlene and Jim were left… and I knew they were the ones I needed to sell this too…(I must admit I was shocked)…..Arlene said my pricing was too high… I narrowed my market with my price point. That is what confused me…when is the last time she bought a pizza, or just went out to dinner? With Just Jeff’s you could have ribs, chicken, rice and pasta for the kids at the same price as a Boston Pizza…for a mother of 4, I don’t think she got it…or I did a poor job of pitching it... she was out. Anyway, Jim really liked it, he mentioned he already had his people doing something similar, but really liked what I was doing. He was out, but did say he would have his people get in touch with me. I sure hope he is a man of his word.
And that is that… I walked away stunned, not because they didn’t invest, but because they didn’t get it. Being first to market is key…look at Tim Hortons… if I’d pitched a coffee shop with donuts 20 years ago they’d laugh….but Tim is laughing now….why, cause he’s the first one to market.
You have no idea how pissed I am at myself for not doing a better job at getting my point across. They didn’t try to take more of my company… there was no negotiation about it… They loved the concept, loved the food, liked the numbers, but all said no without a fight?????????

Hindsight’s 20/20… after looking back on it all, I know I sold them on the concept and product… maybe I didn’t sell them on me. Overall, it was a great experience, but I think I’d do things a little differently the next time – especially the way the show seems to be going. Unfortunately, as the show’s viewership grows, it’s become more and more about clown suits, rather than business entrepreneurs.
I truly appreciate all of the well wishes received – maybe we’ll get’em next time!

The Upside In a Downturn

Everyday, the economic news both domestically and abroad continues to be gloomy. To say that we have moved into uncharted economic territory, is an understatement. Central banks and governments getting directly involved in propping up financial institutions with ridiculously large amounts of cash injections to keep the credit market afloat. Concerted and co-operative interest rate cuts on a global scale have been unprecedented. Everyone is rightly concerned about the future of their own household and business finances, and how the daily market changes are going to affect them.

In the hospitality industry, small and large businesses alike will revisit and rethink capital expenditures, carefully scrutinize payroll costs and put on hold opportunities to expand into new markets. Instead, the focus will be on cost cutting initiatives that will positively impact their bottom line. These initiatives will range from passing on added costs to consumers, to reducing advertising and branding expenditures, to perhaps cutting corners on value added products. Employers will create employee focus groups designed wholly to save money in all areas of the business.

While this type of cost cutting approach is well intentioned and to be expected, it is a path fraught with peril, and should be the last step a company takes in times of economic hardship. Instead of focusing on cost savings, businesses should instead be focusing on revenue enhancement. The reasoning behind this is twofold.

First, any changes you make to your product in order to save money, from how you package it, to how you service it or how you market it, will be noticed by your consumers. If it is a significant change, your business runs the risk of being viewed as inconsistent or erratic. Further, questions may come into play regarding the quality of your product. The thoughts of "what did else did they do to cut corners?" - will creep into the consciousness of your customers. These questions may continue to persist and haunt a company or franchise, long after domestic econonmic conditions have improved.

The second reason to focus on revenue enhancement, is to take advantage of your competitors that are turtling in tough economic times. It is much easier for businesses to hunker down and wait for the storm to pass, than it is to get out and get aggressive. While your competitors focus their attention and resources to save money internally, you can eat their proverbial lunch externally. By allocating greater resources to do everything from investigating new product markets, to stealing the competition's customers while they hide in their shell, you will have successfully positioned your company for far greater prosperity when financial conditions improve. There are many ways to do this without a great deal of added expense - you just have to do the work!

Take for example, the Toronto Travelodge Airport hotel. During the SARS crisis, they were the only Toronto property to actually increase occupancy during a time that thousands of area businesses were devastated. Their approach was simple - we can either fold our tents and slash services, or we can get extremely aggressive to bring business in. Another great example is Windsor's Just Jeff's Gourmet Express - a Home Meal Replacement company whose concept was recently chosen by CBC's Dragon's Den for filming for Season 3. Just Jeff's annual revenues have increased five fold in five years, in a region that has the highest unemployment rate in the province, along with drastically reduced business in both the tourism and auto sectors. Just Jeff's identified a unique product niche that addressed consumer's needs to eat well, but without the work!

What can your business do to take advantage of tough times in the market? Sit down with your employees and put everything on the table. Try to pinpoint cost effective initiatives that have a relatively high revenue upside. Identify consumer needs and explore ways to modify your business to take advantage of it. Do you look for ways to save money at the same time? Of course you do, but not at the expense of your brand, and not at the expense of losing market share to your competitors. If you focus on finding solutions to your guests' needs, you will be able to take advantage of a better economic climate when that time eventually comes around.

Don't Miss Out On This Holiday Feast!

Sure you might be able to save a few bucks cooking it yourself.... but think of all the work involved....shopping, cleaning, roasting, preparing, cooking and more cleaning....then, preparing "on the day" for your guests while they relax!......well, you can relax with them....and for not much more then you would spend yourself.
Now-a-days, we don't get the time with family like we used to......so when you get it...enjoy it!
Just Jeff's Gourmet Express...... Eat Well...Without The Work!
Have a Great Holiday!

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Eat Well... Without The Work!



Click on the video and see just how easy Dinner can be!

Just Jeff's Mentioned on the Dragons' Den Again!

Click on this link for the full story.....(nice job Jason Post!)

http://www.huroniabusinesstimes.com/businesstimes/article/113402

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Open for business....Time to enjoy Fabulous Fresh Food Fast!

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