By Ainsley Walters, Staff Reporter
WHEN THE terrorists slammed aeroplanes into the World Trade Center's twin towers and the Pentagon in the United States last September, the impact was felt right around the world.
Globally, stock exchanges stalled and countries such as Jamaica, which depend on American tourist dollars, waited anxiously for the United States to recover from the ordeal which claimed more than 2700 lives.
The September 11 tragedy not only affected the local tourist industry but went straight to the heart of small businesses in other sectors.
Stephen Jones, one of several young business leaders who participated in a Gleaner Editors Forum recently, was hard hit by the events in the USA but has turned his misfortune into opportunity. He started Soup-a-Doops, a walk-in restaurant with delivery service at 119 Hagley Park Road.
After operating a profitable linen manufacturing business from the Corporate Area location for more than three years, Jones' US dollar earning set-up came to a screeching halt last September.
"September 11 killed my business," said 32-year-old Jones, who moved back to Jamaica in 1998 after spending nine years in the States, where he attended Kennesaw State College in Atlanta, Georgia.
While living abroad, the young entrepreneur worked with a New York firm which distributed India-made linen to big retail chains. Opportunity came knocking for Jones when problems developed with the Indian suppliers. He convinced the firm to let him take over the contract but operating out of Jamaica.
"The factory was on this same compund," he said. "Business was really good earning in US dollars, but what happened in New York shut down my business. The firm which held the contract was right in the heart of where the explosions occured."
Quick thinking, Jones said, led him to start Soup-a-Doops two months later.
"The restaurant was already there but being operated by a friend of the family who was trying a thing but wasn't fulfilling its potential," he explained.
The building, which also houses the Alma Jones Medical Centre where Jones' brothers, M.K. and C.C. Jones, have a thriving practice, was family-owned so it was easy for him to take over the restaurant when the previous proprietor moved on.
"After doing some research among the people visiting the doctor, I realised a lot of them were more in for soup and the soup led from one thing to another, Jones said.
"Within a month, word of mouth got around the Hagley Park area that this is where you could get good food and soup. I did some more research, talking to businesses in the area, who asked if they could place orders for pick-up."
Pick-up along the busy Hagley Park Road strip was tedious especially during lunch hours so Jones started his delivery service with one bike.
"I now have four delivery men, three persons in the kitchen and two ancillary staffers," he pointed out.
Soup-a-Doops now delivers an average of 150 lunches between Hagley Park Road, Spanish Town Road, New Kingston and walk-in customers.
Jones said the restaurant is not matching-up to his previous linen business in terms of profitability but he's still learning the ropes in what he described as a "funny business".
"You could be serving 300 lunches daily and not be making a profit," he said. "You must have proper control systems in place in addition to knowing peak and slow days to make a profit."
Recipe control is also vitally important."
"If done well, I see where I can take this business to having 15 bikes on the road. That's the challenge which keeps me going."
His linen manufacturing machinery is still in place and he is called on occasionally to fill orders from local hotels.
"I won't be ruling that out," he said.
