She Bet Her House on One Airport Restaurant | Iva Chen, Jetsetera Ventures

Iva Chen budgeted $250,000 to build out her first Panda Express at SFO. The final bill was $750,000. To cover the gap she took an SBA 7(a) loan, put a lien on her house, and signed over her life insurance policy. "I'm like, I hope this works out, because if it doesn't, I could be homeless."Iva shares:✨ Why the SBA 7(a) loan was harder than construction, permits, and everything else combined✨ The $2 million-a-year sales floor most brands don't know exists before bidding on an airport✨ What a Minimum Annual Guarantee really costs: $350,000 a year on a 724-square-foot space✨ Why airport build-outs run about $2,500 a square foot with no collateral to borrow against✨ The real reason that bottle of water costs $6✨ Bringing Filipino cuisine to SFO and opening in the middle of a pandemic shutdown✨ Renaming "chicken porridge" to "chicken rice soup" and watching sales change✨ Indra Nooyi's advice that stuck with her for 20 years: decide what "good" means, then let go or outsource the rest✨ Asking her daughter what being a good mom actually meant to her✨ Her 10 rules for running your own business, including the "black box" test for what work is worth✨ Why she ranked 4th out of 250 cadets at Fort Knox with her nails painted✨ Living with imposter syndrome in a family business: "My dad might have opened the door, but I had to walk through it"If you have ever been told to just follow your passion, this one adds the part nobody says out loud: know the number you have to hit before you take the swing.About Iva Chen: Iva Chen is the Founder and CEO of Jetsetera Ventures, an ACDBE/DBE/MBE/WBE certified firm specializing in airport restaurant and retail concession development, operations, management, and consulting. She is also Managing Partner at Lady Luck Gourmet, home to Mama Go's Filipino Cuisine at SFO. A licensed CPA who began her career at Deloitte & Touche and spent a decade in corporate finance at CBS Paramount, Nestle USA, and The Capital Group, Iva is a UC Santa Barbara graduate and a Riordan Fellow. She currently works with a portfolio of roughly ten brands looking to enter the airport space, and is writing her first book.Learn more at https://jetseteraventures.com/The growth engine for women who mean business.http://www.f5collective.com0:00 Cold Open: I Could Be Homeless0:31 Welcome + Meet Iva Chen1:19 CPA at Deloitte to Airport Concessions5:11 Building Restaurants in China6:35 Why Airports Are Nothing Like Street-Side7:36 That's Why the Water Costs $68:09 Lady Luck Gourmet and the Goldilocks Bid9:39 Grand Opening Set for March 202012:47 Chicken Porridge to Chicken Rice Soup14:23 HMSHost, Starbucks and the Rise of Local Flavor17:04 Rebranding to Jetsetera Ventures19:06 How a Brand Gets Into an Airport20:11 The $2 Million Rule20:36 Minimum Annual Guarantee: $350,000 a Year25:11 The Book: It Takes a Village, Where's Mine?26:29 Indra Nooyi: Decide What Good Means, Then Let Go27:59 Asking Her Daughter What a Good Mom Is29:12 Building the Village34:13 I Don't Like Being Comfortable34:35 Fort Knox With My Nails Painted38:12 Be Scrappy: The Black Box Test41:10 Budgeted $250K, Came In at $750K41:44 The SBA 7(a): A Lien on the House44:45 Get Money Before You Need It46:37 Imposter Syndrome in a Family Business49:30 What She Looks For in a Brand51:39 Advice When You Can't Afford Help Yet53:43 You Have to Be a Village, Too56:07 Give Yourself Grace