Ok, now I get it. You were allowed to keep tips given to you. You weren’t allowed to keep tips, even a percentage, given to your staff. The method by which you collected tips – the tip jar – co-mingled those two categories of tips.
Tips that were received in the jar when I was by myself, I could keep. I could not keep any percentage of tips received when I had another employee on the clock. Even though I was still serving, I couldn’t have any of that pool. Even if it was kitchen help and I was the only server, those tips belong to the employee.
The only other option was to remove my husband from all the licensing and name him cook and then he could keep all the tips.
That’s how the lady at the labor board explained it to me.
Offhand, I’d say this sounds like a terrible idea.
Many reasons.
First off, most new businesses do not succeed and if they do, it usually takes at least a year before they start making money. Before that, you have to keep on sinking more and more moolah into the business.
In order for this to be a good idea, I’d say you should either …
- know all about owning and running a deli because you have done it for a big portion of your life or …
- you can afford to lose all the money you put into it or …
- you buy an existing running and successful deli from someone you trust with your life - buying it from anyone else would be a very high risk proposition.
If you have never seen the “I Love Lucy” episode where Lucy & Ricky & Fred & Ethyl buy a deli, I suggest you watch it. Not because any TV sitcom can give you an accurate depiction of what a real life situation is like … but just because the underlying event could well happen to you.
Also, I would just say the 3 most important factors in opening and running a business are:
- Location
- Location
- Location
If you don’t have a perfect location with huge traffic, you should forget about it.
Finally, I have to tell you, this sounds like a most terrible idea - except if you are looking to lose a whole bunch of money real quickly … or maybe looking for a quick way to make your husband so angry that he will give you a divorce. You will very likely lose your shirts if you do this. Don’t do it.
If you feel the need to go into some kind of business for yourself, consider driving a taxi or (much better) a limo. If you live in a big city, driving an airport limo can be a real lucrative business. I used to do that part time and I was very, very happy with the money I made. If you used your imagination, there were many ways to earn plenty of extra money - especially on holidays.
You can start off working for an owner and paying a daily fee to rent the car. Then, once you feel comfortable with the business (maybe after 2 years), you can buy your own car and license. I made a small fortune when I did this. I had a good full time job and just did this weekends and holidays. But I made more money doing this than I did from my full time job.
As the OP is from 2011, and the last followup from more than a year ago, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it.
Since this thread is old, and I believe the OP not only opened but subsequently closed her deli, I am going to close this thread.