Pizza dough

The Journey

A journey of epic proportions begins with one step at a time. From a business in complete disarray to a new business capturing all the essence of the community and putting every ounce of decency and integrity for everyone to see. This success is a well traveled road. As consultants on this new project our team had the unique opportunity to start from a tear down to a complete re-haul. 

The owners of this project are united in so many ways yet very different as personalities, often tend to be a blend of differences and a commitment to the highest level. When you have these synergistic effects, great happenings occur. The team they have assembled are as committed as they are, not often do you see this level of unity.

Principles of Excellence are defined

Integrity; adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
Commitment;  the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself
Failure Leads to Success, allowing failures to show you the way to success 
Ownership; the state or fact of being an owner
Speak with Good Purpose; think first of the reactions and then act

Flexibility; capable of being bent, usually without breaking; easily
Balance;  mental steadiness or emotional stability; habit of calm behavior, judgment
This is it; moving with the end in mind

As this project moves forward we are starting to see how when you keep your goals and your commitment level to the highest possible standards, the result is visible for everyone to see and feel. Updates and photos will follow when this is completed. My only concern is keeping our team and everyone else on point until we have completed. Always keep the end in mind!

Seek out Counsel

When deciding on a particular project to tackle the decisions that you must make should be with the end game in mind. When we decide on the projects that really need our attention, are our goals fairly within reason to achieve completion? Laying down a level of commitment is always my largest concern. Are the principles willing to take solid advice, evaluate it and then act upon them. That's why I always select a team that looks at the project and then we all discuss what is plausible to achieve the best results. The team that we created are seasoned professionals that know their area of expertise.That is something that is really important in seeking out advice of the professionals in specific fields. Make your decisions based on facts and good probability that the decision you are making are relatively solid ones based on you seeking good counsel. When you discuss with a team the issue at hand, something really positive comes out of it, then you have the facts not the assumptions. This process is a good way for all owners and operators to utilize and follow thru decisions that are monumental or that need your attention. Always have the end in mind.

You must have a plan!

Most business owners have no plan for their business and if they do it's not long range and they forgot to consider that if the plan succeeds, what now! Create a business plan that not only represents knowing what your sales are or how your profit margins are but that I am going to make money now but what will happen if my plan becomes a reality.How do I continue to follow thru?

The restaurant business is simple; defining your customer base, knowing  your competition, where do I want to excel to and once I've gotten  close or there now what?

For some years my only concern was being able to keep my head above water and treading constantly. I started to think very proactive and become aware of what I was doing and why. Once I figured it out the plan really became crystal clear. I wanted to have the very best of restaurants, serving high quality food at a very reasonable  price. With that in mind. I had to make certain of a couple of things; that this new period for me allowed me to grow with the best equipment for the task, use only the very best of ingredients and reach everyone within a 4-5 my radius of my business that would enjoy my product. And make certain that all my marketing platforms were in sync and that I knew who was my most productive audience.

With this all in motion what I really wasn't expecting was for this plan to actually work, boy did I get a surprise. My work load was doubled as the plan started to work, I didn't have all the necessary tools to make it as easy as possible for set up and I quickly found out that i needed to get things in order really fast to accommodate the exponential growth that was now coming my my way.
More equipment to handle the onslaught of business, more staff, more product delivered so I didn't run out and last but not least a new mindset that this is really going to involve some hard work and long hours to get the ship on a course of success and keep it there.
So the adage be careful for what you wish for was so true.

Be ready of mind, tools and know how and you have just made the journey an easier trip!

New Progect is being Blessed

What a project, but an incredible experience once again. Every project is different and the dynamics are intriguing, so Blessed to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

Staying on Top

When you payed attention to all of your knowledge & advice to succeed in business and you find yourself in a rare position of retaining that measure of accomplishment, what now? This is really what we all strive for, digging deep and achieving small victories and triumphs in the business of being a restauranteur. This was accomplished by listening, learning and wanting more. Then the task at hand begins on staying there and going further.

We can do this by really looking inside ourselves and being so very critical that we feel we can never get there, but what is being there really mean? It means doing what is not comfortable, not ordinary for ourselves, not within our comfort zone and simply pushing ourselves beyond and more.

Revamp our thinking can be done through repetition, or simply surrendering to the advice that we know deep inside to be true. By living in a a manner of giving back in order to receive! 

To stay on top in the restaurant business there needs to be some really good practices. Serving the very best food and the very best price and knowing who we are and where we are going. If we're a small operation with limited resources we need to focus on what is the most important things that can facilitate continued success. Using the very best ingredients that is appropriate to our operation, make certain that our equipment is operating to the best of its ability, having the equipment that's needed for the task at hand, having the proper staff for the business we are doing, our expenses are in line, our marketing reaching the proper audience and making certain that we know our audience and their needs. I will break down all of these in the following paragraph.

1. The ingredients we use tells a lot about how we value our customers, it shines a light on the idea that serving the very best is what we internally want for our customers and ourselves.

2. Being aware our the equipment that we use is up to date and functioning to maximum capacity for the business we are doing and anticipated sales in the future.

3. Purchasing the proper equipment that will meet the demands and the needs of the growth potential we want to reach, sometimes this may be difficult in tough economic times but essential for making the journey easier and less cumbersome for all.

4. Making certain that our staff is adequate for the volume that we are doing or anticipate doing. A well trained staff that knows our mission statement and most importantly understands and knows the menu.

5. How we reach our potential audience is critical in this ever changing media mishmash. How are we going to do this, through social media, advertising (print & other mediums), getting to the right customers at the right time is so important and staying up with the times is even more critical.

6. Knowing our customer base and knowing what their needs are requires exploration outside of our four walls and through surveying their wants and needs.

This is just a glimpse of what you need to do to not only get to the top but staying there.

Why some owners don't have a clue!

Every business has a core group of satisfied customers, but attrition makes us victims of keeping new customers coming in while other customers fade away. How to do this is the challenge that every business faces. 

One way is to always be active in reaching new customers in all segments of advertising. I use the word advertising because whether we use Social Media or traditional ways, we need to constantly rebuild and keep a strong customer base. 

On a recent visit to a newly opened restaurant at 12 noon, no one was in there, empty, no phones were ringing, no customers visiting and no traffic whatsoever. Asking the owner why this is occurring he simply said that "I don't know!"  I asked him was he ever busy from the time he opened 5 months ago and he said, "Yes when we ran specials we were very busy."  So are you running any specials or deals that may keep those customers coming back and new ones coming in?  "No, we really don't want to attract that customer base that only comes in for specials and we don't make enough money with them."  REALLY?!  Well what are you doing now to gain customers now? "Nothing, this area this time of the year is dead and the other ones that were coming in only came in for the specials only."  So now he sits there not bringing any customers, not turning over product and is heading down the path of failure. I asked him who is your strongest competition in the area, he mentioned a 2 places approximately a few blocks away.  I asked is that all, he said, "I think so." Obviously he didn't do his homework before he opened and still hasn't. I drove around the area and discovered 5 other restaurants within a mile radius. Know your competition, visit them and see what they are doing, thoes that you like and why are they doing business and not you. Enough said about that!

I suggested that he has to be very aggressive in his marketing approach. Do you have a website? "Well yes of course, a simple one but we do have one." By the way when I came back to my office, I went to his website and none of the buttons worked at all. Are you using any Social Media?  "I have been thinking about it." REALLY?!  Do you have a reward program? Do you have a texting program? His answer to this was, "No, do you think I need one?" Of course silly goose, no one is coming in whether they were in at one time or not. A previous customer came in, (he was doing work for them), while I was there, the owner asked him "how was everything that you had when you were in last time", he said good, the owner said "why haven't you come back", the gentleman simply replied, I been busy. I asked the owner if he used the best ingredients possible and the freshest produce and meats, he told he uses whatever he can get on sale.

As I left I wondered how he plans to gain his share of the marketplace.

Use every tool possible and and make certain that you know your competition.