[Book Sip] Hot Place Neighborhood Bakery 'If You Do Just This, Business Will Run Itself'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We present meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

Just five years ago, Songridan-gil next to Jamsil Seokchon Lake was a shabby alley of one-room apartments. Larabread is the neighborhood bakery that turned this area into a current hot spot. The author and CEO, Kang Ho-dong, shares his experience of overcoming poverty and disability by learning firsthand how to be loved by customers over 20 years in various businesses. In the book, he candidly reveals the trial-and-error process he went through and carefully introduces the know-how for successful entrepreneurship.

Although I paid a high opportunity cost in life, I worked hard, started my own store, failed, and tried again. I opened a tart specialty shop called ‘Tartar’ and recovered all my investment within three months, then expanded to 40 branches nationwide, growing it into a franchise brand. Even after Tartar’s success, I did not settle but founded a brunch & bakery cafe called ‘Larabread,’ achieving another success with total company sales reaching about 10 billion won. Now, with restaurant sales plus real estate assets, I operate my business more stably. This is because I learned how to change the harsh reality of shedding tears over landlords who are above even the Creator. - p.6

The premonition that it would do well was correct. Sales, which had been only 20 million won before, soared to 180 million won within a year after reopening. That is a growth of over 900 percent. It was not a temporary ‘opening boost.’ This sales figure continued steadily for nearly a year. Customers raised their cameras and exclaimed as soon as the open sandwiches came out, and Larabread’s feed was constantly uploaded on SNS. Although after the first opening, online marketing was aggressively attempted, not a single proper review was posted, but now customers started promoting and spreading the word on their own online spaces. - p.129

The brand’s identity and design consistency are very important regardless of the store’s size. However, it is very unfortunate that many still start businesses based only on the product. Rather, the smaller the store, the more actively it must show its own color to survive in this fierce food service industry. Elements such as logos, business cards, aprons, and signboards are not trivial at all. Branding is the sum of the residual images these small elements leave on customers. Let us not forget that the owner’s beliefs and philosophy must be revealed in these parts to create a unique identity and competitiveness that sets our store apart from others. - p.205

If You Do Just This, Business Will Run Automatically | Written by Kang Ho-dong | Wisdom House | 288 pages | 16,500 won