How to Work Strategically on Your Restaurant Business

The restaurant business is one that is full of daily distractions that make it easy to avoid working strategically. Sometimes it feels like it takes more work to be strategic than it does to just get the work done. And what does working strategically even mean? In this episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I talk about what it really means to work strategically on your restaurant business and what you can do to ensure you are. Your role as a restaurant owner is to work on budgets, marketing, developing your managers, leading your team and holding them accountable. Creating time in your schedule to take on these responsibilities without getting lost in the day-to-day details of running a restaurant takes strategic planning and thinking. Tune into this podcast episode to hear me articulate a step-by-step process to ensure you're working strategically on your business.

The step-by-step process focuses on four main actions:

1. Define your vision: Start off by identifying your restaurant's vision equation. Your vision equation is made up of your purpose statement, your mission statement and your core values. I define each of these in the podcast.
2. Understand your market and customers: One step most restaurant owners don’t do is to conduct real market research to identify who your ideal customer is and their preferences. Conducting market research is an essential step in identifying your ideal customer and their preferences. Follow this up with a SWOT analysis, which is a thought exercise that reviews and documents your restaurant’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. By analyzing these factors, you can identify opportunities to differentiate your restaurant from competitors. I explain how to do both it in the podcast.
3. Develop a strategic plan: Use your vision, goals and market research (and your budget) to develop a strategic plan that outlines how you will achieve success. This is where you’re going to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress toward your goals and create actionable tactics to achieve them, and assign responsibilities and timelines for each tactic. Then monitor the progress your team is making.
4. Build a strong team: hire the right people who align with your vision and culture, provide ongoing training and development opportunities to ensure your team has the skills they need to succeed, and encourage open communication and collaboration to foster a positive and productive work environment.
5. Monitor and evaluate your progress: Ensure you are regularly tracking and analyzing your KPIs to identify areas for improvement. Use that data to make informed decisions and adjust your plan as needed.

Get the details on how to do all of this in this restaurant podcast episode. 

Remember, working strategically on your restaurant business is an ongoing process. It takes dedication, hard work, and a willingness to adapt to change. But with the right mindset and approach, you can achieve the success you've always dreamed of. So go out there and make it happen! Follow these five steps I have outlined for you and remember to take action!

Click the podcast player above to listen in, or you can watch the video on YouTube, click here to download the latest episode.