Sugar Bowl
9-913-537
NOVEMBER 30, 2012
RICHARD G. HAMERMESH
ALISA ZALOSH
Sugar Bowl
Shelby Givens checked her watch as she jogged along Raleigh’s Greenway Trail; she was running late again. Since Sugar Bowl’s launch, there simply were not enough hours in the day to satisfy the overwhelming demands on her time. Givens couldn’t remember the last time she went to dinner and a movie with friends. And though three months had passed, she still deeply regretted missing her college roommate’s wedding because of an unanticipated staffing crisis.
Givens had thought that by now, April 2012, a full year after the bowling lounge’s opening, her fast-paced and sometimes sleepless entrepreneurial life would be slower, or at least more predictable.
But that simply wasn’t the case. Givens loved Raleigh and her job—managing her family’s bowling legacy was thrilling, professionally rewarding, and potentially lucrative. Profits were on the rise (See
Exhibits 1 and 2 for Sugar Bowl financial statements) but the continual personal sacrifice was starting to wear on her. Was this how she wanted to spend the remainder of her twenties? On the other hand, what job would ever be as fulfilling or as stimulating as the one she had now?
Sugar Bowl’s board meeting was two weeks away, scheduled for April 30, 2012. Givens had some exciting opportunities to present to her investors. It was imperative, though, that she work through her own priorities—financial and otherwise—in advance of that meeting. What was best for Sugar
Bowl wasn’t necessarily best for Givens. Or was it?
Background
After graduating from business school in 2009, Givens returned to her native Raleigh, NC to implement a turnaround of Westlake Lanes. The ailing seventies-style bowling business was started by her deceased grandfather, Dane Sugar, in an old mill in downtown Raleigh. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in general management, Givens tightened cost controls and streamlined operations. In just nine months Givens
NOVEMBER 30, 2012
RICHARD G. HAMERMESH
ALISA ZALOSH
Sugar Bowl
Shelby Givens checked her watch as she jogged along Raleigh’s Greenway Trail; she was running late again. Since Sugar Bowl’s launch, there simply were not enough hours in the day to satisfy the overwhelming demands on her time. Givens couldn’t remember the last time she went to dinner and a movie with friends. And though three months had passed, she still deeply regretted missing her college roommate’s wedding because of an unanticipated staffing crisis.
Givens had thought that by now, April 2012, a full year after the bowling lounge’s opening, her fast-paced and sometimes sleepless entrepreneurial life would be slower, or at least more predictable.
But that simply wasn’t the case. Givens loved Raleigh and her job—managing her family’s bowling legacy was thrilling, professionally rewarding, and potentially lucrative. Profits were on the rise (See
Exhibits 1 and 2 for Sugar Bowl financial statements) but the continual personal sacrifice was starting to wear on her. Was this how she wanted to spend the remainder of her twenties? On the other hand, what job would ever be as fulfilling or as stimulating as the one she had now?
Sugar Bowl’s board meeting was two weeks away, scheduled for April 30, 2012. Givens had some exciting opportunities to present to her investors. It was imperative, though, that she work through her own priorities—financial and otherwise—in advance of that meeting. What was best for Sugar
Bowl wasn’t necessarily best for Givens. Or was it?
Background
After graduating from business school in 2009, Givens returned to her native Raleigh, NC to implement a turnaround of Westlake Lanes. The ailing seventies-style bowling business was started by her deceased grandfather, Dane Sugar, in an old mill in downtown Raleigh. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in general management, Givens tightened cost controls and streamlined operations. In just nine months Givens