THE ANATOMY OF A BUSINESS MELTDOWN EPISODE 1
They Spent 60% of Their Budget on Furniture – And None on the Essentials
“We’ll figure it out as we go.”
That’s what they said.
What they didn’t realize is that improvisation in business is the fastest path to failure.
This is the story of a restaurant project that had everything going for it — except a plan.
The Dream Begins… Without a Plan
The idea was appealing: a high-quality street food concept, fast service, strong visual identity, and a modern twist.
There was just one problem: there was no budget.
Not just “no money” — but no budget.
No plan. No ratios. No financial modeling. No margin calculations. No supplier strategy.
Not even a basic forecast.
And yet, money started flowing out at full speed.
60% of the Capital… Gone on Tables and Decor
Within weeks, over 60% of the total investment had been spent on furniture and decoration.
The restaurant looked great. But it wasn’t functional.
No kitchen flow. No workstation logic. No seating plan that matched the type of service.
Even worse?
🔻 A Geneva-based graphic designer was paid a fortune (1/10th of the total budget)…
🔻 For a mediocre branding pack that lacked all necessary formats: no .ai, no .svg, no social kits.
🔻 Online, they could’ve paid 10% of that amount for a higher-quality result — delivered in every professional format.
But they never looked.
No market comparison. No second opinion.
Just blind spending. Over and over again.
All This, Before the First Customer Ever Walked In
No operational strategy.
No hiring plan.
No defined menu.
No stock system.
No supplier negotiation.
No margin analysis.
And most importantly: no one to say stop.
They were confident. Overconfident.
They trusted their intuition.
They believed they knew best.
Until reality hit — hard.
What SMART COUNTS Would Have Done
Here’s how we would have structured the launch from day one:
- Clear investment ratios
→ Not more than 15–20% of total funds on furniture/decor - Basic financial modeling
→ CAPEX/OPEX planning, break-even analysis, margin forecasting - Smart sourcing strategy
→ Competitive bids for design, printing, kitchen setup, tech tools - Functional design logic
→ From flow of movement to seating layout and POS efficiency - Spending governance
→ Who approves what? When? Why? - Pre-opening simulation
→ Budget stress test + stock simulation before opening