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GIVING US SWEET BREAK FROM A STRESSFUL WORLD

Amy Simmons was en route to becoming a doctor. Now she's celebrating her 27^th year as an ice-cream entrepreneur.

"What I like about ice-cream is that it's not just a food," says Amy Simmons, the founder of Austin-based Amy's Ice Creams. "People don't just go to an ice cream store because they're hungry. They go because they're happy or because they want to celebrate or because they're going on a date. It can be a reward. There is something about it that's just bigger than a food."

"Ice cream," she says, "is magic."

It's also, practically speaking, a very good business - for Simmons, at least. In 2010, the company brought in $6.2 million in revenue throughout its 15 Texas locations. It employs about 200 people, many of whom are part-time high school students.

Simmons, a Michigan native who attended college at Tufts University, started the business in 1984 after studying psychology, biology, and taking the pre-med track as an undergraduate. On nights and weekends, Simmons worked in Steve's Ice Cream, where, she says, "I always left feeling happy."

At 23, Simmons decided to put her career in medicine on hold. She filled a business plan template she'd received from the Small Business Administration, scraped together a $100,000 loan from colleagues in the ice-cream business and headed out for Austin to open up what would eventually become the eponymous ice cream shop she's been running for the last three decades. (The choice to open in Austin was not completely random - Simmons had read an article in The Economist that the tech industry was booming there. And unlike her first choice, London, the weather was just right for a year-round ice cream shop.)

Amy's Ice Cream sells a wide variety of flavors and concepts, including "Amaretto Peach" and "Peanut Butter Honey". According to Simmons, the company exclusively uses "the highest-quality-super-premium-ice-cream that we could make:" A core principle of the company.

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And despite the company's commercial success over the last 27 years, Simmons notes the difficulty in achieving profitability. "It's tough financial business to sell $4 ice cream and make the kind of rents you pay," she says.

Amy's Ice Cream doesn't advertise. Instead, the company relies on community outreach and charity work to communicate the brand's message. Each store creates its own customer events; recently, one store hosted a Hawaiian night where customers who got dressed up received a discount. Another store had customers dress up as characters from Thor.

"Our mission is to make people's day," says Simmons. "That's what we are selling - a break from the stressful world."

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions based on the content of the text:

1. Why do people go to an ice-cream store?

2. What kind of background did Simmons have before starting her business?

1. Was the choice to open a shop in Austin completely random? If "no", whatwas the reason for it?

3. When did Simmons start the business?

4. What kind of ice-cream does Amy's Ice Cream use?

5. What do the company stores create to communicate the brand's message?

6. Are there any difficulties in achieving profitability?

7. What is the mission of the company?

Exercise 2. Put questions to which the following data are the answers:

1. $ 6.2 million.

2. 200

3. $ 100, 000

4. $4

5. The last 27 years.

Exercise 3. Match the verbs from the left with the nouns from the right to form as

many logical word-combinations as possible. Translate them into your native

language.

achieve college

attend discount

communicate event

create message

put smth on hold

receive profitability

run shop

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TEXT 6

AN INVESTMENT BANKER GOES TO THE DOGS

Upon graduating from the University of Denver in 2000, Andrea Servadio moved to New York City - "I always wanted to work with money" - and quickly began climbing the ladder. When the 2008 financial crisis hit, she was a vice president at Fords, a Benelux-based banking firm, which was forced to break up arid let go of most of its staff. "I kept trying to get laid off, but my boss kept asking me to stay. It was depressing. Banks didn't have any capital. There was no way to move on in the new environment." She took her savings and headed west. "I always wanted to move to California, because of the weather. I figured I'd write a screenplay or something - anyway, relax and figure out what to do." It was May 2009. She was 31.

After renting a Santa Monica apartment, Servadio and her partner Han soon checked out daycare options for their beloved terrier, Bracken. Nothing seemed to match the services they'd used in Manhattan. "They were not as nice and the staff didn't seem as educated about dogs, says Servadio. "They weren't clean. They didn't give dogs their own spaces for overnight stays. We tried three different places, and every time Bracken came tired or sick or with an eye infection." The light bulb went on.

Over the next six months, Servadio and Han toured more than a dozen facilities. "We checked out services, looking for ideas," says Servadio. By January 2010, they had a business plan and - after being turned down for a Small Business Administration loan (in that business climate, "they just laughed at us," she says) -secured two banks loans.

The biggest problem was renting space. "We have negotiated a lot of contracts over our careers, but we needed someone who does local real estate," Servadio says. To save money, they hired on the cheap. But as Servadio learned, lawyers who bill out at $600 an hour and those who bill out at $100 to $200 are not created equal.

After three lawyers and tree months of negotiation, they still wound up with unfavourable terms on a seven-year lease. "We are living with it," says Servadio. "The scary part is if things don't go well, we're on the hook."

Opened in November 2010, the 5,000-square-foot Fitdog Sports Club offers upscale daycare, boarding and grooming services. Other facilities provide similar services, but Servadio also saw opportunity in harnessing the Los Angeles lifestyle. So the club provides fitness services for "members", including exercises and training programs, treadmill workouts, beach excursions and canyon hikes that shape up owners as well as dogs. Upmarket gear and'toys are also available in the Fitdog shop.

True to its boutique promises, Fitdog caps membership at a 70-dog maximum, maintaining a low ratio of one handler to 17 dogs. Private sleeping and play areas separate larger and smaller dogs to ensure comfort and safety. Profit margins run 20% to 30%, with annual revenues at $600,000 to $1 million.

Staffing remains a challenge in a field with low pay and scant promotion. In 2011, half of Fitdog handlers quit without warning, soon joined by the rest. Servadio reconsidered treats and training. Now hires have more responsibility, which makes them more invested. Monthly meetings allow staff to air grievance as well. Fitdog's workforce now is stabilized at 16 staff members, with Servadio planning to hire more in the future.

Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the questions using the data only: 1. When did Servadio graduate from the University?

2. How old was she when she moved to California?

3. When did Servadio and Han compose their business plan?

4. For how long did they negotiate the rent?

5. How much space does Fitdog Sports Club occupy?

6. How many dogs can one handler take care of?

7. How much does Fitdog Club earn every year?

Exercise 2. Read the text once more and give full answers the questions: 1. Why did Servadio move to New York after graduation?

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2 .What was her job title at Fortis in 2008?

3. What was she planning to do in California?

4. Did they succeed to get a loan from Small Business Administration?

5. What differentiates Fitdog Sports Club from similar dog services?

6. What were the reasons for handlers quitting their job?

Exercise 3. On the basis of the text, put questions to the following answers:

1. A vice president at Fortis.

2. For their beloved terrier.

3. Tired or sick or with an eye infection.

4. More than a dozen facilities.

5. To save money.

6. To hire more in the future.

Exercise 4. Find synonyms to the following words in the text:

to decide (par. 1)

employees (par.2)

agreement (par.4)

condition (par.5)

possibility (par.6)

yearly (par.7)

to employ (par. 8)

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TEXT 7

FORMER SOFTWARE ENGINEER TAKES A HIGH-TECH APPROACH TO FARMING

Matt Liotta, a former software engineer, designed a computer program to control light, temperature and moisture level in old shipping containers, creating an ideal environment for growing lettuce. His company, PodPonics, transformed an unused lot of land in Atlanta into a productive farm.

After selling his telecommunications company in 2008, Liotta took time off to develop business ideas. During a trip to an Atlanta supermarket, he noticed that most of the fruit and vegetables came from other states or countries. "Almost all of the lettuce consumed in the US comes from California," he says. "There is such a demand for fresh, local produce, but almost no one outside of California is growing lettuce on a large scale." Liotta realized that if he applied his software engineering skills to farming, he could develop a solution to the local food production issue.

In 2010 Liotta created a software program to maintain ideal growing conditions, purchased four metal shipping containers and set up a test site in a parking lot in an industrial section of Atlanta. He invested $100,000 to turn the containers into a mini farm. Lettuce started sprouting a few days after it was planted. "Overnight, an R&D project turned into a business, and I've been trying to keep up ever since," he says.

Liotta raised $1.7 million from investors to expand operations. He found a vacant plot of land in the flight path of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport and leased 11.3 acres from Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development organization, as a permanent home for PodPonics. "A farmer would never be able to grow a crop on this piece of land," he says. "We wanted to show that there is a way to produce food without arable land by using technology."

His high-tech approach works. PodPonics produces six varieties of lettuce. Each shipping container has an output equivalent to 1.5 times the annual yield

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of one acre of field-grown lettuce. PodPonics grows about 62 tons of leafy greens annually.

In the beginning, Liotta questioned whether lettuce grown in a shipping container would taste as good as that grown in a field. His fears proved unfounded. "It looks better and tastes better because we provide ideal growing conditions."

In 2012 PodPonics began expansion into Dubai (home of one of Liotta's investors) and plans to place 50 containers in the region this year. The lettuce grown in the Middle East, which currently receives most of its bagged salad from California, will be distributed via retail and food-service operations in schools and hospitals. "We've gotten a lot sawier about the lettuce world, and we understand the worldwide potential of this business," Liotta says.

Construction of an Atlanta processing plant is in the works. Having a facility where all lettuce grown on-site can be rinsed, dried and packaged will allow PodPonics to meet federal regulations for selling lettuce in supermarkets. Liotta expects his produce will go from shipping containers to store shelves by the first half of 2013. Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the questions using the data only:

1. When did Liotta sell his telecommunication company?

2. How much did he invest to turn the containers into a mini farm?

3. What was the size of a vacant plot of land at Atlanta Airport?

4. How many varieties of lettuce does PodPonic produce?

5. How much lettuce does PodPonic grow annually?

6. Where is Liotta going to expand his business to?

Exercise 2. Read the text once more and give full answers the questions:

1. Why did Liotta take time off in 2008?

2. What was the problem with the lettuce in Atlanta's supermarkets?

3. What was the aim of Liotta's software program?

4. Did it take long to turn an R&D project into a business?

5. What were Liotta's fears about lettuce grown in a shipping container?

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6. Why cannot Liotta sell his produce in supermarkets now?

Exercise 3. On the basis of the text, put questions to the following answers:

1. Into a productive farm.

2. To turn the containers into a mini farm.

3. From Invest Atlanta.

4. To grow a crop on this piece of land.

5. Because we provide ideal growing conditions.

6. By the first half of 2013.

Exercise 4. Find synonyms to the following words in the text:

request (par.2)

to buy (par.3)

to enlarge (par.4)

empty (par.4)

constant (par.4)

factory (par. 8)

to permit (par.8)