What did you do over the summer to take time away from your business and enjoy your success? Do you want to be able to do more of that? If so, how can you set up your company in a way to let you do that? Those three simple questions may not be on your … Continued
Any conscious operator who wants to ace the everyday test of business knows the answers to these two questions: What about your competitors makes you admire them – and makes you work harder to improve? What makes your own business stand out from your competitive set? Most owners of successful independent restaurant companies will tell … Continued
My clients in Louisiana have a before-and-after story that’s part of their constant inner dialogue: “before Hurricane Katrina (or Rita or Ike) and after it.” But never before has there been such a nationwide, clear-cut break/delineation/before-and-after line in our industry. Now we have “before the lockdowns and after the lockdowns” – before COVID-19 and after/learning … Continued
When Winston Churchill advocated the formation of the United Nations and the alliance between himself, Stalin, and Roosevelt, he coined “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” A year ago I told you the other side of the restaurant crisis portion of the pandemic would be a huge opportunity for restaurateurs who prepared. … Continued
In my Restaurant Owners Success Club last week, we spoke about how, last year, retention simply meant, “I hope I don’t lose my business.” This year it means keeping employees. One of my clients told me, “Being an owner of an independent restaurant company looks like riding a see-saw.” One month you feel down on … Continued
At Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace this weekend – on Sunday, July 11, I will present a rapid-fire brainstorming education session: “I’m Still Standing. The Pandemic Kicked My Restaurant’s Ass.” I will be on the show floor’s Big Bend Ideas Stage at 10:30 AM on Sunday, July 11, with a great group who are coming together to share … Continued
At Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace in three weeks – on Sunday, July 11, I will present a rapid-fire brainstorming education session: “I’m Still Standing. The Pandemic Kicked My Restaurant’s Ass.” I will be on the show floor’s Big Bend Ideas stage at 10:30 AM on Sunday, July 11, with a great group who are coming together to trade … Continued
I recently talked to a restaurateur who had just taken his first plane trip in 15 months – and he told me incredulously that it felt “almost like normal.” I’m taking my first one in a few weeks. Last year, the year of oddness and panic, a lot of summer vacations were canceled. Or substituted … Continued
One of my peers in my international consulting community sent me the results of a small business owner poll taken by Alignable, the small business referral network, about reasons for the hiring shortage. It was interesting…and predictable, with unemployment presented as the #1 reason and stimulus checks as #2. But then the poll’s fatal flaw flashed … Continued
Said no one ever: “Honey, I feel hungry. What corporation do you want to dine at tonight?” One of the myriad changes forced on your multi-unit restaurant company during the crisis phase of the pandemic? Spending your corporate office budget much more wisely. No sacred cows. You made smart cuts to your overhead at a … Continued