The words had barely come out of his mouth before the other two rushed to help themselves to full cups of yoghurt. They all tasted it first, moaned with delight at Lucas' yoghurt, and finished their rations speedily. The giggled like little girls and looked at it with pure wonder and unbridled astronishment.
Watching them was a real delight for Lucas. He was not just seeing them,in his mind's eye, he was already seeing the same reactions from hundreds (maybe thousands) of people who would taste his yoghurt for the first time. Who would have thought that such a simple business model like this would have such potential.
Apparently, this people had not discovered yoghurt yet. Lucas had no doubt that the moment this delicacy hit the streets, it was going to be welcomed with open mouths and hands filled with money. He could not supress the smile that was actively forming on his face, it was like taking candy from babies! This stuff was definitely going to make him even richer!
Having secured a sweet spot for a store, and after securing the raw material and the finished product, Lucas was set for the next stage- selling!
With his faithful team of three girls, the new yoghurt merchant led them to the various stores in the vicinity. In order to ensure a smooth takeoff of the business, Lucas knew he had to go big on promotion. Getting the word out was very important, so making sacrifices was to be in order.
Together with the girls, they gave away fifty cups for free in public places, and when the first batch of customers sought him out at the store, they gave away another fifty cups to create more awareness and hook in their new customer base. The plan worked like a charm. The very next day, the shop was crowded with several people with pockets filled with money. Lucas had to police the situation and make sure that the customers were ordered into queuing up in an orderly fashion, while the girls handled the sales.
The first few days of opening week was a massive success. This was the dream of every startup and enterprising new business owner. Lucas had strategically planned everything down to the last detail and it had brought forth very rewarding fruits. Once again, he was glorified in the sight of the three girls who were now extremely busy, and equally happy!
By noon the next day, they had completely sold out every cup of yoghurt! The shop had raked in more customers than the candy store raked in children. With virtually nothing left to sell, Lucas decided to make some more really quickly.
But it seemed he had underestimated the effect his yoghurt had on the customers. Tales had spread within the neighborhood, and more people were eager for a cup. So, when Lucas announced that they were temporarily out, something very interesting happened that told Lucas what he needed to know.
Lucas knew he should have anticipated it. It was something that was almost always sure to occur to small sucessful start ups and business owners. It was the bane of success, and the antecedent of expansion.
Right after Lucas made the announcement that the store was temporarily out of yoghurt to sell, it caused no small dissension within the small crowd outside. Customers were not happy, and they made no attempt to disguise their feelings.
"Hey!! That's not fair! You mean we came all this way for nothing??? C'mon!!"
"Yeah!! He's got to be holding out on us!!"
"Oh hell no, he better not be trying to hoard this yoghurt to jack up the price!! That's what O'malleys did with their apple pie last year!!"
Loud angry comments ran through the crowd. Lucas was amazed, maybe even a little flattered that they considered him shrewd enough to deploy one of the most ruthless business tactics. Waited patiently for them to vent, before proceeding to placate them.
"Friends!! Please!! Please!! Bear with us!!" He pleaded, "We are doing the best we can with the resources and man power we have! Soon enough, the product will be back on sale!!"
A brilliant idea occured to him on the spot and he immediately acted on it; "For the first five customers who come back when we're fully restocked, they will be each granted a complimentary cup on the house!"
The promise of freebies always worked like a charm. Lucas' promise temporarily diffused the situation, and the angry prostests slowly died down into low grumbles. Thw crowd soon dispersed, leaving an intrigued Lucas behind, doing his best not to smile with satisfaction. His business had taken off pretty smoothly. The crowd of hungry customers were always a good sign. Especially for a new business venture.
Faced with the task of solving the problem of keeping up with the demand, Lucas spent the entire evening buying up large quantities of milk from vendors. The deals went a lot easier this time because Lucas had gotten some basic understanding of the dynamics of the marketplace.
It was funny, but it actually seemed like the local vendors did not trust anyone who was trying to cheat them. They were overly suspicious of deals that looked too good. So Lucas had to be a lot more shrewd with his approach. It was thrilling to see that they immediately accorded him more respect whenever he tried to blatantly rip them off.
The evening turned out to be a huge success and also, a huge lesson in the cultural dynamics of the marketplace. So, Lucas returned home with a ton of raw material for the next batch of milk. He spent the later part of his day using the Heaven A.I. system to make and package more yoghurt. He went to bed feeling rather fulfiledand enjoyed the sweet sleep of a working man.
Now that he had been endowed with a driving sense of purpose and a goal, Lucas did not struggle to wake up early the next morning. In fact, he quite literally jumped out of bed. The girls seemed to share this infectious bubbling energy. The synergy was evident, as they were all bound by the same desire to succeed.
But unfortunately, fate had a surprise in stock for them.
Lucas and the girls arrived at the store that morning to meet quite the scene- their shop had been burgled! Well, not burgled per say, merely broken into. Lucas felt like he had been racing in a fast car, only to have an obstacle suddenly appear on the road that he had to crash into, because he had no brakes.
"Oh no!!" Lolita cried aloud. Stating the obvious, she cried; "Someone broke in!"
It was a bad start to a new day. The trio spread out to investigate while Lucas remained at the entrace.
Catherine's perceptive eyes scanned the open space. "Am I crazy, or does it not look like nothing's missing. It looks like someone got in only to vandalize the store."
"Not someone," Lucas spoke for the first time as he walked in and pointed; "It was defintely a group effort. They were many."
"I swear when I lay my hands on them, they're going to pay!" Lolita declared in her war 'declaring tone.' "Who could have done this??"
An unfamiliar cold biting voice answered from the entrace; "INDEED. THAT'S THE QUESTION ISN'T IT???"
The stranger took everyone by surprise, placing them on edge and temporarily rendering them speechless. The voice was arrogant, impudent, and even a little sarcastic. But when they finally laid eyes on the person, they saw that he looked exactly how he sounded. Probably even worse.
The stranger spoke again; "Oh, did I startle you? Good. That was my intention."
He was a young man, and the summary of his looks was that he looked every inch a thug. Cracked lips from opium abuse, hoarse voice from heavy drinking, and a wicked mean smirk that looked like it was permanently plastered. And he was not alone.
Lucas asked calmly; "Who are you? What business have you with us?"
"One question at a time boy." He spat. "First off, I'm Mike and I'm something of a demon on these streets. As for my business here, I'm here for my one gold coin. As soon as you hand it over, I'll be on my way."
Lucas answered; "One gold coin? Whatever for?"