God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 178

Interior, customer service, food taste, cleanliness.

If there are no issues in all these areas, we must return to the most fundamental aspect.

That is price.

'Business is ultimately about buying and selling goods.'

Everything else, like the store's concept or promotion, is secondary.

While the taste of the food is important, even more crucial is how much it costs. Ultimately, customer satisfaction depends on whether it's worth the price.

-Owner. He's asking how much the prices are.

"Well..."

Park Man-su hesitated for a moment before speaking.

-The bulgogi aglio e olio is about 16,000 won, and the bacon carbonara is 19,000 won...

"What did you say?"

There was no need to hear the rest. Just hearing the prices of the first two menu items was shocking enough.

"Owner. What's the cost ratio here? I don't understand why you're charging so much. What are you using?"

-The bulgogi aglio e olio has meat in it. We only use good quality meat, so the price is a bit high.

"That's why I'm asking what the cost ratio is."

To know how inflated the price was, it was essential to know the cost ratio. And in my opinion, at the very least, an owner should know the cost ratio of their store's menu items.

-......

But Park Man-su didn't respond. I could guess without him saying.

"You haven't calculated it, have you?"

-...Yes. That's true.

"Then how did you set the prices? Just by feeling? Roughly?"

-When I was doing market research, I ate at many other places. I'm confident in the quality of my food and proud that I only use good ingredients, so I set the prices taking all that into account.

He spoke at length, but in the end, it meant he set them arbitrarily without any basis.

I sighed deeply inside. I felt I understood what type of owner Park Man-su was.

'He's good at cooking, but has no talent for business.'

I know it's difficult to master both cooking and business. But shouldn't one at least have basic skills?

It's a problem if cooking skills are lacking and the taste, which is fundamental to the food business, is poor, but it's also a big issue to fail at pricing from the start due to a lack of business sense.

"That's why you don't have customers..."

Even if it's the only Western restaurant in this village. If the price is too high, people usually lose interest.

They would only come very occasionally, when absolutely necessary.

"If this were in Gangnam or Seongsu in Seoul, you could charge this much. Because the rent is so high there. That all gets factored into the food price."

So even if people think it's expensive, they don't turn away.

"Owner. When you did market research, did you only visit famous pasta places in Seoul? Places packed with people."

-Yes. That's right.

"You shouldn't use those as a reference. Of course, you can refer to the taste. But you shouldn't reference the prices, okay? The environment is completely different."

Selling at prices from the heart of Gangnam in this remote village. How could it sell?

"There are many young people there, and high foot traffic. But how about here?"

-...There aren't many young people. And not much foot traffic either.

"You knew that. Plus, the rent doesn't seem that expensive here, right? I haven't checked personally, but this place can't be as expensive as Gangnam, can it?"

-No. You're right.

"Then why did you set the same prices?"

At my question, Park Man-su pressed his lips together.

The answer was simple.

'He probably never thought about it.'

It's an easy mistake for owners who have pride in their food but lack basic business sense to make.

They think from their own perspective, not the customer's.

They keep rationalizing, thinking 'This is worth eating at this price,' while underestimating customers' price resistance.

In other words, they set 'prices they want to sell at' rather than 'prices customers want to buy at.'

"Owner. Do you know how to calculate costs? Have you ever done it?"

-No. I haven't.

If you don't know, you can learn. That's why we have this program.

"Come down. I'll teach you how to calculate the cost ratio from the beginning."

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Park Man-su stood before me, fidgeting. Despite his bandit-like appearance, he was clearly showing signs of shyness.

Still, it was fortunate that he seemed willing to learn. Many people come out on the offensive, saying 'Who are you to dare,' but Park Man-su was quite humble in comparison.

"First, Owner. Write down all the ingredients that go into one serving of bulgogi aglio e olio. Don't miss even the small things, and be specific about the quantities."

"Yes."

Park Man-su began to fill the blank paper densely.

200g beef, 150g pasta noodles, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, half an onion, a handful of mushrooms, soy sauce, sugar, pepper.

"You don't know exactly how much soy sauce, sugar, and pepper goes in?"

"No. I adjust the seasoning as I go..."

"Hmm. Let's put about 100 won for those three combined. But it's better to quantify your recipe. You might have a cold or be busy and not be able to taste it, right?"

Park Man-su nodded, saying he understood.

"Calculate the prices of raw ingredients by weight. For example, if bulgogi beef is 10,000 won per kg, then 200g is 2,000 won. Like that."

"Yes."

I could see Park Man-su diligently calculating the prices. I added a comment from the side.

"It's not just ingredients, this plate should include rent, electricity, and gas costs too."

"What? Even, even those things?"

"Of course."

Does electricity come out of the ground or something?

"Usually, you can figure out roughly how much it costs per dish by knowing how much you pay monthly and dividing it by how many dishes you sell. How many dishes do you sell here in a month?"

"That... I don't really..."

"You don't know?"

"Yes. I haven't really counted."

This is driving me crazy, really.

"Okay. You probably didn't sell much anyway, so there's not much point in calculating it now."

The cost ratio would change again once sales increase after the broadcast airs.

"Then do you know how many dishes you could serve if you maximized the turnover rate in this store?"

"...?"

Park Man-su just blinked. He seemed not to understand what turnover rate meant.

Good heavens. I wonder what gave him the courage to open a store.

"...If you don't understand, I'll just tell you."

I said, swallowing a sigh.

"In this neighborhood, pasta shouldn't cost more than 10,000 won per dish."

"What?"

"The appropriate price will probably be around that. Maybe 9,900 won or 9,800 won."

I hadn't calculated it properly, but based on experience, that was about right.

"This place needs to cater to regular neighborhood customers, right? Of course, there might be a temporary influx of outsiders due to the broadcast effect. But in the long run, people from this neighborhood need to come frequently."

"Yes..."

"But if it's over 10,000 won, it's burdensome and people can't come easily. This place needs to have a low threshold, you know? When anyone thinks 'Oh, I feel like having pasta today,' they should choose this place without much hesitation."

That's how sales can be maintained stably.

"But, 10,000 won is a bit..."

Park Man-su carefully spoke while watching my reaction.

"This dish price needs other things besides these costs, right?"

"What other things?"

Did I miss something? As I tilted my head in confusion, Park Man-su quickly added something at the bottom of the paper.

And when he showed it to me... Oh my. I almost snorted out loud.

[Time spent honing skills to create this taste, 6,000 won per plate]

That's what was written.

So, you want to incorporate even the time you spent learning cooking skills into this single plate?

I was speechless, stunned by this unheard-of calculation method. Park Man-su added, as if making an excuse:

"I've spent quite a long time learning to cook. I didn't want to brag, but I studied and learned cooking in Italy."

"......"

"To others, it might just be a plate of pasta, but there's effort and time I've put in to create the taste of this single plate."

My head started throbbing.

"Owner. How can you include that in this calculation... The 10,000 won I mentioned earlier already includes labor costs."

"It seems too cheap. It's pasta, not just anything."

What is he saying now?

"What about pasta?"

When I asked in a voice clearly showing fatigue, Park Man-su answered in a very proud tone.

"It's a high-class dish."

"......"

I was too dumbfounded to say anything. I looked at Park Man-su with a cold gaze.

Park Man-su seemed to finally realize that I was displeased.

"Well, it's not that it has to be that way... It's just my opinion."

He hesitated before adding:

"Actually... I ran a Western restaurant elsewhere before, and business was good there."

"Did you sell at 16,000 won, 19,000 won there too?"

"No. Back then, the most expensive menu item was 11,000 won. We also sold some for 8,900 won."

What? He already knew the answer all along?

Moreover, it was quite shocking that he didn't even know how to calculate costs despite having business experience.

"Business was really good back then."

Of course it was, because you were selling at reasonable prices!

But Park Man-su's thoughts seemed different from mine. Park Man-su muttered as if regretful.

"If I had sold at 16,000 won back then, I would have earned much more..."

I couldn't help but gape.