justin bieber news: edwin - BUSINESS NEVER TASTED SO GOOD: MARK WARREN ...

This is not Mark Warren.

In recent times, when we think of the word, ?Entrepreneur? we think of something flashy or maybe technology driven.? Sometimes what we fail to realize is that there are dozens of entrepreneurs in our communities who are just as happy and just as knowledgeable as those entrepreneurs we read about in Forbes.

Marcus Warren of Soulful D?Lites is an entrepreneur with an abundance of knowledge about business and the restaurant industry.? His restaurant, Soulful D?Lites is a cozy storefront on historical, 52nd Street in Philadelphia.? The humble restaurant is known for its tasty twist on traditional soul food with a menu mostly comprised of the type of seafood dishes that you?d expect from a five star restaurant including, stuffed salmon and sauteed shrimp.

But that?s just part of the story.? What Marcus was able to accomplish is something tangible.? He represents the person who made some tough, yet simple, decisions in his life that led him to a comfortable lifestyle where he?s his own boss and has an impact on his community.? Below is just a few of the words of wisdom I was able to steal from him during our conversation.? If you want more, Soulful D?lites is located at 1214 N. 52nd Street in Philadelphia, 215-877-4400.

Mark Warren, owner of Soulful D'Lites

Soulful D?Lites will also be at Entr?e THIS SUNDAY!? Tickets are on sale now at www.cgm.bigcartel.com.

CC: Please introduce yourself.

MW: Marcus Warren, the owner and proprietor of Soulful D?Lites. 1214 N. 52nd Street [Philadelphia, PA]

CC: Can you tell us about your process from idea to reality?

MW: Well, at most of the restaurants I used to work for, I was a supervisor or manager.? ? And one of the responsibilities was to come up with different ideas and different food products.? So eventually I started to feel like I knew more than my supervisor.? So I said, ?I?m going to open up my own place.?? I?m already doing everything anyway, so what the heck?

CC: How were you able to overcome the fear of risk when opening your restaurant?

MW: I really never had a fear of risk.? What I can say is that anybody I ever talked to that had their own business said that if you love it and you put 110% in it, you?re going to get 110% back.? That?s how I look at it.? If I?m working hard, if I?m doing the right thing, constantly trying to learn about the business, because you never know everything, you?re good.? It?s always good to compare notes with people that have been in the business longer than you.? I?ve been in the business for a long time and since I?ve always been successful at every company I worked for, why can?t I do it for myself?? I can?t see me not making it if I?m already doing it for someone else.? And you gotta have quality people.? Don?t just accept anybody to work for you.? That?ll save you a lot of headaches.? You?re already going to have headaches without worrying about your people.

CC: What are some specific steps for opening a restaurant?

MW: Whatever you know now, learn a little bit more lol.? Think about budgeting and where you?re going to get your product from.? Make sure you get certified with your Serve Save license and your Business Privilege license.? And basically you need to know what you?re going to sell so you gotta get your menu together.? When you think about locations, think about the people and what people are you aiming to pull into your restaurant.? So what type of menu are you talking about? Heart Healthy? Old Trends? Bistro?? What type of customer base are you trying to shoot for?? Blacks? Latinos? Or the whole spectrum.

CC: Being in an area where there are a lot of other restaurants and food stands, how are you able to maintain a close relationship with your customers?

MW: Well you gotta talk to them.? If they got a complaint, not only listen but fix the problem.? You can?t just listen and not do anything about it.? Because one thing I realized is that the food business is tough.? A lot of times you can?t please everybody but you never stop trying.? To find out what the people want, you have to talk to them.? Sometimes I can?t get up to the front because we?re busy and I?m in the back but as much as I can, I try to come up front and speak with the people to see what they dislike or what can be improved.? Sometimes they just want you to add to what you already have.

CC: What are some of the more popular items on your menu?

MW: We sell a lot of salmon burgers, cornbread, turkey wings, the yams, collard greens.? We have a pan-seared spicy honey salmon and shrimp that they like.? Um, mussel scampi and we have a nice stuffed tilapia that?s sauteed and stuffed with sauteed spinach and shrimp.

CC: If I?m opening up a restaurant, what hurdles do I have to look out for?

MW: If you?re leasing other people?s property make sure that you can really handle the lease.? And that means knowing what the area is going for compared to what other businesses in the area are paying.? Make sure you have backup money if things are not quite working out so you can pay the lease until things pick up.? They don?t just pick right so you gotta have that backup money.? Me personally, I couldn?t get a loan but I had a little money saved up.? It wasn?t enough so I went back to working three jobs.? I worked two full time jobs and a part time job on the weekend.? I got tired of people telling me, ?no? so I did it myself.? I had the bare essentials and for three years straight, I just saved money.? You have to sacrifice something if you want this to happen.? Even if you get a loan from a bank, they?re not just going to give it to you.? You have to have something saved so they see that you?re striving to make this dream happen yourself.? So you have to really want it.

CC: What are your future plans?

MW: One of my next levels in the business is getting a bigger property.? I want it to be three floors.? A restaurant, take-out and delivery service on the first floor.? Second floor, catering hall / banquet hall and on the third floor, a night club / cafe.? And I want to have it so that we can throw different shows weekly with up and coming artists.? And I want to have something that?ll have entrepreneurs pull in young adults and show them the business.? Not just talk to them, but start them from the bottom and work your way to the top, like a real internship.? Let them really see the good and the bad in the business so they can make their way from there.? And we need to focus on our own people because a lot of us don?t have that mentality.? They say, ?I just want to get a job.?? It?s nothing wrong with that but how about if you create the job to give to somebody else?? If you?re a business owner, you don?t need a job because you?ve created one.

CC: Any last advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

MW: A few things.? If that?s what you want to do don?t let anybody tell you you can?t do it.? You have to sacrifice something if you want to make it happen.? And keep honest people around you that want to work.? It?s always good to talk to other business people that way you can learn things and add to what you know.? Never stop learning and every chance you get look at other businesses like yours to get ideas.? Not necessarily their ideas but something that you can add your own spin on to upgrade your business.? And just constantly improve your business so that it can grow.

NOTE: Soulful D?Lites will also be at?Entr?e?THIS SUNDAY!? Tickets are on sale now at?www.cgm.bigcartel.com.