As a native of Tashkent, he earns $ 20 000 per month on Uzbek flatbreads in the US

The story of how you can, by investing $ 90.000 in the production of Uzbek cakes, earn $ 20.000 per month clean.

Фото: Depositphotos

Makebiz.uz He told the inspiring story of Ilyos Murodov about how nostalgia at home helped him to get on his feet and learn how to make big money in the States.

Hi, Ilyos! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Hello! My full name is Ilyosiddin, I'm 25 years old. I was born and grew up in the city of Tashkent, where I lived with my mother and my three brothers. After school, I graduated from the College of Printing and could not even imagine what my future would be connected with (I did not even try to bake the cakes). After college I went to Prague on a student visa to continue my studies.

How did you get to America?

My friend lives in the USA, he advised me to move there. During the holidays, I collected documents and received a tourist visa to the States, but I did not want to leave school. I thought a lot about the move, but the lack of money, of course, was the decisive factor. So I got to Los Angeles.

As for flat cakes, I also noticed in the Czech Republic the absence of our favorite Tashkent cakes, and this, despite the fact that there are enough of ours there. To my surprise, in America there was the same problem with our bread. Neither in California, where I first arrived, nor in Orlando, where my nephew lived, I did not meet our flat cakes. In general, the Uzbek cuisine was there, but, unfortunately, not as tasty as at home. And without our national cuisine nostalgia overcame me.

How did you get the idea to cook Uzbek cakes in America?

When I ended up in New York, I finally tried our tortillas! There was no limit to my disappointment: they were only outwardly Uzbek, in reality, rubber was dough. At that moment, the idea came to me: “Why don’t I bake cakes as much as I love as in my childhood”. For this, I had to quit my job and move to New York. I was so excited about this idea that, almost without thinking, I gave up everything and moved to NY. In this metropolis, for a start, I got a job at a bakery, where I met my future baking teachers: Ikrom from Bukhara and Aziz from Tashkent. After some time, they started teaching me how to bake Bukhara “Chapchak” cakes. I was glad to get this experience, I had to learn how to bake Tashkent Yopgan cakes.

Later, we got a Tashkent guy, who surprised me with his ability to bake my favorite flat cakes.

I suggested he open his bakery, he was interested in this idea, and he agreed. Now we had to find a good place, where there were a lot of Uzbeks, so that the clients were within walking distance, because no one would go for bread to the other end of the city.

What were the initial investments?

At that time, I saved 20 thousands of US dollars, but this is not enough to run a bakery in a city like New York. For example, transporting and installing a regular tandyr costs at least 18 thousands of dollars. I realized that without an investor can not do.

Through Ikrom (a friend from my work) I met David, who turned out to be a cool Mountain Jew from Baku. It was a fateful meeting, as it was the entrepreneur I was looking for.

Photo: makebiz.uz

As a result, he allocated us a place for a bakery in the Fortuna shopping center and began to sponsor our enterprise. And then, a little later, in our bakery there were two tandoors for flatbreads and one for samsa. This joy cost us 71 thousand dollars including transportation and installation. In addition, we purchased a dough mixer, a large table for laying out flatbreads and other accessories, which in total cost us $5950. We do not pay for rent, since the land and building are David’s private property. This was good news, because rent for such premises in New York costs about 5 thousand dollars a month, not including electricity and gas.

Total: Initial investment amounted to about $ 90.000-95.000.

What difficulties awaited you at the start of the business?

The most difficult, perhaps, was to get permission to install tandoors. In America, they believe that they are dangerous to humans. It was not particularly interesting for them that our grandmothers have been baking bread for their families on such aggregates for thousands of years. So, to get permission, you must provide a scheme with a detailed description of the mechanism of action of this device. In this case, both technological needs and safety should be taken into account. An employee of the fire safety department visited us at the bakery after installing the tandoor. Having carefully examined our wonderful ovens, I decided to give us permission. Hooray! Trial cakes are not long in coming.

Who is your main customer?

Our clientele is mainly Uzbeks and Russians. However, the Americans gradually began to be interested in our products.

Let's look at your business in numbers. How much can you earn bread? What is your turnover? What are the costs? Do you invest in advertising? Do you have competitors?

Let's start with simple arithmetic. A bag of flour, on average, costs from 16 to 22-s dollars, and from one such bag you can bake 80 cakes (Bukharian or Tashkent is not important). Take the cost of one bag for 16 dollars, add a pound of sugar ($ 1,50), salt ($ 0,75), soybean oil ($ 0,20) and 250 grams of yeast ($ 0,65) to it. We mix on one bucket of water, which is a good thing, almost free in New York. On electricity and natural gas takes about 2-x thousand dollars a month. On the day we sell about 900 pieces of cakes, on the weekend the figure rises to 1000. The cost of one cake (Bukhara or Tashkent) - $ 1,25. Patyr Tashkent - $ 1,99; Samarkand - $ 4,99. I spend only $ 250 per month on advertising in the @telegram_yulduzlari channel, on other channels they talk about us for free. Regarding competition: here, as elsewhere, there are enough competitors, however, it is we who bake truly Tashkent cakes.

Total: Earnings per day net $ 700-900.

Per month about $ 21.000-24.000

$ 240.000-250.000 per year

These are very good numbers, considering that the average American’s salary is $ 30.000-40.000 / year.

What are your future plans for your company?

My company's plans include expanding the network and increasing the number of branches. Our acquaintances Uzbeks are asked to send cakes to other cities and states, and transportation turns out to be unreasonably expensive. The prudent way out of this situation is to open a bakery in the city, state where there is an interest of buyers.

What are the pros and cons of working in America?

Photo: makebiz.uz

Running your business abroad is a great experience. You can stay with nothing. Whether you are lucky or not, you need to be prepared for the most unexpected difficulties. All responsibility lies with you and your success, exactly as your failure depends entirely on your efforts. Of course, the medal has a downside. But I would not like to talk now about minuses, as I used to look at them as lessons that need to be learned. And within three years I learned such a lot.

Do you miss Uzbekistan?

Of course I miss my homeland. I miss my friends, relatives, and my city, especially my mother.

You know, because in a huge, densely populated metropolis, each in its own way alone.

I miss Tashkent cakes, thus from my childhood, which no one will ever bake.

Where to cook the most delicious Uzbek pilaf in Brooklyn?

Фото: Depositphotos

I have tried pilaf in many places, but, in my opinion, the most delicious is cooked in the cafe "Sherdor". They are preparing a wonderful sample of Samarkand pilaf.

There is a legend about how our native grew rich on the sale of nasvai in America. Another on sale kurt. It's true?

I do not want to answer the question about nasvay, because I dislike this product, as well as the people who use it. But as for Kurt, yes, I think that this may well be true. The packaging of Kurt for 6 pieces produced by Ermak in Tashkent is very popular in New York.

What do you advise young people who are just starting their business?

I would like to advise young entrepreneurs to be attentive to the needs of people in their surroundings. If the city has 100 shoe stores, open 101, but not like the others. Find those who are not the first day in your business. Do not be afraid, and even more so, do not be shy about your ideas. If your idea is able to benefit people, and you earn money, do not wait a second - implement it! Got an idea, but no money? Look for a person with money, but without ideas. And if in spite of everything you decided to start your own business, then with all my heart I wish you every success! Thanks for attention! All hot cakes !!!

Few people know the exact number of those who left Uzbekistan over the past 15 years. Previously ForumDaily писал how the Uzbeks live in America and where the diaspora settles.

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