Emerging stronger from business failure: Bernie Utchenik, better known as "Botak Jones", was hailed the blue-eyed boy of the foo

ASKED to describe his firm, Bernie Utchenik says Botak Jones is a food and beverage business that is trying to introduce a finer quality of food and higher quality of service to the average Singaporean via the heartlands through the humble coffee shop in the neighbourhood.

"Basically when we first started in August 2003, the shop was in Pioneer Sector Two in Tuas. Why Tuas, I thought we had an opportunity really. It was a no brainer. In Tuas you had businesses just like anywhere else in Singapore. You had the same demographics and you had a large number of professionals, workers, and foreign talent by way of engineers and the like who were not able to get good quality western meals," says Utchenik.

He realised that there were several canteens and coffee shops in the area but no stalls selling authentic western food. Also because the workers would be looking for a quick meal much of the fare available was simple and not really "restaurant quality".

By "western", Utchenik means "American": "American food is not just burgers and fries like you find in McDonald's and Burger King. Many of the expatriates and foreigners working in the area would not choose local dishes like noodles or rice as their cultural dietary preference would be for more western staples. Most of these people would either pack a sandwich lunch or head to Taman Jurong to the nearest burger joint for a quick meal."

The stall at Tuas was not an overnight success. It took people a while to get adjusted to the idea of what Botak Jones was about. But as the food won over more people, business began to take off.

Utchenik adds he knew he was on to the right thing when he started to attract customers from outside Tuas: "When people who had never been to Tuas, started showing up at the stall, I realised that my business idea was on the money."

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Then it dawned on him that people from the heartlands in the western and possibly the other parts of Singapore did not have access to American food in their HDB (Housing and Development Board) estates.

Utchenik's quest was to figure out if he brought a better quality of food to the so-called heartlands, would customers notice it? Then would they be willing to pay a little more knowing that the value of the food was much higher? Perhaps the much more relaxed atmosphere of the neighbourhood coffee shop would persuade Singaporeans to tuck in or then again they might not. But he thought he was on to something.

Prove Himself

From the humble start in 2003, there are 11 outlets in the Botak Jones chain today with some 200 employees. A far cry from when he first stared out manning the outlet at Tuas. Many of the other stall holders in the coffee shop thought he was a crazy "Ang Mo" (Caucasian).

Who could blame them? Why would any self-respecting "Ang Mo" travel half way around the world to come to Tuas and set up a stall selling American food? The only "Ang Mo" that these stall holders would have come across are the expatriate blue collar engineers and professional managers working in Tuas.

They would never equate Caucasians on par with themselves so Utchenik had to prove that he was not so different from the locals. Putting in the hard work at the stall, keeping it clean, and running it well, showed the other stall holders that he was not only in it for the same reasons but was also willing to do what it took to succeed.

Utchenik says any venture needs to begin as a vision. How concrete the ideas behind the vision are would dictate success but without the vision to begin with, a business venture would probably be still-born.

He stands by his food quality. The tagline "damned good food at a damned good price" isn't meant to be arrogant. He explains: "When you start with very good quality ingredients, unless you really screw it up, it'll come out as really good food. Because we control the process from start to finish we are confident that the end product will pass muster and the prices we charge are fair and affordable."

One item that Botak Jones has brought to the heartland coffee shops is USDA Prime Angus beef. This cut of meat is not only the upper tier in meat quality but also usually found in five-star establishments. The opportunity to offer USDA choice cuts came out of an over order that his meat supplier had made for another customer. He offered the meat to Utchenik at a good price and he took it.

Utchenik hand posted a sign at his Ang Mo Kio outlet offering the beef at S$30+. He chose that stall as he felt he had built up a good relationship with customers there for him to gauge the interest in the new dish. He sold all the steaks in a day. He went back to the supplier and cleared the entire overstock in a week.

Utchenik believes this success had much to do with trust as it had to do with anything else: "If customers trust you, they will take a chance. After they taste it, the product usually sells itself. And that's why better cuts of meat sell well at Botak Jones. Of course, happy customers tell their friends, and word of mouth buys your reputation more good than any advert campaign. My customers know that they can choose from my Australian or American cuts but they can be assured that I would never offer them a low quality cut or meat."

He reckons that his top three success factors were that he branded very quickly. Despite starting out in Tuas without any marketing or reputation he has built up a good brand. Secondly, despite his organisation's smaller more hands-on approach, he gets compared with other organisations that are not only larger but also have deeper pockets and thus more resources. The company is still learning and growing, so its another feather in his cap when others compare his company to more established ones.

The success of his latest venture notwithstanding, Utchenik says that the failure of his previous business, Bernie Goes to Town, was a hard lesson for him. The biggest lessons were not to become complacent and live on your past success and that each venture is a new and separate venture.

He says he learnt not to take things for granted or to gloss over the finer points of running a business. He stresses that owners must learn and realise that business delegation is not abdication. He admits he was in some ways blinded by his prior success so he picked to oversee only those items that he had an affinity to or enjoyed doing.

He delegated all his operational roles and as a result was not on top of the situation when things went awry. He describes his role then as a "consultant rather than a business owner". So, he believes that it is crucial for business-owners to be in a position to lead from the front and also to be able to micro-manage if needed to keep the ship on course.

After Bernie's Goes to Town folded, Utchenik was rather downcast for a while. It took him some time to build a resolve to move on. He went to work for someone else. His wife convinced him that he still had much to offer and encouraged him to start his own business again.

Catchy Name

And that was the beginning of Botak Jones. "Botak" as Utchenik is as bald as a cue-ball and "Jones" because it was a common Caucasian name.

"When I registered the name, and at that time you had to do it yourself at International Plaza, every counter I went to, the people were smiling or laughing when they read the name. As far as I know, everyone who has heard the name since I came up with it hasn't forgotten it. Some people still refer to me as Botak Jones even though I haven't seen them in years." says Utchenik.

He does not have any measure in place to know if his company "has arrived". He sees it as a work in progress: "As any company or start up progresses, there are some landmarks or milestones that gauge success. Mine isn't and initial public offer. It's not that money that drives business people like me. Business should never be about the money. Just like a soccer team, each time you progress through the different divisions and get promoted to the next tier, you feel good about yourself and you gear up for the challenges at competing at that level and then progressing to the next."

"I will know the company has arrived after I'm out of the picture. After my passing, I will know the company has arrived if it carries on in the same mould--learning, relearning, expanding, consolidating, and growing stronger on the same ethical and business platforms I set out. So it's a Catch-22 situation, I won't know for certain Botak Jones has arrived unless I'm dead and out of the picture."

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