This story is about a man who first worked as a head baker for a small bakery. He knew original recipes and could make tasty bread, pastry and cakes like no one else. Customers came for his goods from far and wide, he was highly respected by his colleagues and his regular salary was more than sufficient to make a living for his family. He lived a happy and calm life.
But then the bakery hired a new managing director. He did not get on well with the head baker and they started splitting hairs. It didn’t take long before the baker had had enough of pointless squabbles and he hit the rof: “I have no need for this, I’d better set up my own business!”
He easily found suitable premises to rent and the bank gave him a loan in the required amount, although he had to secure it with all his family property including their family house and a mountain chalet. After a couple of months, his bakery was equipped with cutting edge technologies and skilful employees were working for him.
It looked promising at first, but problems soon occurred. The baker was financially completely exhausted at the very start and suppliers were not willing to sell materials to a new client on credit. So, he had to borrow money from his friends and family members so that he could buy basic ingredients. Still, he could not attract enough customers to make his bakery profitable.
He was trying to reverse the situation in his favour for a year and a half, but he was making one mistake after another. And his debts kept growing. He went bankrupt when his employees, experienced bakers that he had tried so hard to win them over, left to work for competition.
What definitely broke his neck was the high sanction that the owner of the bakery premises required from him. Sadly, he was justified to do so – the baker refused to waste money on a lawyer, so he signed a lease agreement that he did not understand much. Moreover, he did not understand accounting and taxes at the slightest, so he was taken by surprise when the tax office charged him high fines.
He was a master in his field, but a bad entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs think of possible risks, but the baker underestimated them.
Fortunately, his story had a happy ending. His marriage stood the test by fire, although his family had to move from their house to a small rented flat and instead of going skiing they now go to see their grandparents at the weekends. The bankrupted entrepreneur is now a happy employee again.
However, not a single day passes without him recalling the lesson that he learnt the hard way. He knows that being a good baker who can bake excellent bread does not guarantee he has what it takes for running his own business: managing people, being knowledgeable about marketing, selling, accounting, taxes and laws. And he is now aware it is no shame if he remains “only” a good employee, since no good entrepreneur can do without such professionals.
