Strategy Stops Random Restaurant Growth from Undermining You

So you’re not an Olympic gold medalist, a musician with 20 million streams, or a Pulitzer Prize winner?

Still want to leave your mark?

For successful owners of independent restaurant companies growth looks like something between a hobby and an obsession that they talk about it constantly.

They obsess about it because, once they find a formula that works, they want it to realize its full potential—like they want their kids, who they love more than anything else in the world, to do the most with their lives.

If your investment is paying off, how much more could it build net worth for you, your family, and even for the next generation: those kids you love?

Why You Ask Your Broker the Wrong Question

After almost three decades of research into restaurant growth I see too many restaurateurs go into a random growth period, driven solely by opportunity (I can), not strategy (I ought to).

Random growth starts with the wrong question: “It works here—where else will it work?”

Random growth prevents you from finding the greatest potential for your brand, your greatest success and net worth.

Strategy starts with the right question: “It works here—where will it work in the best way?”

Take the Fast Lane

The faster you can start strategic growth, the faster you will build ultimate success and net worth.

Once people implement a strategy, they look back and appreciate that older random units contribute, but lament that they could be better positioned.

They realize they have wasted time.

One of my clients has a growth strategy to dominate their city, because their heritage brand means a lot to people in their community. But they maintain enough sobriety to realize it may not translate elsewhere.

Another client has a growth strategy of one unit per major city. They want to highlight exceptional relationships with their guests.

Still another client tests sites that can be duplicated over and over again, in their quest for a formula that works. They do this because of their strong belief in a fantastic growth opportunity in the future.

That is three different strategies. Not an ounce of random.

The Most Important Things You Manage

Think of site selection as the second most important thing you manage.

The first? Your brand.

You wouldn’t manage your people randomly, so treat site selection the same way to create the biggest upside for that brand.

Over to you.

What strategy do you employ to grow in the smartest way possible?