白领商务英语－经典案例4：AJ WRAPS

    FACING BUSINESS CHALLENGES AT AJ WRAPS

Wrapping Up a Business - To Go

Alice Thomson and Judith Nantook are identical twin sisters whose passion for food led them into a gutsy decision: opening a chain of fast-food restaurants¾starting with one, of course.

AJ Wraps “probably began when we were teenagers working in fast-food restaurants,” says Alice. “Then our parents gave us a trip to Paris as a graduation present,” adds her twin Judith. “We fell in love with gourmet¹ French cuisine².” They had wanted to stay and study with the masters of French cooking, but it just wasn’t feasible. So they went home to Illinois to finish college (Alice majored in psychology³, Judith in premed zoology). Then Judith met and married Jeff Nantook, following him to San Francisco where he worked as a CPA and tax adviser⁴.

Before long, Judith was begging Alice to move to San Francisco and attend the California Culinary Academy with her. During the week they were learning about sauces and soufflés , and on weekends they were tasting and sampling the city's gourmet offerings while endlessly discussing the restaurant they planned to open after graduation. They were fascinated by the local trend toward multiethnic combinations--and by a "new" eating invention called the wrap. Some say it evolved from a Mexican burrito filled with unexpected ingredients. Others say the idea of a meal wrapped in an easy bundle shows up in every culture sooner or later.

Whatever its origin, the twins saw gold. They started planning a fast-food restaurant that would sell multiethnic, gourmet “wraps” containing exotic , fresh “fusion⁶” (hot and cold) cuisine. They imagined a flavored red tortilla filled with Thai chicken, jasmine-lime rice, and fresh snap peas¾or a green one filled with blackened red snapper, Spanish rice, Napa cabbage, and lime-horseradish sour cream. They even started making samples in Judith's home kitchen, much to Jeff’s delight.

The twins knew wraps appealed to anyone with a hectic⁷ lifestyle¾and who doesn't fall into that category at least occasionally? Commuters want to eat behind the wheel, parents want to pick up dinner on the way home, and single people are looking for fresh, healthy, inexpensive meals. Wraps could satisfy all these needs, the twins believed. A National Restaurant Association survey on ethnic⁵ cuisine showed that consumers were eager to try more ethnic foods; moreover, a look at the Internet Food Channel’s “Ultra Trend Tracker” showed them that the wrap was leading the sandwich category, where focaccia was fading. From coast to coast, newspaper reviews were hailing wraps as the best new fast-food discovery.
Now Judith and Alice face some hard business decisions. Jeff has agreed to share his expertise⁸ as financial adviser, but who will manage the food and who will handle the books? How will they share ownership, pay taxes, and compensate⁹ themselves? What will they offer financial backers? How will the business grow? Alice and Judith have absolute confidence in their teamwork and their culinary expertise. But they also know that if they don't set the business on the right structural¹⁰ foundation, it could fail overnight¾as a lot of well-meaning friends keep pointing out.

Meeting Business Challenges at AJ Wraps

For a time, Alice Thomson and Judith Nantook thought their plans to open AJ Wraps were falling through . Judith's husband Jeff was offered a partnership¹¹ in a large accounting¹² firm¾the catch was, he'd have to move to Los Angeles. However, with a little more research, the twins' enthusiasm was restored. They read about a company partly owned by actor Woody Harrelson: Yoganics, an organic food-delivery service, was apparently¹³ reaping tax benefits from a location in South-Central Los Angeles. A 1992 racial uprising left a scarred community that needed to rebuild itself, and the area was designated a “revitalization zone.” State officials were offering tax incentives¹⁴ to spur businesses into the area. It was working beautifully, creating new jobs and a positive, thriving atmosphere.

Alice and Judith loved this idea. As financial adviser, Jeff thought the tax savings¹⁵ would help them get rolling , and an eager work force couldn't hurt. Reassured¹⁶ , the twins revised their plans. Their headquarters would be in South-Central Los Angeles, with the first two restaurants nearby. The third they'd open farther south, in bustling¹⁷ , middle-class Orange County. After three AJ Wraps were running successfully, Judith, Alice, and Jeff would sit down and prepare a plan for selling franchises¹⁸. When it reached that stage, they’d probably want to incorporate , but in the meantime, the business would function as a partnership . Now they had to decide how to divide the responsibilities¾and the compensation.

At first, they considered including Jeff as a third partner-after all, his input¹⁹ during the planning stages had been invaluable²⁰. But in private meetings Judith and Alice decided²¹ that giving Jeff equal management control could eventually interfere²² in the long-practiced, twin-bonded , team tactics that worked so well between the two of them. They were so attuned²³ to each other's way of thinking and doing that they had always been able to make decisions in a snap.

For a while, they toyed with the idea of offering Jeff a limited partnership (eliminating his management responsibilities and limiting his liability) but realized they frequently needed his advice to make management decisions. As a limited partner, he wouldn't be compensated²⁴ for that weekly time investment. They also considered writing a general partnership agreement that limited Jeff’s management participation²⁵, but that approach could lead to some uncomfortable situations (such as having to tell him when to back off and when he was needed). Finally, the twins decided the best option was the simplest one: Alice and Judith would share the business as general partners, hiring Jeff as a consultant²⁶ and paying him hourly for his expertise. Besides, as Judith pointed²⁷ out, he'd be sharing in the restaurants' profits anyway as her husband. (At first Jeff's feelings were a little hurt when they told him he wouldn't be a partner. But then he saw the wisdom of it¾not to mention the lack of pressure and the easy income. He agreed wholeheartedly.)

Next, Alice and Judith decided that their financial backers (their aunt and uncle, at this stage) would be offered a limited partnership. When and if AJ Wraps incorporated, their backers would be given the option of selling their partnership back to the company or investing further as shareholders²⁸ in the closed corporation. This would all depend on the company's success, the twins realized, and they knew they could only plan so far ahead; first, their wraps must become a big hit in the new neighborhood.

One of the twins' early planning discussions was about the nature of their business: Were they a service provider or a goods producer? They decided they were both: When interacting with customers, they would provide attentive²⁹ service with a meal that was fast, inexpensive, and healthful. When working in the kitchen, they'd use all their culinary arts to “manufacture” the best wraps in Los Angeles¾or the West!

1 gourmet   

n.食物品尝家；adj.出于美食家之手的

参考例句：

• What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么？
• A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。

2 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

3 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

7 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

8 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

10 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

16 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

18 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

19 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

20 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

23 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

24 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

25 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

26 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

27 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

28 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

29 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。