第１６３３堀：お弁当屋の計画書からお金について (Part1)
Chapter 1633: On Money, from the Bento Shop’s Business Plan
Even in the real world, there are surprisingly many people who run businesses quite haphazardly.
I mean, it’s either incredibly sloppy bookkeeping or counting chickens before they hatch.
You hear their stories and think, "How on earth have you managed to survive this long?"
From the Bento Shop’s Business Plan: On Money
Side: Yuki
"…And so, things are going well with Canaria."
"Indeed. She has a solid plan in place. Would you like to read it?"
The document Ratz handed me detailed the interior design, equipment, and tools for the bento shop. Beyond that, it even included a surprisingly thorough business plan covering the flagship bento items and projected daily income.
"I’m impressed. I didn't think Canaria could write something like this. Though, I suppose Ratz and Ria must have helped her."
When I said that and looked at the two of them, both broke into smiles.
"Yes. Well, I could only really help with the calculations related to the bento themselves."
"Don't worry about it~. It’s not often you see a shop that puts together a business plan this properly, after all~."
And that’s the truth of it.
It’s the same back on Earth. People start things half-heartedly and go bust just as easily.
Of course, even with a solid plan, the flow of people and shifting trends can still sink a business, but writing it down on paper makes those problems easier to grasp, which in turn helps avoid failure.
It’s better to do it than not. It’s certainly better than recklessly throwing money at advertising or cutting staff just to secure a budget.
As I looked through the documents with admiration, I noticed Nina glancing my way.
"What is it, Nina? Are you interested, too?"
"I am often out in the field. Therefore, I am interested in the bento. If they are delicious, they are worth buying."
She answered my question clearly. Well, I suppose it’s true that good food is better than bad food.
"Here, if you put in a request now, you might get your favorite bento on the menu."
I handed her the list of planned bento, and she took it, beginning to study it intently.
"Still, you’re projecting a hundred sales a day to the government office, aren't you?"
"It’s not just the government office. We’ve also requested fixed sales to the resort staff. Of course, we’ve lowered the price for them, but even at that minimum volume, it’s enough to cover the cost of ingredients and other expenses."
A hundred might sound like a lot, but in reality, it isn't.
After all, the unit price of a bento is low. To put it simply, the bento Canaria is making costs about 500 yen when converted to Japanese currency.
With a cost-of-goods ratio of about 30%, she needs to make the bento for 150 yen.
That leaves 350 yen in profit per bento, excluding overhead.
At 100 units, that’s 35,000 yen a day.
Assuming 22 working days a month, that’s 770,000 yen.
After subtracting rent, utilities, and the like, she’d have around 500,000 yen.
Once you factor in salaries for the staff, having 200,000 to 300,000 yen left over would be a good result.
"Well, if the worst happens, I’ll just step in and provide some support for the shop, so it’s fine."
As soon as I said that, Prol spoke up.
"Yuki-sama, there is no need for you to do such a thing. The employees are to be Kirika-sama’s intelligence agents, and through that bento shop, we will also monitor the port town. It should be properly covered by the national budget."
"That’s right~. You don’t need to work yourself to the bone, Big Brother~. Though, in reality, you just want to release some of the funds that have been piling up, don't you?"
Ratz agreed with Prol while simultaneously hitting the nail on the head regarding my true intentions.
Orelia and the others turned their gazes toward me, wondering if it were true.
"She’s not wrong. Of course, it’s to keep Canaria’s shop from going under, but I really should start using my money for things other than just donations."
"You’ve been busy lately, after all~. Your salary just keeps accumulating, and we’ve been told that gifts for various related parties can be treated as expenses, too~."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Orelia asked, tilting her head.
"If you’re an individual, having money pile up isn't necessarily a bad thing. But for our department, that means expenses are increasing. If I were to cover it personally, the burden would fall entirely on me, so in that sense, Orelia is right. But still... we’re high-ranking officials, and our salaries are decent."
"Indeed~. Well, if that weren't the case, no one would want to climb the ladder. The problem is that we basically have few opportunities to spend money. I’m on the better side of things, since I’m building shops and such. But for everyone else, the only opportunity to spend is on donations to related parties. The money just ends up concentrating within our own circle~."
"If money isn't spent, it doesn't circulate through society."
"Is that so?" Lyushi asked, tilting her head in turn.
"Well, let me explain it simply. I’ll use smaller numbers to make it easy to follow. Let’s say there are 1,000 units of money circulating in society. The general public has 10, and we have a salary of 50. Let’s assume the general public uses almost all of that 10 to live. But suppose we put 45 into savings. Only 15 is returned to society. In other words, by the next payday, the money circulating in society is..."
"Ah, it becomes 955, doesn't it~?" Hovis answered, having understood what I was getting at.
Hearing the concrete numbers, Yayui and Lyushi also had a moment of realization.
"Does that mean the money in society will disappear if things go on like this?"
"Isn't that a disaster!?"
"Well, it would be. That said, money doesn't just circulate within Weed. The numbers are literally orders of magnitude larger than what I just said, so it won't happen overnight. But do you understand now why it’s important for the wealthy to spend their money?"
When I asked, everyone nodded.
"So that’s why the nobles were being extravagant," Lyushi said, looking impressed.
"Though some of them are just squandering it on foolish things. If they spend money on food, clothes, and jewelry, that money is paid to those tradespeople. That becomes their salary. Of course, just because you have money doesn't mean the goods exist to be bought... but let’s set that aside. Prol, I think you understand that, but do you still object?"
"I object. Yuki-sama—or rather, the wives—should simply engage in more visibly extravagant spending to put money back into the economy. That would balance things out."
Prol’s opinion remained unchanged, and she made a valid point.
However...