Build A Better Restaurant with Peter Harman

Today’s pep talk is for those of you who are struggling to make money in your restaurant.

As the waiter looked out the back kitchen door, he turned to the sous chef and said where is the Chef going with that axe..?

Most people wake up in the morning… and begin their daily routine… They think about what they did yesterday… and what they’ll do today. They contemplate where they are in the world and - where they WISH they were in the world. They think about THE GAP that exists between reality and dreams. In that moment… we are either exhilarated… or dismayed.

If you need tomatoes – You have THREE Choices… Choice #1… You can BUY THEM - at the store or the Farmers Market Choice #2… You can buy a tomato plant – and plant it in your garden Choice #3… You Can start from scratch and “Grow Your Own” - from tomato seeds. I see hiring a staff and building a winning team – the same as planting tomatoes…

Have you ever heard of beginners luck? You start out HOT – Life is GOOD… Everything is going GREAT… You can’t believe your LUCK… Then get crushed – in the vice grip of life..? This is what we are going to discuss today.

Does your restaurant have - TOO MANY customers - or not ENOUGH customers..? I have discovered that most restaurants – HAVE BOTH..! TOO MANY customers and NOT ENOUGH Customers And that’s what we are going to talk about today..!

The older I get… The more I realize – the importance of the simple – Important Things The basic fundamentals… The bedrock of simplicity… 95% of restaurant owners are running around like a chickens with their heads cut off - And the top 5% are just chugging right along – executing the basics… At a very high level - Making LOTS of Money – Living the dream…

Carl Jung said The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you. Whether you realize it or not The world will ask YOU this important question - many times - each and every day. And you will answer it every time it is asked – whether you realize it or not. Every person that you meet or come in contact with - In person, or on the phone or in cyberspace… via email or...

Have you ever had a great idea… or made an important decision… And decided 100% that you are going to do it – THIS TIME… And that you will start first thing tomorrow..? And then tomorrow comes and something happens Life throws a wrench into your plans… Maybe you are tired, or sick, or one of your people call in sick, or you have car trouble, or you forgot an important appointment and your whole da...

A WISE MAN ONCE SAID… A man who lacks purpose will distract himself with pleasure. And – Sit me at the table where they are talking about self-improvement, and achieving exciting goals— NOT gossiping about other people.

We are in the service business – we are here to serve others, BUT the coolest thing is… When we give our best – we get more in return… than we give out. Hospitality is a type of Love – when we give it out by the slice It comes back by the loaf… This week I had a revelation – a breakthrough – And I am really excited to share it with you…

Every Restaurant has a Life Cycle… Restaurants start out with a big splash… like a new baby coming into the world Everyone LOVES – The NEW Thing… It’s Exciting. Then, it goes through the toddler stage and the rebellious teen age period… There is lots of strife between the young and the elders. The Good & Great Restaurants make it through the strife and the turbulence. Eventually become honed to Ra...

The restaurant business like a giant oak tree… With large branches growing off of a big solid trunk And smaller branches growing off the big branches and still other branches growing off those branches And – we even have new branches that grow off the trunk from time to time… When we look BACK at our industry – it is a labyrinth of interwoven parts - That kinda make sense – BUT when we try to look...

People ask me all the time – What should my labor cost be..? That is a great question… And that is what we are going to talk about today…

It is always BEST to start any endeavor with a GOAL… For the purposes of today’s pep talk we will set A THREE PART goal Part One – A Professional Restaurant P&L Statement Part Two – Accurate Information - The day after the end of the month, quarter or year. Part Three – A 10% Profit ate the end of each quarter... and year

Today’s podcast is part one of a two part series… This week I am going to explain – WHAT THE P&L STATEMENTS IS and The various components of your P&L. The Goal is to help you understand exactly what your P&L is trying to tell you… Next week in part 2 we will make a deeper dive - I will show you how to IMPROVE your P&L so you can achieve the GOLD STANDARD in the restaurant world – The Coveted - 30-...

As a society – we humans have mixed feelings about the future… Some think it will be better than the past. Some think it will be worse. And some others - think it will be Armageddon… Personally I believe THIS is the BEST time in the history of the world to be alive and the OVERALL future of AMERICA is going to be AMAZING… The question of the day is – WHAT WILL YOUR ROLE IN THE FUTURE BE..?

Most restaurant owners are busy people… They have a 1,000 balls up in the air at any given time. There are always - more things to do - than there is time or money to get them done… So we try to go faster – we push harder on the gas pedal to get more and more done… The BIGGEST PROBLEM I see – is MOST restaurant owners have their right foot on the gas… They have the pedal - All the way to the floor...

We are all ego driven… We all have visions of grandeur… Most of us think we are better and stronger and more important than we really are. AND – at the same time – Most of us SETTLE for a life that are FAR BELOW – what we are actually capable of. The vast amount of Americans are bored out of their minds - living lives – far below their potential… Like peasants digging in squaller – making mud pies...

Everyone has a story… A story that we tell ourselves… And we have a story that we tell to others… The question of the day is – HOW IS YOUR STORY WORKING FOR YOU Is your story making you stronger or weaker.

I’ve discovered that there are seven Phases of restaurant ownership… That we all must go through IF we want to make it to the top… And that is what we are going to talk about today…

July 14th 1789 was a bad day for Chefs & Cooks… This day is called Bastille Day… The beginning of the French Revolution… Not only was this a political revolution but it also started a Culinary Revolution when all these chefs woke up the next day and realized – they were suddenly unemployed… OUT of WORK because their bosses had been arrested or decapitated in the Guillotine… WOW!

Why NOT show up every single day and work your ass off and see what CAN happen… Why not BE the best teammate you can possibly be..? Why not be the best leader - by leading by example… And see where that might take you. Why NOT?

There are two ways to look at the world… One is from the INSIDE - OUT – The other is from the OUTSIDE - IN. That’s what we are going to talk about today…

I talk with a lot of restaurant owners. The one thing they have in common is - They want to Improve. They know they need to change – BUT… They have these long laundry lists of 100 things they WANT or NEED to change IMMEDIATELY. The lists are sooo long and sooo overwhelming – they aren’t sure where to start… So they just pick the thing that is right in front of them – the squeakiest wheel and work...