Chilam Balam

The point of view of Endeavor

What is innovative about selling traditional sweets in a shopping mall?
This is perhaps one of the most frequently asked questions that people ask you.
at Endeavor when it recognizes its concept.
The answer is simple: no one had thought of doing it until Dan
Schwarzblat, the talent behind Chilim Balam, detected this opportunity and
it started one of the most successful retail stores in Mexico. To the centers
In commercial areas, people only go to buy or to eat, and this should be taken advantage of.
to sell the delicious typical sweets that are consumed at any
time of day for millions of Mexicans who enjoy chili sweets,
the popsicles, the famous chamoyadas, among others.
Before Chilim Balam emerged, there were few options to obtain
to enjoy these delicious candies, as they could only be found in the stores of-
department stores like El Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool, the candy shops in the cinema,
the "corner shop" or the school cooperative. Discover the smallness
from those points of sale represented an excellent opportunity to start
a big business. The idea was in the air, ready to be discovered by
a visionary who would take it to its maximum potential.
The story of Chilim Balam meets the characteristics at a municipal level.
the dial of the most successful businesses but, above all, reflects the profile of those
people who know how to do it big. Just in the last year, Chilim
Balam sold more than a million tickets in all of his stores, and as some
Emilio Azcárraga Milmo once said: 'A million of whatever is a lot.'
Entrepreneur Dan Schwarzblat completed a university project that
he went beyond fulfilling the task and designed a real business plan.
Perhaps at that moment he had not imagined the dimensions of his success, without
embargo, when he finished his degree, he opened his first store. Today he already has more than
12 and still growing, all without having requested a single major loan.
Thomas A. Edison, one of the most famous serial entrepreneurs of the
history said: "Opportunity is dressed in overalls and looks like work,"
that's why it goes unnoticed by most people." Undoubtedly, for Dan the
opportunities do not go unnoticed.
Entrepreneur Profile
Name:Dan Schwarzblat. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Age:33 years old. little?I wanted to have a farm.
Studies:Marketing in the to provide jobs for poor people,
Monterrey Institute of Technology I was very distressed to see so much
specialization in finance and poor people.
diploma in senior management. What do you plan to do when you retire?
Place of birth:Tucson, Arizona. Travel and enjoy with my family;
Family:Wife. enjoy life.
Three hobbies:Travel, outdoor games Vices:None.
free, family. What do you usually watch on television?
Three books: History of StarbucksThe Sports news and summary.
world's largest seller, Father What makes you laugh?My wife.
rich dad, poor dad. Main virtue:Be humble and simple.
Three favorite movies: The Postman, the Main flaw:Be a perfectionist.
Star Wars series.
Football team:America. Company:Chilim Balam S.A. de C.V.
favorite_foodai. Industry:Candy store.
Favorite drink:Jack Daniel’s with Start of operations:1996.
Coca-Cola. Presence:National.
favorite_musicPop. Employees:80.
Favorite sport for Average salary:
see:Basketball. In stores, from three to
Sport practiced: nine thousand pesos. In
My mother,
Basketball. corporate, 20 thousand
Three characters, alive for her perseverance, pesos.
Oh dead, how you amaze: she is the woman who me Clients:300 thousand
My maternal grandfather, monthly clients.
for their courage to have taught to work. Website: www.
out of Europe chilimbalam.com
being very young in
war time in search
of new opportunities; my mother,
for her tenacity, she is the woman who me
taught to work; my father, because of his
humanitarian side.
Favorite vacation spot:The
beach.
How does one relax?Lighting the
television without being focused on
nothing, just changing channels.
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 the Jaguar priest

At the university, there are subjects that among the students are known as 'of
requisite" or "filler", that is, courses to which they do not dedicate the same
interest and time they give to physics, statistics, management or eco-
nomenclature; whether because they are unconventional subjects that do not involve examining
complicated tasks and endless assignments or because one cannot find an answer for them
practical usefulness for future professional life. Generally, it is not considered
that one of those subjects can be the starting point of a great business,
as was the case with the Chilim Balam candy stores.
The business concept was created as a project for the subject of em-
clips from the university where Dan Schwarzblat studied, and has achieved
take the spicy mangos, the chips, and the fried plantains to the food centers
most important objectives and generate sales of two million dollars annually.

Everything starts with the taste for sweets.

At 22 years old, Dan was studying the seventh semester of the degree in
marketing at Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City campus; in the
Entrepreneurial Development, you were asked to create a company based on
an innovative concept. For most students, this course was a
curriculum requirement, but for him it addressed the real concern of
start a business of my own, and that's why the subject became a pretext for
to launch their first venture.
Dan remembers that along with his cousin, the engineering student En-
Rique Osovyecki decided to take the teachings of this subject seriously.
to develop their own company that would give them economic independence in
the future, and with this goal they set out to find an innovative concept
vador. From his fondness for spicy sweets, for the typical fried foods
that are found at street stalls, and others like cotton candy
sweet, vegetables prepared with lime and chili and other treats, young people
entrepreneurs had the idea of bringing that Mexico of the parks and the
to shopping centers, to a formal establishment with a good image and with
quality products and services. That is the origin of what is known today
like Chilim Balam.
It all starts with a personal taste for sweets, chicharrones, the cha-
moys and the chilitos, currently 70 percent of the things we sell
They have chamoy and chilitos, and because the idea is to dedicate yourself to something you like.
This is how we realized that you couldn't find this in shopping malls.
type of sweets, and considering that Mexico is a very sweet-toothed country, it was necessary to
satisfy a need that no one had noticed, and that is how he thought
more than it could be a good opportunity; in some way we were
pioneers in this type of business," Dan recalls.
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 Chilam Balam

Dan's teacher assured him and his classmates that their projects
they were viable and only had to be put into practice; then, unlike the
rest of the class, Dan and Enrique focused wholeheartedly on this company with the
intention to dedicate all his time once graduated, Chilim Balam was the
the only case of the 15 that were designed in the course that became a reality.

graduation with Title and company

Based on the teachings at the university, Schwarzblat and his cousin...
they halted the development of the project. They conducted extensive research on
market to measure public acceptance, as well as a business plan,
and six months later they officially started the company Chilim Balam, still being
students in their final semester of their degree.
Dan ensures that the support of his family was total and fundamental to carry on.
from the Chilam Balam of schoolwork to real life. "I come from a family in the
that I have been free to do what I want, as long as my decisions are based on
In common sense and logic, I have always received a lot of support from
about my family, which is very honest and sincere with me, they tell me things
how they feel them and how they believe them, and in this case they said: 'You have nothing to
lose, you are 21 years old and anyway we don't have a business in
the family that we can offer you, give it your all.
Like any entrepreneur, the initial resources were obtained from fa-
military and friends, since Dan and his cousin had some savings but not the
sufficient to start the business, which required an initial investment of 60 thousand
dollars, plus the cost of a first location.
The first Chilim Balam store opened thanks to a great vision of ne-
cousins' business, as they were conducting their market research
to find the best location, they came across a property that was at
breaking point at the Interlomas Shopping Center. There were also rumors
of the possible construction of a large cinema complex very close to there that
it had caused unease among the vendors who were desperately seeking
mind who will buy their spaces.
The young entrepreneurs analyzed the situation and decided to take risks.
get the purchase of the premises, which they negotiated with a bank, since there was
was seized and the owners were seeking to recover as much as they could of their
investment. Shortly thereafter, the construction of 20 cinema halls was made official.
only 35 meters from the place they had chosen, which meant a position
extraordinary with a good flow of visitors.
and his
an unusual business they first started
Speaking of economic resources, Chilim Balam is different from most ofthe business
the cases of entrepreneurship, since after its creation in 1996 with astill being
reasonable amount for the initial investment, no further financing was neededstudents.
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The new face of Mexico

lie, and this is something unusual. Basically, it is because it is a

well-accepted business, with a simple concept, in addition to the decision of
grow slowly, at the pace that income has been setting.
It is a very noble business, I sell sweets in shopping malls with
a good image and it is something very easy to understand and, for the same reason, we
We have seen advantages in not having to borrow money; starting from the
initial investment has opened 12 own branches and four franchises, and
we continue to grow with our own resources. We could ask the bank
a million dollars to open ten more stores at once; however, that
it has not been the vision we have had, to go into debt to have more, but to go
growing as the same corporation acquires resources. And to
able to go beyond the Federal District and the metropolitan area with money
of third parties, we started with franchises because there is no money that
"I reached you," explains Dan.
Having made the decision, in 2003 Chilim Balam began to franchise, in search of
of a nationwide expansion, since Dan and Enrique realized
that they could not open branches in other cities by themselves and, at the same
time, maintain the quality standards that had been set.
There was an important lesson in the journey of Chilim Balam,
when the attempt was made to open a store in Cancun. As a result of the known-
lie about the opening of a shopping center in that city that promised a
large influx of visitors, and given that in Mexico City the business
it had worked quite well, they decided to launch themselves to Cancun thinking that
you would only need to send the product and make some periodic visits to
supervise the operation of the square.
Dan describes the store opening in Cancun as just a mere impulse,
things were going so well in Interlomas that the next opening seemed
simpler; the idea sounded quite attractive, but it quickly melted away.
like the products they sent to their new store, which they could not support
the trip, and they were affected by the humidity of the area. Dan comments that although
they were neither losing money nor making it; the new candy store
it proved to be unworkable, as despite being small, it required a lot of supervision
and this represented expenses that the store did not incur. This initiative lasted 13
months and finally it was transferred. The learning from this experience was very
important to carry out the expansion through franchises, with
entrepreneurs who lived in the place and knew the square in depth.
Once decided to franchise, they thought that to be successful in this
it would be necessary to create the own product line of Chilim Balam,
in such a way that they were part of the concept and could be excluded providers
loyalty towards the brand.
ensure a solid and uniform image across all stores, with products at
high-quality bulk and exclusive formulas from Chilim Balam.
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it's a matter of feeling

The goal of Chilim Balam is to satisfy any craving of its customers,
for which it has 550 different products, but if this variety does not
enough to satisfy the tastes of the consumer, then it would create the nucleus
my 551 to achieve it. If someone doesn't believe it, just sit in front of one of the
candy stores and see how kids and adults come in and out constantly
you, with a gesture of satisfaction and a couple of small bags in your hands. The little boxes
overflowing with all kinds of candies, sweet, salty, and spicy, makes it difficult
the choice, and if upon reaching the register the clerk says 'we are very sorry but'
we do not accept credit cards”, the customer is able to go find an ATM
to be able to take their products paying in cash.
This outlook makes it easy to think that Chilim Balam is a successful company,
that any shopping mall would be happy to host in its insta-
relationships; however, the entrepreneur assures that the main barriers
what Chilim Balam faced to achieve its development was precisely
the ones that the owners of the large shopping centers used to put. Without a doubt, this
represented the most important challenge to overcome.
Being young without experience in the sector and with a company that ape-
it was just beginning, no one opened the doors for them, "no one knows your idea, nor knows who
you are, neither do they believe in you, and you knock on the doors in a shopping mall and they tell you:
'Who are you?, I love the big brands,' and they don't open up. Nowadays we already ...
they knock and tell us 'I want a Chilim Balam in my shopping center', but that
it has taken us years of hard work and sacrifice; and even so, with 16 branches.
open nationwide, there are centers like Santa Fe that tell us no
they need our candy shop, and that is very hard, especially ten years ago, ha-
I had very strong bumps. My business has been successful since I opened it, I never lost.
money in the company together, so it made me angry to know that being
successful they would not open the doors for me for the simple fact that they do not know me
"they said," recalls the businessman.
To overcome this obstacle, the power of persuasion and relationships the power of
public tools were their most useful tools, according to Schwarzblat,conviction
who emphasizes that knowing how to convince people and get them to believe in the em-and the relationships
clamp, largely depends on common sense and the ability topublic were
identify what type of interlocutor is being spoken to, and thus apply a technique ofthetools
negotiation according to your personality to persuade him. more useful for
Dan tells us that there is no recipe, but it is essential to know how to...black slate
defeat people, have common sense, and listen to your instinct to
select a shopping center from among 20 options, without knowing which one is which
will sell more, or even to identify the best location within the plate-
Yes, because it can make a big difference to be in the south or the north, or to be beside.
from Sanborn's next to a shoe store. "All those decisions are difficult
because sometimes one believes that they know and knows nothing, and it is when one must let go

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 The new face of Mexico

"Let the feeling take action." Finally, one must visualize oneself reaching the.
success in that branch.

just a drawer to keep the money

Once settled in Interlomas near the cinemas, the influx of clients
it was increasing considerably and then the learning began
because despite being frequent consumers of sweets, they had no experience
about how to sell them.
With 300 products, a mix of those that the cousins liked the most and
he/she gave meother classics that couldn't be missing in a candy shop, kicked off their first Chi-
courage to knowthe Balam and a learning period that lasted about a year. Little by little
that being they discovered what the winter season represented for sales
successful not me and the summer one, carefully observed which were the candies that they liked the most
they opened the they asked for the children and which ones the adults took, where to place some
doors through the products and others on the shelves, as well as what the price elasticity was
simplefactCEOs, how much could they reduce or increase them so as not to affect the decision?
deque no me of purchase. All of this represented a process of trial and error, and of the same
they knew.Thus,the supplier portfolio of Chilim Balam was created, according to
with market research that was conducted to choose them, as well as a
great fieldwork.
Little by little the clientele got to know them, Dan remembers that they were
completely amazed by the number of people visiting their store
daily, and still without a cash register or computer, only with a drawer to rummage through
to where they kept the money and a handmade price list, I almost don't know
they were giving a lot. Dan, his wife, Enrique, and the grandmother were ing until the
weekends, for providing people with the highest quality of service
and the products. They swept, mopped, went to the Central Market and filled
their car to the top, they were hauling the boxes, arranging the shelves, opening the
curtain, they closed it; they learned everything related to the business, from the things
more basic.
This specific knowledge of the business was reflected in a great acceptance.
action by the clientele, who quickly identified the quality both
in the products as in the service. They did not sell a simple glass of cucumbers
with Miguelito, but a vegetable cocktail with the special sauce that they
they would prepare them and if the customer asked to add peanuts, they would do it;
they also invented some combinations like the soaked ice popsicle
in chamoy sprinkled with chili, or a shaved ice they called chamoyada,
which was well received by both young and old. That was the hallmark that made them
to gain a large number of frequent customers that they acquired in Chilim Ba-
lam products that were not sold elsewhere, backed by a good
an image and an impeccable service that gave people the freedom to ask for a little
more of this or that. "This is how we win customers, through service and through
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innovative ideas that no one was applying at that time,

founder of the company.
Other situations that arose for Chilim Balam in this first
stage, and from which one had to learn quickly, occurred in the relationship
with their suppliers. Dan remembers that they received merchandise that had
expired a year ago, and when they were looking for suppliers, they had
missing; others asked them to introduce their products with the condition
the possibility of changing them if they did not move, but this did not happen.
These are things of daily life, and when you realize it, you start to become more
cold, you lose a bit of your human side and no longer trust people so easily,
because it only takes two or three hits for you to stop trusting the next one.
And it is very true, so one piece of advice I always give to my people is
that they review things twice, that they do not trust people, not even me, because
Many times it's not that people want to be bad, there are simply mistakes there.
"outside," Dan assures.

they grow together with shopping centers

Two years after inaugurating the first Chilim Balam in Interlo-
but the newly opened shopping center Mundo E welcomed them.
They realize that while the construction of this property was taking place,
he searched for the owners to acquire a location, as it was easier to enter a
new square that to an already established and proven successful one. In those cases there
requires closing deals quickly to get money for the cons-
instruction, and there is also equality of conditions: neither the people from the center
meet Chilim Balam, even they could not be certain of the success of the new one
concept called World E. Thus, they reached an agreement to enter the
square.
Chilim's strategy remains to enter shopping centers that are
they are in the project stage, since the transfers are cheaper,
and that is crucial when talking about hundreds of thousands of pesos or
dollars. "When it's a new shopping mall, obviously the transfer is
lower because they cannot guarantee any success, but if you knock on the door
In Santa Fe or Perisur they will tell you: ‘With pleasure, it is 300 thousand dollars.
for letting you in and then you pay your rents. It's a lot of money, that's why not.
we are in Perisur, Plaza Satélite or Santa Fe, because we have dedicated ourselves to
growing in shopping centers that are starting up," explains Dan.
A year after opening Chilim Balam Mundo E, they settled in Pa-
Bellón Polanco and from then on, with more experience, began his ex-
expansion with greater speed: between one and two branches per year in Gran
Sur, Peaches, Israeli Sports Center, Loreto Square, Flower Square,
Delta Park, Magnocentro in Interlomas, and two franchises in Guadalajara,
one in Cuautitlán and one in Ecatepec.
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 The new face of Mexico

location, location, location

Chilim Balam has been successful due to the quality of its service, its variety,
cleanliness and the image of the store. Its founder assures that the advantages of
Your business in relation to the competition is, first of all, differentiation.
regarding the products they offer and the way they sell them; secondly
place, the personalized service that each of the clients receives and, finally-
you, the specialization in sweets: "we are a specialized candy store, while
What other places have a bit of chili, of mole, of sweet and of salt.
in a center On the other hand, in a shopping mall the location is paramount for
commercial, theto win clients from the competition, Dan exemplifies: if a child enters with their
location is mom to a department store with a candy section, possibly the lady will
primordialbuy your daily candy ration at that moment and when they pass in front of
to win against him/her Chilim Balam, even if the child insists, the mother will not buy more. "People

clients to the know that it carries a budget to spend in a shopping mall and when it
competitionIt's coming to an end; someone took that money and someone didn't.
for that reason and
For this reason, Dan and Enrique are very careful when choosing a location.
enrique choose placement in a shopping center, so that they are the ones who keep the budget
with a lotposition of visitors, ahead of their competitors.
be careful yours
The first thing is the location, this is a business, what do the Nor- call it
locales.americans?, delocation, location, location; whoever has the best location
win, it is our number one strategy, to achieve the best location
possible location within the shopping center, because you can be in the best
world shopping plaza, but in the worst location and you could starve to death,
to be in a not so good shopping center, but in the best location and you
it can go excellent,” says Dan with the confidence that experience has given him.
Another vital aspect is the image of the stores, from the lighting, the
the arrangement of the sweets, the colors, the smell, the background music, everything plays
an important role in encouraging the customer to enter the candy store and, once
being inside, to buy. In Chilim Balam a primary concern is
create a pleasant environment.
Dan always says that when you have people, you should keep them as long as possible.
possibly offer him more things if he takes some pork cracklings with chili.
a drink has to be offered to him/her, because if not, they will buy it on the premises, some
a few steps ahead, she is going to get upset and buy it from the competition.
a business of impulse, to anticipate the customer by just a few seconds, for
what needs to be done to make your desire turn into taking a step
inside the store, and once there, they will surely buy something.

support for Mexican microenterprises

Another aspect that is also part of the Chilim Balam business is the impact-
to the social support generated in its environment, such as the support provided to small
Mexican companies when integrating them into their supplier portfolio despite the
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complications that it implies. Small suppliers are often companies

relatives who manufacture their products in an artisanal manner and do not have
the minimum requirements requested by Profeco (nutritional table, weight, and code of
bars). It is a serious inconvenience, as Chilim Balam must indeed gather all the
requirements of government institutions, however, the company is one hundred percent
one hundred committed to their country and for that reason has decided to help those producers
To obtain their registration, they are given guidance and are required to incorporate into their
packages the contents and the nutritional. Thus, Chilim has become
in a consulting company for its suppliers and has contributed to the development of
small businesses that started with them and now supply at the same time to
large corporations like Wal-Mart.
I also started like this, if someone extended a hand to me, I have to reach out to them.
to be tender to someone else, but I ask them in return for honesty and respect, to take care of me
Give priority to me first, because the day they forget me, it is no longer right, the day that
stop supplying me to supply Wal-Mart, when I was their first customer,
I no longer want him by my side because he is not behaving like a gentleman.
Dan ensures seriously.
The social responsibility policies of Chilim Balam also include
donations in kind to prisons and orphanages.

manuals: great added value

In order to properly manage the large machinery of franchises the
Chilim Balam, the entrepreneurs had to develop operational manualsentrepreneurs
of all its processes and in all its areas: sales, training, human resources-developed
Everything had to be clear and stipulated in such a way that it would be easy to repeat.manuals of
the processes in each branch, both the owned ones and the franchised ones, as well asoperation to
to train staff uniformly. its branches
It was a titanic task to develop manuals for one hundred percent of theand franchises,
areas of the company, it took more than a year to put everything in writing, but the bene-this tool
The signs are very clear now: every time they open a new franchise or have tothe permits
Training the new staff involves providing the manual to the unit, and if there are any questions...an excellent
the index should only be opened to solve your problem; in the words of the entrepreneurorganization.
it is a very large added value to have the operating manuals.
Additives that start this process, and some elements are already accounted for.
on paper, especially regarding food preparation, but it was not had
an order, which caused a store to better prepare a chamoyada
that in another, with what subtracted uniformity in the quality of the products, but
that ended with the implementation of the operation manuals.

Provide employees with the best motivation

The sales force of Chilim Balam is concentrated in its stores and in the
people who run them, between five and seven employees per candy store, and all the
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venues under constant evaluation, run by two supervisors who conduct

visits periodically without prior notice, to ensure that the store is
administer according to the instructions from management and in accordance with the pro-
procedures; the maintenance of standards is also supervised.
quality, inventories are reviewed, audited, and feedback is provided
to the staff of each unit.
The organizational structure of Chilim Balam is constituted by a ge-
franchise reference that takes care of everything related to the topic; a
logistics and distribution area that operates from a central warehouse to
the one that arrives and from which all the products sold come; a management of
openings that keep a close track of new stores, from their
installation up to full operation; a department of
accounting and another one for operations, which is also in charge of it
related to human resources.
On this last point, Schwarzblat explains that in Mexico there is a pro-
important issue for finding staff, and states that there is not a month in the
that your company is not looking for talent for its different areas.
If there is a problem in this country, it is finding people, everyone says
that there is no work and I always have vacancies, there is not a month in the year that
I'm not looking for staff, it's a big problem, so I've chosen to
develop my people and promote them; we teach and delegate to them, little by little
little, greater responsibilities, along with better salaries. There are people who
he did not study for a degree but has reached the position of operations manager, and
they do it better than if I had brought in an outside manager, and also
they earn salaries that they would not earn in another company in the market at that level
of studies”, Dan declares satisfied when talking about the way they resolve
the shortage of personnel.
To keep the staff motivated, promotions are made, and they are shown...
Bring facts to the employees that there is an opportunity in the company.
of growth, it is something they can see in the stories of their own co-
Partners. A person who only completed high school can become a manager.
from a store and start earning nine thousand pesos a month, in addition to their
quarterly bonus for sales. This is an example that engages the staff,
because they know it's difficult for them to be offered the same elsewhere. The
employees receive fair treatment, are listened to and supported, and they respond
with enthusiastic and solid teamwork.
Dan adds that different strategies have been implemented to measure
the performance of your people with various parameters such as sales, shrinkage
and maximum costs that cannot be exceeded; furthermore, during visits of their-
supervision is considered the cleanliness, the image, the quality of service, the use
suitable of the uniform, and with all these parameters the measurement is made of the
performance of each employee.
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service and quality are the best advertising

The communication managed by Chilim Balam within its organization
is direct, honest, and open-door, similarly it is done towards the
externally with clients and suppliers. They consider it very important to act
responsibly when settling accounts, one should never owe money to anyone.
it lasts for more than eight days, which is highly appreciated by the suppliers with
who has all the confidence to negotiate discounts.
Contact with the public is direct, there is no investment in pu- Chilam Balam
advertising, this is done from mouth to mouth, so the employees of each storedo not invest in
become their best promoters. A percentage of the fees that areadvertising, this
the payments to shopping centers are allocated to advertising that the ownersis given mouth to
from the squares they hold events to attract people. Once inside the square and in frontmouth, for what
At Chilim Balam, its service, image, and quality speak for themselves. the employees
We have a marketing plan but not an advertising one, because thisof the store
it goes from mouth to mouth, we don't invest in that aspect. I pay the co- centerthey become
a very high rent, as well as maintenance and advertising feesat its best
so that they attract people to the mall, once inside, I havepromoters.
it's enough for people to see me to attract them to the store and sell, but,
On the other hand, we do have growth strategies and we plan carefully.
what products to introduce and to what extent, how many, in what percentage of Chile,
how much for children, how much for adults, how much sugar free, and all that goes in
marketing,” the businessman asserts.

Good entrepreneur = Good manager

For the next five years, Dan Schwarzblat and Enrique Osovyecki plan
open an average of six own branches and four franchises per year.
With the experience gained, they assert that it is essential for an entrepreneur to be
a good manager, both of time and money. The organization
it is a fundamental factor, as much as it is in the success of an entrepreneurship,
the habit of saving.
Since I was five years old I have been saving, I had an account at the bank and Sundays
if they gave me ten pesos, I would spend seven and deposit three, and when my ...
birthday if they gave me a hundred, I would spend 50 and deposit 50. This culture
savings allowed me to have money for when I had an idea, because if
If I hadn't had that money, I wouldn't have been able to achieve one hundred percent.
borrowed for the initial investment, because my family did not have it; so I believe
that the culture of saving is essential for an entrepreneur to get started
Dan recommends.

financing
To found the company in 1996, 40 thousand dollars contributed by was required.
the founding partners and 60 thousand dollars from loans from friends and
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The new face of Mexico

relatives. The money was invested in the purchase of machinery and equipment, and in
to cover the initial expenses until the company became self-sustaining. First, it
They needed the premises to be able to sell the products, so they took them.
strategic alliances with the shopping centers owned by degicsa,
Group from nosy frisa to start selling immediately. Along with
This, sponsorships for uniforms and advertising have been obtained, both internal
like suppliers.
Chilim Balam was financed from its beginnings by trading good cycles.
payment and credit with suppliers, in addition to discounts for prompt payment.
All of this thanks to a foundation of responsibility and compliance with the com-
acquired commitments.
Currently, the profit margins on sales are approximately 25 percent.
one hundred, which are fully reinvested with the result of a growth
an annual decline of around 30 percent, which has allowed Chilim
start to position itself and have an increasing market share with-
becoming a stable company on an upward path.

216
The point of view of integration
It is said that there is nothing new under the sun, but if you put a twist on what
There are already good opportunities that have been missed.
high. Dan Schwarzblat from Chilim Balam is a clear example of this. The
the lessons that this case gives us are:

Consider that sometimes a good business can be found by exploring.

an existing product or need, but in a consumption channel not yet
thought of or developed
•Keep in mind that if the business is based on a new sales channel-
it is essential to develop other differential factors such as, for example,
exclusive products
• Understand what weight of business success depends on the location of the mis-
Yes. If it is a key factor, look to identify and acquire trade points.
necessary for business development (focusing mainly on
the good points, but even in the 'unknowns' or 'in project')
Think about the suitability of the franchise model for your business and
the advantages for growth. If the decision is such, then it should be
understand and develop everything related to this model so that
attractive to new franchisees (from products to manuals
of processes and procedures for managing a store, for example
• Seek to understand who your consumer is and what the buying process is like.
In this sense, observing it is key to understanding topics such as: better
location of the products, what each consumer looks for (children, adults, youth-
goods, etc.), how each consumer chooses their products
Understand the shopping experience, which is behind what is offered.
and invest to make it stronger (decoration, employee uniforms,
smells, sounds, customer service, packaging, product placement
tos, among others)
Invest in people, if your business is service-based, so that
be a 'mystery shopper' and get to know the quality of the service provided
in a surprising and random manner
One must be careful when trading perishable products, as they
requires good logistics
It is important to have local knowledge when entering new markets.
Support employees and give them unique opportunities, along with a good
in communication
It is important for businesses, especially new ones, to achieve a
culture of savings and reinvestment in it