By Jessica O. Swink
Editor, Small Business Insight
Photo contributed by Mia Guinan
Running a business presents its own unique set of challenges. Perhaps the only thing more challenging is running a business while living in a different country. The Gourmet Gang’s owner, Mia Guinan, does just that.
After starting and successfully running The Gourmet Gang since 1992, she moved to Germany after her husband was deployed there last year. Today, sandwiches and Skype go hand-in-hand as Guinan runs her business from six time zones away.
Technology has made it possible,” Guinan explains. “With the staff, we have a lot of longevity. Four out of five of our deli managers have been with the company for over 10 years, and that alone has been an instrumental factor.”
What started as a door-to-door sandwich delivery business has now been transformed into a $4.8 million gourmet sandwich shop, with 30 percent of the business devoted to catering. Corporate headquarters are located in Norfolk, but The Gourmet Gang can be found in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake as well.
“It is all about the people. You walk into the kitchen, and the interaction of people makes it fun,” Guinan explains. “I think it’s why those guys have been there for 10 years.”
Part of Guinan’s management philosophy is to manage where the employees are at a certain point in time, and realizing the ebb and flow of each employee. At the beginning of each year, every employee is asked for his or her “Top 10”: a list of what they want to do in the business or otherwise and where they would like to see the business go in the coming year. Throughout the year, Guinan incorporates each employee’s “Top 10” into her decision making.
When asked about challenges that she faces, she mentioned the daily routines of being a mother and running a business.
“It’s a tug-of-war with how much time you can devote to your children. I tend to do my work around everyone else’s schedules,” she says. “I don’t want to have to choose. I want to do it all!”
Still, Guinan reflects on a quote by Winston Churchill: “Never, never, never give up.”
“Despite all things, you just keep pushing,” Guinan explains. “Whether that’s been good or bad, you never know. That is not just a quote, but a frame of mind. It’s simply not an option to give up.”
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