Articles - Business Growth

The 6 T's of a Successful Upscale Restaurant

The 6 T's of a Successful Upscale Restaurant By Daryl Des Marais

The 6 things that make a high end restaurant. A restaurant that is memorable, a restaurant that people want to go back to, a restaurant that people tell friends.

People go to restaurants for great food and social atmosphere. Great food is essential to the success of a restaurant and the ability to remember the quality and tell others.

1. Temperature-One of the most simple, but important things in a restaurant is temperature of food. Temperature of food is essential because it determines the quality of the food. If the food is cooked to hard, too soft, burnt, not to exact temperature of the product it can prove disastrous. It may seem like such a simple thing but if you look at most cooking shows and most great chefs they are very concerned about the temperature of the food and how the products are cooked. Temperature is a key item that will separate you from other restaurants, having food that is slightly burnt or overcooked will cause bad word of mouth, especially if your servers do not ask how the food is during service.

2. Thickness-The thickness of the cut of steak, combined with the temperature will determine the tenderness of the meat. Why is this important in a restaurant? It is important because thickness determines the overall quality to the palete. It also determines presentation when serving. You determine the level of thickness based upon the presentation of the dish and the types of items it is going with. If you are serving mashed potatoes and steak you may have a larger thickness that serving fine wine dipped slices of steak with string beans or a presentation of vegetables.

3. Taste-Taste revolves around temperature and thickness, it is the end result, the taste to the palete. However, great chefs now that taste also involves spices, sauces, salt, herbs and other ingredients. If you want great taste you have to design it. There are so many ways you can make chicken: fried, roasted, bbq, but more importantly there are so many sauces you can add to make it taste. Sauces and other flavours separate your dish from others. It makes it unique to your restaurant and a destination to talk about.

4. Tenderness-Tenderness is what is achieved with thickness, time and temperature. The tenderness is what "melts in your mouth". It is essential in high end restaurants to make the food feel easy to eat. To have an exceptional time enjoying the flavour and the presentation rather that spending time trying to cut up or chew the food. Tenderness is very important when being able to design presentation in dishes as well that require curves and presentation that is key to getting responses from guests.

In addition to the presentation of food, presentation of the service is essential in restaurants. There are numerous items that have to be considered but two themes remain important.

5. Timeliness-Timeliness in key in service. Why is this important? Depending on the type of restaurants, guests have an expected waiting time. In fast food it is 5-10 minutes, the faster the better. Pace and speed is important in these types of restaurants. In high end restaurants it could be 10-30 minutes, it really depends on the anticipation of expected wait times, number of courses in the meal and size and volume of the dinner crowd. Timeliness is essential in service to give the guests time to socialize with themselves and the table and time to present dishes and beverages that meet their needs. A great server can tell when a guest is ready for service and gets used to a flow of the restaurant.

6. Theatre-The restaurant must have some kind of response to the eye. Is it a quiet white linen, candle-lit restaurant type of mood or does lively music play with bold colors and themes on the wall. In determining your presentation of the service area, you must decide the end result or image you want to have with the guest while in the restaurant and when they leave as well.

In summary these 6 themes are important to the success of an upscale restaurant. They separate average restaurants from what is "talked about", what is expected in designing an upscale restaurant.

The Future of Your Business

By Daryl Des Marais

The future of your business may become more interactive with the Internet. We have heard this in the late 90's but the software was not there to suport it or was too costly for the average business. So why is this happening now? Is the Internet a Boom or Bust? Well what is happening is that specialized technologies are helping businesses on an individual basis. Do you have an IPOD broadcast?

The days of just Microsoft and CRM product is beginning to be engulfed by innovation or more specialized programs that can provide greater time management or simplify business resources and thereby reduce costs. Microsoft and CRM will probably always be around and a larger player, but it interesting to note some of the software advances that have helped business in the last five years and more recently this year.

We have just been inundated with IPOD casting and video on the Internet is better now due to more fluid programs and greater computer memory. Security concerns regarding travel have also helped with the speed of advancement and investment in this industry.

What are some of the latest creations in software that is beneficial for business? Well a few key ones are:

1. Map technology, http://www.yahoo.maps.com have helped change our lives in being able to view and follow maps to certain destinations we desire to go to. Perhaps saving us time and helping us not get lost so easily.

2. Communication software abound, There are so many ways you can communicate, email, gmail with ability to save your chat history, videoconferencing, phone bridging with display templates and numerous others designed by individual firms. Eg. http://www.yahoo.com; http://mail.google.com/mail/help/chat.html; https://www.gotomeeting.com/;http://www.flashtalk.com/dashboard

3. Accounting software, lots of new and more industry-specific software that can help your business in your industry in evolving more quickly or staying on top of fluctuations in your assets, expenses or cash-flow more easily. Eg. http://www.taxbrain.com; http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax_products/learn_premier.html

4. Groups online, numerous groups online, whether business networking groups, online alumni groups or social club groups. Eg. http://www.meetup.com; http://www.wayn.com/; http://www.linkedin.com/

5. Video Observation, so many ways to view other parts of the area, city, sites, country or just look at the earth from above. You can even broadcast yourself online now. Eg. http://hubblesite.org; http://www.youtube.com/browse?s=mp

As we continue in the Internet Age more technology will come down the pipeline, like always there will be challenges and changes, but out of this will come something new. Just like the birth and development of a new child.

For more information about online social networking see: http://www.socialnets.org/

How do you see the future for your generation and the generation you are bringing up? At this point it is really up to you!

The tools are out there now to help you define your own future with Internet technology as it expands to other places around the globe.

Copyright @2006 All Rights Reserved http://www.businessgrowth.ca by Daryl Des Marais-"Business Growth Specialist" Mr. Des Marais is a private parnter and has assisted with business development for companies in the service, retail, tourism and hospitality sectors helping them grow and expand their business by revenue or locations.

HR Development for Small Business Owners 2008

There are 5 things that are important to Human Resource Development for Small Businesses. They are leadership development, transitional support, role modeling, systems process and tool necessities.

1. Leadership Development

In order to expand in an organization you have to develop successful leaders. Easier said than done. There are three things that are very important in making this come to fruition.

Most importantly, the leader must have the appropriate level of experience in creating new leaders.

Secondly, he must have been successful with developing leaders to the results that are necessary. Third, the leader must develop a process for the new leader to follow and emulate. But how do you create a process as a small business owner, there are so many books and authors, styles, industry differences.

A good basic structure to start with as a new business owner is with a 1 page sheet of objectives with a timeline(daily,weekly, monthly and annually). What types of consistent behaviors are important in this role to achieve each of the milestones set for the business. Pick 3-5 core goals for each timeline on each sheet and prioritize them for your business and desired achievement timeline.

2. Transitional Support

When you are beginning to train the new leader it is important to give communication on a regular basis; may be daily, or monthly, or otherwise, depending on the level of skill and the level of experience. However, ensure that you have a specific outline of the outcomes desired after the process, whether it be 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or a year.

If you have core objectives for that role and fill in the information that they are missing with a regimented process it will become more natural for them. It is important to do this in a manner that is beneficial to the new leader and the company. There are many books available on this topic under "leadership development".

3. Role Modeling

In order to have someone become successful it is usually helpful to model the behaviour so they can understand the process and see it in action. This may not be ideal if you are in another city, however there are web technologies that make this possible. I.E. Podcasts, net meeting and online training systems.

If the leader cannot be there to role model for the new leader there are other options. Checking in on a regular basis is also helpful and teleconferencing systems are good for small businesses and owners with multiple locations to send a clear consistent message to leaders in each location.

4. System Process

Every small business and every industry has different systems. However you must design your own process on a page. Reading on other industry systems and successful models may assist you in this process. On a page create a flow chart with squares or circles describing each system with a heading and one sentence. For instance begin with the initial sourcing for your product and complete delivery to the home of your happy customer. This will assist you in advance as different situations may arise and you will log how best to deal with them for your business.

5. Tool Necessities

Every business has it's own unique tools. Look at other successful businesses in your industry and see what tools are most important and absolutely necessary for getting the job done. As your business grows and so does your capital you may be able to keep up to speed on new systems, that are faster, more efficient or assist saving the business and your customer time and money.

Continued success in your business in 2008, and take some time to "surf the web for the information you need that best suits your business".

Then go out locally, city or state, and find other people who have been there, done that to assist you. It's a good start and you will get more comfortable as you go along.

Like the famous astronaut Mr. Armstrong said when landing on the moon "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." So how about that's one small step for you, but one giant leap for starting your business. All the best!

Mr. Des Marais has operated small businesses for over 20 years. He has been a consultant and held positions in some of the fastest growing franchisees in Canada.

He is a private partner in http://www.usabusinessgrowth.com

He has increased sales by 200% in 2 months for an herbal doctor; increased sales by 30% in 4 months for a major Canadian Big Box Retailer; 200% sales increase 3 times in a row for a service-based small business and helped several entrepreneurs develop and sell their business. His expertise is in the area of growth and business development. He has also been involved in developing business chapters.

In terms of Business Development and mentoring Mr. Des Marais has volunteered with S.E.E.D.S mentorship review committee, ACE, YEA.

6 Secrets of Business Growth Success

Starting Your Small Business

Daryl Des Marais

6 Secrets of Business Growth Success

By Daryl Des Marais

www.ezinearticles.com Platinum Quality Author

The future of your business may become may depend on 6 little growth secrets that many businesses have used in the past though not in a matter that creates rapid growth. So how do you create quicker revenue or profit growth with your business?

The days of just helping your customers with solutions to their problems is becoming a redundant saying, it is almost a given. What if you could do something else that they would not expect? What if you could show them "The FUTURE of their business". How can you do that you say? Well there are 6 little steps that can assist you in doing this.

Why are these steps important, bottom-line, they will make you MORE MONEY, more PROFIT and save you TIME. Nothing is more important than a business owner's time, just ASK them.

Here they are:

1. Understand new technologies and how they can simplify your business by creating reports that you can analyze. This is huge, and as software becomes more readily accessible and cheap it will create a more level playing field for smaller companies. http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics

Just take a look at some of the things Google is currently doing, they are big on investing in future innovations that save time.

2. Communication tools between employees and companies. Just look at the communication software that is available. You can videoconference, email, chat, and Flashtalk. Not to mention new software information sharing tools between company offices in different cities.

3. Online education, there are now numerous online universities, colleges and specialized programs. You could take a course from a high level school without having to be on campus. You could also take specialized knowledge courses from experts in the field you normally would not maybe able to afford that give group training sessions to reduce costs. http://www.courseregistrationsystems.com

4. Expanding your network. There are opportunities now to expand you current local business network to include partnerships in other cities or gain access to similar experts in your field without having to go there. http://www.meetup.com

5. Online Marketing. Numerous online marketing programs such as video, radio, banner and one of the best, pay per click. Pay per click has changed the advertising world and so has the fact that more consumers search for product information online and generations have grown up with Internet technology. https://adwords.google.com/select/Login

6. Innovate. You must innovate, use only technologies that are relevant and useful to your business. Make sure however, that you adapt these technologies to changes in your business. The more specialized they become the more advantageous they are to your particular business position.

For More Information on Free Business Growth Secrets http://www.businessgrowth.ca

How do you see the future of your business?, it is really up to you!

The tools are out there now to help you define your own future with Internet technology as it expands to other places around the globe.

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