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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, October 20, 2011 · 12 Business owner shares ingredients to success By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Making a successful small business is like making a crepe. It just takes the right ingredients. Members and guests of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce heard from an expert in both food and business Monday, during a presentation by Cora Tsouflidou, founder of the Cora restaurant franchise. The event, held at the Argus Road Holiday Inn, attracted a crowd of about 200 and marked the kickoff of Small Business Week in Oakville. Tsouflidou began by congratulating all present on having breakfast that morning. "It's important to have breakfast. It triples...quadruples your brain system at work. It helps you to perform, never forget that," she said. "We believe it so much, we made a business out of it and we support, with our foundation, the Breakfast Club of Canada that provides breakfast for children in need. So it is important to have breakfast, no matter where you have it." Tsouflidou went on to tell the audience her story of how a divorced mother of three with no job, utilized her greatest skill -- cooking -- to turn her life around. The journey began with Tsouflidou selling her Montreal home so she could purchase a small neighbourhood canteen. She worked hard, tripled its value and sold it. Tsouflidou would open her first restaurant in Montreal in 1987, her second in 1993 and, by 2011 she has125 franchises across the nation. "I figured that little snack bar, I would cook there during the day and make a little lunch meal and I'd bring the leftovers home for supper and that way I would feed my kids," said Tsouflidou. "If a witch had told me, `Cora, this is just the beginning. You are going to have one day 125 stores,' I would have run and gone to be a cleaning lady somewhere. I would have been so scared that life was not for me." However, Tsouflidou's business did flourish thanks to a secret to success, which, unlike her recipes, she was all too eager to share with the audience. Tsouflidou illustrated this secret using the ingredients for a crepe, which she had before her. The bowl, she said, represents the When someone comes and tells me, `Cora, your store has worked so well, you should open at night,' you focus on breakfast. And when someone tells you you should start a `Cora Express' in buildings, you focus on your business. And then when somebody tells (says) you should be on the 401 at every stop, you focus on your business," said Tsouflidou, adding, "I have been a bitch of focusing on my business." The largest ingredient was flour, which represented intense work. Tsouflidou said you can't get anywhere without this ingredient, stating that for the first five years she worked in her restaurant's kitchen from opening until closing and then did administrative work for the rest of the day. Tsouflidou said another five years was spent teaching individuals how to cook the Cora way. Eventually, Tsouflidou left the kitchen for full-time administration and now says that, as the boss, she is always working wherever she goes. A dash of salt, representing slight doubt, was the next ingredient, which Tsouflidou said is important as it stops a successful business founder from becoming arrogant and believing their business cannot be improved upon when there are always ways to do this. "Never think you've got it made," she said. Assorted fruits and goodies, which go inside the crepe, represented commitment to the business and the brand. Tsouflidou said in business you have to be all in or not in at all. She said the Cora restaurant chain does not keep employees who do not love their jobs and do not believe in the brand. Employees who do believe in the brand, she said, will bring passion and that will make the work portion of f the equation so much easier. She also said that when you find these people you have to take care of f them so they will stay. "Cora is a big family and we always behave like that," said Tsouflidou. " Other ingredients to the successful business are integrity and discipline. "This is where you change the whisk for a whip," said Tsouflidou to the laughter of those present. "You want to have 125 stores going on 200 in Canada? Have discipline, organization, follow the system that you establish, know where you are going, don't get distracted." Cora Tsouflidou f business, which for some is still only an idea while, for others, it's 800 square feet of space already rented. Next add eggs, which Tsouflidou said represent creativity. "Do something that is different, that is new, that adds a twist," she said. "All the fantasy, all the new plates that we invent. It's like we made a revolution in the way people are eating breakfast. This is breaking our egg." Tsouflidou said one idea is not enough to sustain a successful business, with new ideas needed every day to keep the success going. The next ingredient was milk, which Tsouflidou said represents focus. "You focus on your core business. Download your local news app... Brought to y you by y: : and ENTER TO WIN an all-new 2012 Toyota Camry LE! Scan this QR code to download your free app or visit www.localnewsappcontest.com No purchase necessary. Contest open to Ontario residents 18 years of age or older. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. One (1) grand prize will be awarded. Approximate retail value of the grand prize is $23,700. Entrants must correctly answer, r unaided, a mathematical skill-testing question to be declared a winner. Contest closes December 17, 2011 at 11:59pm. To T enter and for f complete contest rules, visit www.localnewsappcontest.com. Camry LE toyota.ca