Finding The Time To Do Everything In Your Restaurant

Every week I speak with restaurant owners in many parts of the country. In each conversation, they tell me of their concerns in running their restaurant business.

In each of these conversations they all expressed many of the same concerns and they revolve around these five issues:

1. Growing sales and reducing cost.
2. Rising food cost and how should I deal with them.
   

   Impact of gas prices on restaurant spending

3. How will government policies impact my business. Health care, minimum wage increases and local policies impact me everyday.
4. Rising gas prices impact me in many ways. How do I deal with my customers having less money to spend?
5. Where do I find the time to do everything?

As you can see, these are real issues that impact the profitability of their business. The one issue that gets universal agreement from independent restaurant owners is the last one. Finding the time to do everything from operational issues to customer satisfaction and everything in between is an overwhelming task and they all agree that it is a daunting task. Working on your business while in your business often gets put to the bottom of the priority list.

How should the restaurant owner deal with these issues? Does it make sense to have a business coach or be part of a mastermind group to help keep you focused? With so much time spent on the day to day management of the restaurant, are restaurant owners being exposed to new ways to drive traffic or reduce cost in their business? At a recent seminar, a restaurant owner came up to me and asked “Where were you five months ago when I needed this information?” Unfortunately, I hear comments like this all too often.

While there are many publications and websites to visit, often the best solution is to speak with someone who can help you and give you ideas and answer your questions. This is where the knowledge from a trusted advisor is well worth the time and money that may be invested. A simple question is all I ask. How much money have you invested or lost because you did not ask the right questions or get the best advice? We all make mistakes, but many can be avoided. In these difficult business times, a trusted advisor is often your best solution to many problems.

CORE Restaurant Marketing has over 30 years of experience in the food industry with a mission to help restaurants improve their revenues and profits. To learn more about how CORE Restaurant Marketing can bring value to the restaurant industry, download the Free Whitepaper “Key Drivers to Restaurant Profitability”.