My Korean Restaurant Brings In $1.8 Million A Year - Here's What It Costs To Run

[@CNBCMakeIt]

What's your budget breakdown? We're looking for stories from all ages, not just millennials! Share your story with us for a chance to be featured in a future installment of Millennial Money: ​cnb.cx/32TYZ2K​

[@82hnlam]

Insurance, 401k, profit sharing, living wages and tips splitting. Best owner and employer ever in a business that is so expensive and hard to sustain. Bravo.

[@Tib1010]

70-80 hours a week man... Just wow

[@Tyty-j6t]

$12 an hour is not a living wage.

[@fuzzymango8204]

@@Tyty-j6t they share the tip which ends up being about 23-26/hr.

[@alexandradongala8954]

@@Tyty-j6t DUh. It's not including tips. For servers in the US, that is very good.

[@Sillygator]

@@Tyty-j6tbut it’s a sit down restaurant so people are regularly tipping and they split all the tips so everyone is making much more than the base pay. Plus she gives out bonuses which isn’t common in restaurants.

[@isntshelovely29]

my first date with my boyfriend of now 7 years was at Miss Kims in Ann Arbor when we were both students at Univ of Michigan :') It holds a special place in our hearts

[@anonymousnoticer]

It's been 7 years and he hasn't married you. He's wasting your time.

[@gaea17]

@@anonymousnoticer i laughed way too hard at this

[@mariaivy9972]

Lovely story. I am especially impressed with how Ji Hye strives to take care of her staff financially. She will continue to go far with this mindset and heart for others.

[@sholaking5027]

Exactly 💯

[@SarcasticPoet]

Very true. As her employees grow in their own lives they will speak highly of her!

[@Gerrardstrike]

Yes, but will the staff return the same kindness? They can quit anytime and she's left to rehire, retrain new staff.

[@chiru184]

@@Gerrardstrikethey won’t quit. Outside opportunities aren’t that optimistic.

[@AlexWindover]

WHY?

[@selfridgesforever4399]

Respect to her paying her staff well, sharing tips and profits! Other companies should take note.

[@ipsilonia]

agreed! i wish more restaurants would encourage their customers to stop tipping though. i’ve seen a note on a menu like “tipping not necessary, our staff is well-paid” and it takes SUCH a big weight off my shoulders

[@cn8pm]

Agreed. When minimum wage for tipped workers increased in NYC, it helped me out a lot and making that money over there is probably more value. The bonus profit sharing is great. I'm glad she made it equitable for everyone.

[@cn8pm]

@@AlexWindover ?

[@AlexWindover]

@@cn8pm she is takin all the risk with very little to show for it. employees are taking no risk with a little less to show for it

[@AlexWindover]

@@cn8pm that makes it not fair for her

[@EcomCarl]

Ji Hye Kim’s commitment to ethical labor practices and local sourcing at MissKim is truly inspiring! Adopting such sustainable practices not only enhances team morale but also resonates well with eco-conscious consumers, fostering a loyal customer base. 🌟

[@z0tw]

Spreading the tips out amongst the kitchen staff and serving staff is genius. Everyone gets paid the same. I worked in kitchens for a while and was quite annoyed at times when I heard some server made $300 while I only walked out with $90 a slaved away, gross and tired. Giving even just a quarter of that tip money to the kitchen staff would make them feel a lot more appreciated and incentivize them to stay at that job. It's not common to have a high rotating amount of cooks in kitchens because of the unfairness of it.

[@jjpark1989]

She is an amazing business owner who isn't in it for just money. She's in it to help spread Korean culture and to help people be secured financially by giving them a very above average wage and bonuses! I myself am a deli owner and I also share the tips with my staff and give them bonuses as well. I only have hardworking people on my staff so I know it's well deserved because the restaurant industry is one of the toughest in the world. Much credit to Miss Kim and wish her a lot of success!

[@judiesuh6858]

So proud thst Miss Kim is spreading our amazing Korean food culture. She is a sound businesswoman who respects her employees. Ultimately their hard work along with hers bring success. God bless~

[@yoshiharuhabu]

Can you verify if she is the same Ji Hye Kim of refugee saga from Toronto, Canada back in 2010?

[@lenahoppe2417]

miss kim is one of my favorite restaurants! the fried tofu is incredible!! exciting to see it get the spotlight it deserves

[@irshviralvideo]

i call bs that you have actually been there in person

[@tracyalan7201]

Good story. I liked that she had this plan to get the skills/mentorship/support and evolving it over a period of time. She wasn't trying to be a overnight success, but a methodical growth. Good vision and work ethic of getting there. Her ideas of trying to make sure the staff sees a benefit and works hard really help both the staff & the business. My best wishes for her continued future success.

[@cherylrleigh1912]

In my college years, I worked as a waitress, and I truly value restaurants that prioritize ensuring their waitstaff earn a living wage. This practice is recognized worldwide among affluent nations, with the United States being the sole country, to my knowledge, where customers are expected to supplement the income of waitstaff. I'm so intrigued by this concept that I might even consider flying to Michigan just to experience such a restaurant. Kudos to Miss Kim!!

[@AlexWindover]

the customer is not supplementing the income for the business owner, they are paying for a service. It's higher menu prices or discretionary tipping, either way, you will pay something. When restaurants eliminate tipping and raise menu prices customers choose to eat elsewhere, it has been shown. Every country affluent or not has unique cultural customs that are hard to explain and undue.

[@dinhtran-ld4hz]

@@AlexWindoverwell fyi US restaurant overall make one of the lowest profit among all countries. That’s with the tips. Example price of a meal McDonald is 8 dollars in America same as in a 3rd world country. That make 15 percent of less then US American.

[@natashaa7944]

Came for the food, stayed for this BOSS Queen! This is leadership people - taking care of the people who work for you! Amazing.

[@traceytheisen8067]

Her food looks AMAZING!

[@maoxian]

Gives one hope for America... another hard-working immigrant doing her best.

[@HazelZane123]

Correction: LEGAL immigrant

[@ilehn5875]

⁠are all LEGAL immigrants hard working? No! Are Illegal Immigrants not hardworking? Most are Hardworking because they have to work harder to be able to afford what is free for LEGAL immigrants. Hardworking is for everyone, when you have a job and you’re doing your best and doing the right thing at all times and even more, thats hard working. Legal or Illegal is separated by a piece of Paper, respect PEOPLE regardless of status, we are all trying to survive.

[@workshoptunes]

tf is wrong with you? she is a American now. stop seeing people for races you racist

[@ThriftyCHNR]

Very good episode. All the figures looked legit and in line with the restaurant industry. The owner is very ethical in regards to treating her employees!

[@AlexWindover]

The higher you pay the better your ethics?

[@joannabusinessaccount7293]

@@AlexWindoverwhat is your beef? You criticize Miss Kim, and you belittle her by saying that after hard work, “she has very little to show for it.”

[@AlexWindover]

​@@joannabusinessaccount7293 I want her to pay herself more.

[@MatthewNelson12]

Very cool story :) Really inspiring. I love Miss Kim's and Zingerman's. I've been eating at Zingerman's for a long time, but the last time we were in Michigan we also ate at Miss Kim's! It was awesome. I'm from Michigan, but now I actually live in Korea! Korean food is awesome!

[@sadgorlwoohoo]

holy thank you cnbc for sharing such a cool restaurant. these are the types of businesses/restaurants i want to support and see more of. ji hye's approach to business is so refreshing. i love that she put into action a way to have a happy and teamwork-conducive environment. she sounds like a great boss.

[@nnamdiobiako5773]

Love how her employer saw her vision and potential and invested in her and with her. That's going to trickle down to how she treats her staff and maybe even invest in them as well in the future.

[@Liz-wz8dh]

This is awesome. This is the kind of restaurant I would eat at. I am boycotting most restaurants though because they refuse to evolve like this lady has. It CAN be done.

[@agl5132]

I'm literally clapping. Cudos to her for all her work and thinking about her vision for her future. This woman should be teaching classes as well on how to treat your staff. 👏🏽❤️👏🏽❤️👏🏽❤️

[@ayrad7819]

Such a great video. Shoutout to zingerman’s for giving her a great start and the proper training. Which she then now shares with her current staff. Also love how the staff is mostly a person of color. I hope they also find their way just like how Ji Hye did ❤️‍🔥

[@lakeshavallejo7889]

You look so happy in the Pic. So I clicked on your video. I'm glad you're happy living in the States. I'm from Kalamazoo. It'll be nice to eat at your restaurant. Stay blessed and stay prosperous!

[@Ange-ns5be]

Now this is a real Make it story.

[@unboxmuseumm]

Thank you to everyone inovled in making these really inspirational. And Congrats to the lady amazing entrepreneur.

[@hdlk]

I hope she pays herself more. She's running a business, not a non-profit org. She took all the risks and took on the loans so she should get majority of the payback.

[@emem2863]

It sounds like she's getting the majority of the paycheck based on her pay versus the line cooks and servers. She's probably re-investing the rest of the profits into the business.

[@EJF63]

⁠​​⁠ It said that she gets paid a $70k salary and-after losing approximately $1M from 2017-2021-the company made a $100k profit in 2023. Although she owns 51%, I can only imagine any profits are staying in the business and/or paying off debt. So I think it’s safe to say she makes $70k. A full time server, according to her, makes between $22-25/hour with tips, so that’s $45k-$52k/year plus the $12k in profit sharing bonus split among the employees. So it looks like her servers make about the same as her, though she has equity. I have to say, she is getting fleeced by Zingerman. 1:57 $140k for HR, payroll services, and licensing fees (for her own company!)? And Zingerman keeps 49%? That’s crazy.

[@Gerrardstrike]

💯

[@chiru184]

@@EJF63without then she wouldn’t be able to get financing. She could have explored other options initially.

[@myl3monlim348]

@@EJF63 Z wouldn’t be making much on the sales though since they let her share profits with staff.

[@SoCalFreelance]

So refreshing to see someone looking after their workers. I wish her continued success. ✨

[@geekwithabs]

What an amazing person. I just love her. We need more people like her featured on this channel.

[@ipsilonia]

this is one of my favorite eps. first of all the food looks AMAZING. she made a career switch to something she’s passionate about, and she looked into mentorship opportunities along the way. she worked in sandwich shops, food trucks, and the kitchen. most imoportantly - she’s intentional about NOT exploiting her workers.

[@AlexWindover]

How can voluntary employment be exploitational?

[@DeliaSlucutt]

Love the whole business model.

[@AlexWindover]

I guarantee you she doesn't.

[@MyMovie5858]

Considering the exhausting hours she has to put in, $1.8M revenue with only $100k net profit is not a sustainable business model.

[@coleslow5519]

Could have been better if she had canceled the tipping culture, but no, people are too "smart" to get rid of that.

[@w2sixpackchef]

love seeing and hearing her story and journey!!!

[@lucidx88]

that is a good freakin boss

[@khjeong2581]

음식 퀄리티가 한눈에 봐도 정성이 들어가고 특색있어 보입니다. 저랑 나이가 동갑인데 멋지게 사업하시네요. 존경합니다. 롱런하실꺼예요.

[@ThisIsTechToday]

LIttle Kim. I love her, lmaooo. Love how she's sharing in the success with her employees!

[@AlexWindover]

I would love to get paid just $25k/yr less than the owner with NONE of the responsibilities and debt.

[@ThrowBackZone]

The way she talks about the story behind each dish is fascinating. It makes me want to try Miss Kim's food even more!

[@namastenadine6690]

Her respect for her staff is impressive. Congratulations and create that Lil Kim

[@elizabethkoo106]

WOW, i really respect the way she does business. It's about profits... and most importantly, people... she thinks about the long term and emphasises the importance of teamwork. She is already doing well, but is going to do even better. so rare to see business people like this.

[@phoebebaker1575]

Inspiring!

[@nevergoin28]

Man what a lovely women and boss she has a genuine heart for her staff it’s not all about the money for her God Bless her

[@YongKim-m2d]

Miss Kim, I am blown away by your story, your vision and commitment. You are truly inspiring.

[@resoluation345]

People like this is why entrepreneurship is beautiful

[@alex99398]

The grit and determination is impressive. Kudos for paying healthy wages to employees and for profit sharing...smart businesswoman. I'm sure this would motivate the employees to continue to work hard and stay fully invested as it would show with the bonus cheques. Planning on visiting on my next trip to Detroit! Food looks fresh and absolutely delish...

[@isabella76591]

I went to this place when I visited Ann Arbor, and the food was amazing. Very cool to learn more about the owner and the business.

[@Observe199-l6w]

Seems like a lovely lady. All the best.

[@alex99398]

Love how the frontline and cooks get paid the same... one job is not more important imo. Also impressed at the dedication to excellent customer service. Expect to see more of Ms. Kim in the future

[@helenhass4652]

Loved this restaurant when I lived in Ann Arbor. Awesome to see this feature!

[@evettegarcia4804]

GREAT VIDEO! Thank u for making it to inspire us women business ! Whoop whoop u go girl !

[@obimalope8154]

As a business owner, I am inspired to see how I can rework the finances of oue business to pay my team more. Thank you Ms Kim 🙏🏾

[@sonder007]

Im in the pressure wash business. Very low overhead and high profits. The best part is I work by myself.. no employees, no drama, no headache, and no sharing.

[@ipsilonia]

i also love the budget breakdown of the restaurant. it’s not always profitable to pay your workers livable wages but i LOVE seeing restaurant owners try their best to do so. tip culture is a huge burden.

[@AlexWindover]

Restaurant owners know that you "LOVE" to see this. And unfortunately are paying themselves WAY less than they could while taking all the risk and debt, for fear that you will shame them if they don't.

[@RK-cj4oc]

People deserve a living wage. Stop making bs excuses. She will own this restaurant for multiple years to come and once her debt is paid off she will be cashing in big whilst also paying a living wage. Her mindset is correct and you are simply trying to excuse toxic behavior.A bussines is a long term investment. Any owner expecting to pay themselves big money in the first 5 years or before paying off all debts while not paying or not trying to pay a living wage is just being delusional.@@AlexWindover

[@pabulumm]

I want to patronize this restaurant just because they pay their staff a living wage and even give profit bonuses. I live near AA but hadn't heard of this place before, will be dropping in for sure!

[@knowyourhistory]

5:11 why are those Patagonia smoked mussels $10.50? The same thing costs $8 at Whole Foods!

[@thomascho3318]

She's nothing but the hard work and dedication to her craft and dream. She's the kind of person who should be recognized.

[@skqq3250]

Yes the tips should be spread evening with the cook staff!!! It’s about time someone realized. I’m Not even a chef and I know that.💡

[@sandogdy7175]

Not everyone will have a chance like what she had. Her dedication, skills and sacrifice had paid off . 👍

[@tipsyandbaked]

love her story! so inspiring! wish i could go to miss kims!

[@vinestreet4031]

Congratulations. The restaurant business is so tough and you managed to knock it out of the park. It's really impressive!

[@richardyoung871]

In this video she talks about Korean food in Michigan and the reason she is so popular is that people in Michigan don't know anything about Korean food and recently I have gone to Korean restaurants in QUEENS and Manhattan and the price's have really jumped up so I don't go anymore and there portions have gotten much more less,like there asst Kim chee,is so small it's a joke so I go to the supermarket buy it and save a lot of money

[@darkninja2018]

absolutely loved miss kims and always got food when I was in ann arbor!! loved the fried soft tofu

[@MPm-t8r]

I love it, what a great woman! I wish you nothing but more success and happiness in life! :) you're a great boss btw!

[@rereAL205]

I love how she's paying her staff!

[@dillonevans92107]

What an awesome story, and incredible boss it seems. She inspired me for sure - learning from other bosses is key.

[@pamelahansen5928]

Her food looks AMAZING- she has learned all employees must have a team work atmosphere where everyone wins

[@siyethembafaithdlamuka4512]

She's a great boss actually leader!!

[@fdoctor79]

The food looks delicious and elegant! Continued success with your endeavors.

[@cherzee8964]

Loved this story

[@miamiflutist]

I was thinking about how Ji Hye Kim said that the waiters would walk away with $200 to $300 on a busy Friday night while the cooks would get the same rate. Maybe possibly they could instead do time and a half or at least make it an incentive of $75 to $100 an hour on tope of the hourly wage to make it fair for the cooks.

[@IsaacNoa]

Love Ji Hye!

[@odalissk]

Can this boss please teach ? Other entrepreneurs everywhere - and their teams - seriously need her guidance

[@M2a3i]

Much blessings to you for paying your restaurant staff $22-26/hr

[@jim1013yyf]

love the food from Miss Kim and Zingerman. Even more so after I moved away from Ann arbor....Go Blue!

[@NatashaAnita14]

7:47 "Notoriety" has a negative connotation...

[@sholaking5027]

Impressive 🥳👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@smallgirlsailing]

Ji Hye is amazing boss and leader!

[@SarcasticPoet]

Many more blessings to you.

[@Omikoshi78]

I graduated U of M around when Ji graduated. Haven't been back since. Comforting to see zingermans being the same :)

[@Omikoshi78]

Also just seeing the Miss Kim's entry, without having set food in Ann Arbor in over 20 years, it's weird that I knew it was or close to Kerry Town. I guess A2 is baked into my DNA more than I thought.

[@rickenbacker472]

Am I reading the numbers at 1:38 right? It looks to me that she is nearly $900K in the hole, and her margins are wafer thin. In 9 or 10 years time she might make it into the black, if every year is as good as 2023. What am I missing?

[@ipsilonia]

livable wages for the workers i think

[@AlexWindover]

@@ipsilonia How about for the owner?

[@RK-cj4oc]

Yes. It is supposed to be her bussines. So she will run it untill retirement. She is not some equity firm trying to make 50% profit in 4 years. In 10/15 years she will be in the black. At that point she will be able to cash in all profits untill she decides not to close. You have to keep in mind most she opend in 2016. Most restaurants close in their first year. Then she also went through the corona crisis which hamperd her sales yet she still exists. This is reality for bussines which are not corporations.

[@AlexWindover]

​@@RK-cj4oc fair enough. But it doesn't have to be this way. so difficult

[@edr.2642]

Tipping is by tar the worst thing in North America. Restaurants should just charge more instead of relying on tips.

[@alexiscarolyne]

soo sick of tipping, so i just don't go out anymore to restaurants unless its pickup, but i should be able to go to ar restaurant and not have to pay a tip. The last time I went to a restaurant by myself, the restaurant put the 20% tip without even telling me. they said they do automatic gratuity.

[@MashiroRedo]

It helps with better customer service. Unless everyone is as polite as Japanese people I don’t see how you get better service without tips.

[@edr.2642]

@@MashiroRedo -man thats their job. If they wont do their job without tips why work there? Do you work for tips at your job? All they do is bring your order anyway what do you expect from them with tips?kiss yourAss? Tipping is not expected in Asia and Europe and yet restaurant workers still do their job properly.

[@RK-cj4oc]

​@@MashiroRedoYou dont go back to any food place of service is not satisfactory. That is what drives customer service in the rest of the world.

[@chonghunyi]

Wow, she is really really wonderful person.... i believe God will be blessing her business mightily.... it seems just beginning now...😅😅😅

[@alicelikesfood]

OMG right in my hometown!!!!

[@esils]

Invested 150k of her personal savings is impressive…i wonder how she able to save that much based on the type of jobs she had 🤔 7:00

[@AntonSlizzardhands]

She made 100K out of college, quit to sell cheese for 17K, started a business that didn't make profit for 6 years and now pays herself 70K.

[@ipsilonia]

what it costs to not exploit workers

[@AlexWindover]

@@ipsilonia How can consensual employment be exploitation?

[@ozyao2849]

must try this restaurant!

[@손짱-o2w]

팁 문화 바꾸는게 쉽지 않았을건데 대단하시네요!

[@chrishan9138]

Zingerman the real MVP

[@tliew5710]

Generous boss ❤respect for share profit to staffs

[@AlexWindover]

Am I trippin or did the restaurant lose over a $1 million+ the first 5 Years? In addition to the $1 million+ in loans to open? I'm reading this wrong......?

[@robinly]

Asian food is the best food on earth. Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese food. The best food on earth

[@fullpulse2000]

Sounds like a great restaurant and great standing.

[@TheGkump]

Tofu Banh Mi sandwich?!? That’s Vietnamese not Korean.

[@masterkinglee]

Wish I had a Boss like her!

[@tradingbull007]

Of course, moocher

[@ideerge]

is rich JC still around?? I loved them

[@Gerrardstrike]

She's a true saint but those profit margins are crazy low. The restaurant business is extremely tough.

[@independencestnola]

love her!

[@1bwash]

Wow god bless. This seems like a very sustainable model compared to a lot of other things. What if this was turned into a public company and they were at the mercy of Wall St? The portions would be garbage and the staff would be paid half.

[@joaopedroalbernaz]

For a business that opened in 2016, it is pretty remarkable that it is still open after so many years, knowing based on the data that most businesses (specially a restaurant) will fail within the first year, a restaurant is the hardest and most devalued type of business, a lot of effort and cost to deliver something of low cost that doesn't scale very well, very dependent on quality, one bad taste or experience may make you lose a long time customer, can't forget people won't go every day otherwise they get tired of it, very tight margins too. Keeping up a restaurant is like having an abusive relationship. Now, that 1.8 million a year, I'm not sure about it, doesn't seem very accurate, kinda inflated 10x, especially for where it is.

[@davidadebanjo1277]

Did you even watch the video?

[@unboxmuseumm]

You're definitely a hater 😂

[@joaopedroalbernaz]

People nowadays don't know how to interpret things. That's why everything nowadays is considered offensive or hateful. It is easier that way.

[@adamo1139]

I can totally believe 1.8 million. It's just revenue. Profit is just a few percent. at 1:52 you can see what they spend money on.

[@joaopedroalbernaz]

@adamo1139 Oh yeah, totally, it goes to show "ungrateful" with the owners and operators the food industry is, they are left with next to nothing. I still hung on the 1.8 million. I know some high foot traffic restaurants, some even renowned fast food places in average to bellow areas (we know the location does matter, specially for a restaurant) that probably gets to the 1-2million a year. It's hard to believe a niche restaurant (Korean, vegetarian/vegan, gourmet, higher ticket cost) can break that barrier.

[@mualan4683]

She owns the restaurant but her income $70k/year. It comes out $19/hr. Is it worth?

[@majoolivia4271]

I wanna work there😭

[@Kali481]

inspiring

[@wanh3703]

I don't know American way but in my country the higher you pay your staff wages the lower your income taxes. That's how i survived my business from cutthroat tax

[@jacobsoto7228]

Not necessarily, it could actually work against you.

[@RK-cj4oc]

What country?

[@lakenbanks9426]

Michigan!!