One thing the program is helping with is taxes. Now, the restaurant is drawing in about 75 percent of the business and in addition to bait shop regulars.Īlthough GiGi’s opened too late to be eligible for PPP loans, the business was referred by a friend to the Urban League of Kansas City program in partnership with H&R Block for additional resources and opportunities for help, including grants. He decided to pivot and add a restaurant, cooking up wings, like their special caramel wing recipe, and Cajun cuisine using his mother Jackie’s gumbo recipe. While he founded the business as a bait and tackle shop, a few months after opening things were slow. Smith has learned this firsthand with GiGi’s. You gotta be willing to if you want to be successful,” said Smith. “He always told me that’s the hardest part about it, especially a small business, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. Before he launched GiGi’s, he worked in restaurant restoration for another small business, JK Sales, where he worked under the owner and learned lessons about being a business owner. A week before September 11, Smith was assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, and deployed soon after. I always knew this was going to be my home,” said Smith.īefore Olathe became home, Smith spent four years in the U.S. “I love it here, there’s so much opportunity. When he did find the right spot for it, it ended up being only a few minutes from his home in Olathe. He always knew he was going to live there-so it made sense to start his business there as well. Even before he lived there, Smith visited family there since he was a child, spending his summers in high school working. But the pandemic certainly impacted the opening, and it took months to find a building that was suitable for the bait shop’s water tanks in Olathe.Īnd it had to be Olathe. But out of everyone, his name was chosen.īy March, Smith solidified his idea for the bait and tackle shop and got his business license. Since Smith’s mother is one of nine siblings, he figured his chances were slim. It started as an idea launched by his aunt during the big family Christmas dinner one year-anyone in the family who wanted to start a business would invest $50 a month, and at the end of the year, they’d select someone’s name out of a hat. The capital to start the business even came from family. They’re all first-time business owners who are learning as they go. His sister Cece Lawson serves as its general manager. It’s named after Smith’s daughter, and Smith’s mother, father, and fiancée are all partial owners. “I just woke up one morning and we had been stuck in the house for and…the bait shop came to my head.”Ī Black- and veteran-owned business, GiGi’s is a family business to its core. Since he didn’t enjoy adding the drive to his recreation time, he could imagine that others didn’t either. A fisherman himself, he knew the nearest bait shops for local clientele were a 30-minute drive from his home in Olathe. Hr block premium business 2017 software#It is a puzzle to me why anyone would pay an accountant to do their taxes when the only skill needed to do your own return is the ability to read and follow directions! You must gather all the forms necessary to present to the tax 'professional', so why can't you just key in this same info rmation on the affordable software and save yourself hundreds of dollars? A first-grader could do the basic short form online.Ron Smith’s idea for GiGi’s Bait and Tackle came from equal parts passion and problem solving. Hr block premium business 2017 download#You can very seamlessly download your financial information and employment documentation from most national institutions. We use the premium version because we have rental property and one of us is self employed. With all the helpful information that is also provided, I don't think anyone can go wrong. It couldn't be easier to simply follow the step-by-step instructions. I've been using H & R Block tax software, formerly known by another name, for years and have been extremely happy with the product.
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