10 Tips for Running a Profitable Restaurant or Bar

 

Faced with intense competition, rising food and labor costs and sluggish economy, today’s bar and restaurant owners and operators know they can never take their eyes off of the bottom-line. 

From menus and culinary trends to technology, here are 10 smart ideas to help your bar or restaurant stay competitive and profitable. 

1) Reinvent your restaurant: 

In a Buffalo News article by Stephen T. Watson, “In restaurant industry, high turnover and intense competition,” industry veteran Steve Calvaneso said, “You have to reinvent yourself at least once every 10 years.” Calvaneso’s restaurant holdings over the years have included Hooligan’s, City Grill, Bacchus Wine Bar ; Restaurant and Libation Station.   

2) Stay hungry and don’t rest on your laurels:
When business is steady and you have established a steady stream of solid, loyal patrons, it’s easy to take a step back and just keep the business running as usual. But that kind of thinking can often lead to stagnation and risk of falling behind. “Hungry means to try to learn more, always try to work hard, try to understand more from others, don’t be afraid to ask questions, make mistakes and learn from your mistakes,” according to World-Renowned Sushi Chef Nobu Matsuhisa.  

3) Pay attention to what customers are saying:
With popular review and social media sites, such as Yelp or Facebook, a complaint or negative comment from just one customer can quickly spread like wild fire. Therefore, staying on top of what your customers think and proactively asking for feedback are essential. For more information on this topic, check out our previous blog post on Smarts about how to get valuable customer feedback.  

4) Embrace technology:
Customer-interfacing technologies are a plus with many restaurant consumers who would rather pay their own tab than wait for the bill from their busy server. More and more restaurants are replacing paper reservation books with electronic reservation systems (i.e. OpenTable or UrbanSpoon), and putting tablets at the table for their customers to view menus, pay their bill, etc.  

5) Add entertainment to the mix:
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Click here 10 Tips for Running a Profitable Restaurant or Bar to get the rest of this great article.

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21 Life Tips From The Timeless Wisdom Of Lao Tzu- Part 1

Lao Tzu is believed to have lived in ancient China around 6th century BC.

Exact details of who Lao Tzu was and when he lived have been a topic of debate among historians.

Some even believe that Lao Tzu was not a single person and was the synthesis of many wise people of the time.

Even though the identity of Lao Tzu may not be clear, the legendary work Tao Te Ching has been illuminating the paths of millions over the centuries.

Considered one of the most profound pieces of wisdom ever written, the Tao Te Ching is a short work of 81 chapters. The Tao Te Ching is Translated as “The Classic way,” or simply “The Way.” It would be an understatement to say that it is full of timeless tips for living that are relevant even today.

In this post, we begin scratching the surface of Lao Tzu’s great work. I have been deeply influenced by Lao Tzu over the years and this post is my profound gratitude for his wisdom and guidance.

This is Part-1 of the 2-part series on the wisdom of Lao Tzu.

- Interested, see more at: 21 Life Tips From The Timeless Wisdom Of Lao Tzu- Part 1

Eater outreach: Restaurants invest in social media to attract customers, but how well does it work?

By Howard Riell, Special to VEGAS INC

If you build it — a social media bridge to restaurantgoers — they will come, right?

Not so fast.

Social media is all the rage: The Pew Research Center reports adults who use Instagram has doubled in two years from 13 percent in 2012 to 26 percent in 2014.

But a majority of Americans — 62 percent — say social media has no effect on their purchasing decisions. In the restaurant industry, the Sprinklr Social Business Index reports the average restaurant has a mere 3 percent engagement rate on social media.

That means restaurants would be better off ratcheting down their social media expectations and connecting with consumers offline. Offline word-of-mouth, from face-to-face or phone conversations, has a significant advantage (50 percent vs. 43 percent) over online interactions with respect to purchase intent, a Keller Fay Group TalkTrack study found.

The good news is there are lots of ways to engage customers offline, including stellar food and service, loyalty programs, friendly hosts and servers, charity work and community involvement.





The perks and pitfalls of social media

Armand Iaia, regional manager for the Chicago-based restaurant consulting firm Cini-Little International Inc., says social media messages often are perceived as just another form of advertising.

“Many people are immune to this kind of advertising and do not pay attention to it. I don’t,” he said.

But Gary Worden, a restaurant operator and publisher of Restaurant Startup and Growth magazine, said social media can play an important role for smaller restaurants. Good reviews can boost business. 

“Independent restaurants particularly seem to generate a good number of reviews that can have an effect on prospective guests and guest visits,” Worden said. “The higher the restaurant menu prices or if the guest has friends or a special occasion, the more influence the social media reviews can play a role.”

If you would like to know more, please click here Eater outreach: Restaurants invest in social media to attract customers, but how well does it work?

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What I follow to keep me in the know about the Restaurant Business

The restaurant industry is an ever changing industry. There's always brand new food trends, new technology. There also alot new ways of promoting as well as marketing your restaurant. Even the the big boys such as McDonalds need to evolve or else they will be left behind. McDonalds plus some other fast food franchise are opening their doors early for breakfast. This is to capture incremental business from the early birds. 
Fortunately there are websites on the web that you could follow. To keep oneself up to date with the changes in the industry. Together with new restaurant promotions ideas to help you market your restaurant. 
Below are a few websites that I follow, subscribe and have found to be quite useful.

National Restaurant Association

The National Restaurant Association website has lots of articles on the food and beverage industry. You will discover tips on promoting your restaurant as well as how to build your email list. How to promote your restaurant by way of social media. And so forth. They even have a category known as "Workforce Engagement" which covers training and hiring of staff.
I discovered this site when I was looking for holiday marketing ideas and found. The article was "10 Holiday Marketing Ideas".
Just visit this website and see for yourself. National Restaurant Association

RestaurantNews.com

I subscribe to their free email newsletter. They will send to you a newsletter with all their top stories and|as well as lastest trends. Neat thing about their newsletters are there's articles on Restaurant Marketing Ideas for each month. Each monthly restaurant marketing idea article also has a Marketing Calender with all the popular holidays for that particular month. I have shared a few of the Monthly Restaurant Marketing Ideas articles here. Besides there are articles on what other food outlets are doing.
So subscribe to their free email newsletter. They will send to you a newsletter in your mail and will have an idea on the current trends in the industry.
The website to go is RestaurantNews. com.

Smartbrief

The Smartbrief website sends out regular newsletters of the category that you subscribe to. There are quite many categories that you could subsribe to. There are categories for Business, Education, Finance, Tech and more . All in all about 13 different categories. I subscribe to a few of these categories. One of them is the Food and Beverage, subcategory Restaurant Smartbrief. What I get in my mailbox on a daily basis are articles related to the Restaurant Industry. Some of the articles are useful. You don't need to search the web for new ideas or information, team at Smartbrief does it for you.
To know more or subscribe visit Smartbrief. com.  

Foodservice.com

I came across this website while looking for a restaurant idea forum. The forum was also very informative as most of the members was some way or another involved in the food and beverage business. The forums had categories like Restaurant Biz talk (for those in the restaurant business), Chefs and cooks corner, Techtalk - Restaurant Point of Sales. You can even subscribe to their weekly newletter of which they will highlight their picks for the best article for the Restaurant Industry.
You visit this site at Foodservice.com

Zite.com

Another source of my restaurant news is from Zite.com. But recently I have learnt that it was aquired by Flipboard. Hope it will remain the same great site. Well here's something about Zite. I installed the Zite App o my smartphone you can get it from the Google Play Store. Put n my favourites which one of them was of course about food and restaurant. So daily I just whip out my Smartphone. Go to the app and see what is the lastest news on my chosen topics. Zite is a daily magazine that analyzes millions of articles and gives you the best and popular ones.
You can install this app from Google Store Zite or the lastest Flipboard.

Article Source :- Restaurant Promo Ideas        

Restaurant Website Design, The Easy Way

   

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The industrialist Andrew Carnegie used these 10 principles to become the richest man in the world - Business Insider

Andrew Carnegie arrived in the US in 1848 with barely a dollar to his name. By 1901, he was the head of a steel empire and the richest man in the world.

At the height of his power, he was approached by a young journalist named Napoleon Hill who was interested in telling the stories of successful people.

Carnegie saw a special drive in Hill, and in 1908 he decided that Hill would document all of the strategies that made him a legendary businessman and philanthropist.

Together, they helped pioneer the self-help genre, and Hill’s 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich” has gone on to become one of the top-selling books of all time.

When Hill began his career writing about success, Carnegie gave him his “10 Rules of Success” that provided a foundation for much of Hill’s work.

Here’s a synopsis of the rules, which appear in the collection “The Science of Success“:




1. Define your purpose.
Create a plan of action and start working toward it immediately.

2. Create a “master-mind alliance.”
Contact and work with people “who have what you haven’t,” Hill says.

Read more at The industrialist Andrew Carnegie used these 10 principles to become the richest man in the world - Business Insider

7 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires - Careers & Finance - EBONY

The Frugal Feminista offers tips on how to acquire the wealth that you've always wanted.

There are certain things that we have no control over. We have no control over when we will come out of this Great Recession and we have no control over being fired or laid off. But we do have control over our personal financial choices and our actions.

In other words, even with the grimmest of financial forecasts coming down hard you on, you can still make it to the land of milk and honey by changing some of your habits and thinking.

If you are willing to shift your thinking about money and life, you have the chance of becoming a self-made millionaire.





The Wealthy Live That #FabulousNFrugalLife. One of the key habits of the self-made millionaire is that they track their spending. Every penny has a position in their multi-million dollar empire. In other words, they keep a budget and are able to differentiate between a want and a need. If you need a budget starter tip, try the 50-30-20 rule. Use 50% of your income for your needs, 30% for your wants, and 20% for your savings and investing. If you want to jumpstart your journey to wealth, flip those last two percentages: save and invest 30% of your income and use 20% of your income for your fun, wants, and desires.



The Wealthy Take Their Grateful Pill Every Morning. Instead of complaining about what isn't working and what has yet to come, try copping an attitude of gratefulness. Being grateful is like a muscle. When you are training yourself to be grateful, you are preparing yourself to both attract and appreciate the greater and the grander.



The Wealthy Have a Crew and Seek to Expand It Strategically. The saying "misery loves company" is only partially true. Wealthy people are about networking, meeting, mentoring, being mentored in order to form meaningful relationships that will result in big dollar bottom lines for all involved.



Read more at EBONY 7 Habits of Self-Made Millionaires - Careers & Finance - EBONY

5 Keys to Living a Life of Success and Personal Excellence

It’s doubtful that you got out of bed this morning and said, today I’m only going to live in a half-hearted sort of way.

Who do you know who lives with the intention of not fully living?  Probably no-one.

Yet, it often seems as though we’ve forgotten how to live a genuinely joyful life. And everything that shows up in our life…every circumstance, and every event seem so concrete, so permanent, that the idea of living differently, living with genuine heartfelt passion and enthusiasm is ridiculous.

Except it isn’t.

It’s tragic. It’s tragic that we don’t or we can’t.

Stuff happens. Life happens and it can be challenging and demanding. We have all sorts of issues to handle from the day to day mundane to the extraordinary, to the ‘where on earth did that come from’ event.

Truth be told we all have those days when we’re worn out, drained and weary, and when it feels as though we’ve lost our way.

But if you prefer to live a life on your terms, to live a life of success and personal excellence here’s 5 keys to help you do just that.

1. Never give up on yourself

This is it.

This is your life and it is precious.

Don’t relinquish your power, don’t resign yourself to living a mediocre life and believing that’s all there is. That’s just how it has to be.

Don’t give up on yourself.  But…

Do give up on comparing yourself to others, because you have something unique to offer that they don’t. There is no one form of talent that we all should have. You have been blessed with gifts and talents that are all your own. You are valuable just as you are.

And do give up on seeing life as a winning or losing proposition. It isn’t. It’s up and down, it ebbs and flows;  each moment bringing an opportunity to grow or to step back into the safety that will strangle your creativity and innovation and blind you to your potential.

But never, ever give up on yourself. Remember, most of the important things in life have happened because someone simply wouldn’t give up on who they were and what they could accomplish.



2. Demand more

You are part of the divine. A being of incredible potential.

And wonderful as that is, it doesn’t come with any guarantees. It doesn’t mean you will get to live a life of abundance, health, happiness, success and personal excellence. It just means you can. And everything you do or don’t do towards that end matters.

If you sleep in, instead of going to the gym, or meditating, it matters. If you play another game on one of your devices instead of reading that book, it matters. If you don’t get to that seminar, or don’t choose a healthy diet, it matters. It affects your consciousness, your mind- set and your philosophy of life. And they matter most of all.

It all comes down to a couple of  things; learn more than you knew yesterday, and be better than you’ve been before.

Demand greater things from yourself.

Venture away from what you know.  Expand your horizons. Read more. Plan more. Expect more.

You are strong and capable and filled to overflowing with potential.

Don’t waste it.


Read More Here 5 Keys to Living a Life of Success and Personal Excellence