by Mark Laughlin

It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving and my parents just called to tell us when they would be arriving for the holiday.  I need to take the turkey out of the freezer NOW so it will be totally defrosted by Thanksgiving morning. 

This triggers a sense of panic as I flashed back to an earlier time.  I panic because it takes me back to my first Thanksgiving when Mom or Grandma was not in charge of the meal. 

I had never been involved in the preparation of the holiday meal before.  Now I shouldered part of the responsibility with my wife.  And in this instance, I failed miserably.  I completely forgot about defrosting the turkey until the Lion’s game started at 11:00 a.m. 

Thrust into a panic mode, I submerged the bird in cold water hoping for quick results.  After an hour, it was still hard as a brick.  Then I decided to just crank the oven temperature up and cook the bird a little longer to compensate for my boo-boo. 

Did I remember that the giblet bag and neck needed to be removed?  No. 

After cooking a modest sized bird for five hours at 500 degrees, the skin was scorched and the center of the bird was still a “lovely” blood red.  I just couldn’t understand why that “idiot stick” (the built-in thermometer that pops out when the bird is done) wouldn’t pop out.  It must be broken, right?

By halftime of the Dallas Cowboy’s game, all of our guests had arrived for the feast.  A feast that would never see a turkey go under a carving knife.  I felt like an idiot for my horrendous oversight.  Good thing we had lots of stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes.  Not to mention the “crow” I was eating!

Going into your own business for the first time is much like cooking that first Thanksgiving dinner.  You think you know what to do, but since you’ve never done this before, you really don’t.  You’ve watched your grandmother or mother effortlessly prepare this meal for years, and now it’s your turn.  It all looked so easy.

If you purchased a franchise, your package will probably include some type of off-site training and on-site training with the franchiser’s assistance.  Once the initial handholding is over, you will be on your own. 

You will make mistakes.  Your mistakes will cost you personally, both time and money.  It’s okay to make mistakes!  It’s part of your learning curve.  Just don’t make the same mistake twice!

Many of your mistakes will center on lack of organization and bad timing.  If “Sally Jean” was a no show, no call for her shift on Monday, its pretty safe to assume that she’s not going to be there on Tuesday.  If you dawdle and don’t get your employment ad placed in the weekly classifieds, you will probably miss the deadline and not be able to get your ad placed until next week.

If you have requests for a day off or a vacation from your staff, are you going to be lining up shift coverage in advance, or will you wait until the day before to resolve your problem?

If your equipment needs to be serviced on a regular basis, are you going to blow it off (to save money) and then be dysfunctional and “out of order” when it goes down?

Are you going to plan your advertising out in advance, or will you miss the Val-Pak or Money Mailer deadline for copy?  If you do miss it, the next packet release won’t be for another five to six weeks, ouch!  If you miss the cut off for advertising in the yellow pages, the price you pay is being out of the book for one year.

If you’re late in paying your bills, plan on digging into your pocket for additional service charges and interest fees.  If you’re doing a trade show and have limited staff, how will you staff the show and staff your business at the same time?  What happens when “Sally Jean’s” kids get chicken pox the day before your trade show?  Do you have a Plan B?

You don’t think ANY of these things will ever happen to you?  Get real! 

They will, unless you’re ORGANIZED.  You don’t have a Plan B?  Prepare one.  Learn to pre-plan, and LEARN from your mistakes. 

I’d hate to see you bringing that scorched turkey, oozing with blood, to the middle of your dining room table to be carved.  Your guests (customers) will be horrified, and you will feel like someone just smashed the pumpkin pie in your face.

Did I remember to take the turkey out of the freezer?  You bet I did!