Archive for July, 2010

HOW MANY CARROTS DO YOU HAVE TO DICE TO MAKE $100K A YEAR?

You’ve decided its time to look at doing some marketing; the problem of how to get more customers has started to keep you from a good night’s sleep right? So, before some gorgeous salesperson walks into your kitchen, offering to solve your marketing problems & before you find yourself sighing with relief & signing up to some advertising, think about this.

Dining out in restaurants is so engrained in our culture that every year more and more people are eating out than ever before. People are not going to stop dining out because the restaurant is the last bastion in the world where we can get personal attention; we are there for whole experience because it allows us to forget about our daily troubles. They may leave your restaurant & take their business somewhere else, but there is no shortage of customers.

As restaurant owners & managers we know what we do best; we know our food & running costs but do we know the value of our regular customers or how much it costs to get new ones? Customers have become more discerning; they are less likely to go to a restaurant that doesn’t treat them well, but they are more likely to become raving fans if you meet their needs. Continue Reading

A Blast from the Past – Mentors, Teamwork & Lessons Learnt!


This week has been an interesting week where I’ve managed to do a little reflecting; it’s the first week since I started my new job that I’ve had a bit of time to catch up with myself!  The sharp learning curve has evened out a bit, our team has fallen into a comfortable flow with each other & The Bear & I have managed in just 8 short weeks to figure out each other’s strengths & weaknesses; we’ve gotten past that weird circling & sizing each other up stage & its now down to serious business.

I also got to catch up with some Mentors of mine this week too; I dinned out with my old Head Chef & one of my ex-bosses popped in to see me as well. It was awesome to chat about old times & even though its not quiet how I remember it, I was blown away by their reflections of my career journey to date (seen through their eyes) & I got to thinking how challenging it was initially to learn how to work with these guys & how much they’ve both taught me about teamwork, working with & understanding massively different management & teaching styles.  I doubt if I’d be where I am now if it weren’t for them. Continue Reading