 Every time New Year rolls around people get caught up in making “resolutions”. Lose weight, stop smoking, find a new job, make more money… the list goes on and on. Ask people around January 12th if they are still perusing their resolution and you may find they have quit already. Folks proclaiming late in December, “next year I’ll going to lose weight and exercise more” generally quit on the 12th as this article notes. In your business what are your goals, how do you set them and most importantly how do you achieve them? Folks that have been in leadership roles in most companies have been exposed to personal development plans (or similar name), which is a fancy way of saying “personal goal”. Motivational speakers often have goal setting course, plans and audio recordings to inspire and teach about goals. Of course, an internet search will turn up tons of both free and costly information about goals. Each person has to know what works to motivate them and find courses that “speak” to them. We are going to break down the goals in the picture above, discussing the important points of setting and acting on these goals. Inspired by my recent trainees, these are common goals I have heard in nearly every training session since, well, forever. The process I am going to reveal was taught to me in the early 1980’s and one I have using since. I have added only minor tweaks to improve the process for me and my trainees. I worked for a restaurant company that valued it employees and spent huge amounts of money training us on the complete operations of a restaurant. Those processes translate well into cart, tent and trailer vendors, because they are basic foundations upon which to scale your business as you see fit. Your goals must be:
Likewise, number two in the picture would read, “I will generate $50,000 (10% increase over last season) in profit by 10/31/2018 (end of my selling season)”, and number three would read, “I will find a site that has a foot traffic count of 1000 or more per hour with 2 or fewer direct competitors within 2 blocks and has at least 80 square feet for my set up by 5/1/2018”. Each goal could have smaller steps with dates for completion. These goals could work in concert or be completely independent of each other. Your goal must be relevant, relateable and beneficial to you and your business. This part is the “WHY” of the goal. Why is it important to you and your business? This is your personal motivation to achieve your target. Represent this in a tangible way if possible. If the 10% percent increase in profit is going to be used to go on vacation, then get the brochures from the hotel and the city your plan on visiting. Cut out pictures, write $50,000 on them and post them where you can see them often. One restaurant I know has a bulletin board for the staff, titled “Why I am working today”. The staff can post anything they like on the board to remind them what the hard work they are doing is going towards. Children, a new car, Disney World, a beach scene, groceries, are all pictures on the board that bring a smile to the person that posted it. Those reminders make challenges less frustrating and provide the motivation to persevere. What skills, knowledge or training are required to achieve this goal. List skills that anyone would need to achieve this goal. Don’t worry about whether you have the skills at the moment or not. Just list everything. In our example of increasing profit, one would need to do two things. One - increase sales. Two - decrease expenses. Increasing sales requires, marketing knowledge, social media use, increasing speed of service, maybe a menu increase, maybe increasing operational hours or days, loyalty programs, discounts, suggestive selling training and anything else that will drive sales. Decrease expenses would include finding better pricing from suppliers, buying in bulk, reducing utility consumption, decreasing waste, reducing mistakes, increasing yields and anything else that would reduce expenditures. You must anticipate the major challenges that stand between you and the target goal. Step 2 gives you the reason for the goal, your personal motivation to keep going when things get tough. This step and what it contains is why you need step 2. If increasing profit 10% was easy everyone would do it. You have to list everything you think could interfere with your achievement of the goal. Remember, both external and INTERNAL forces. External would be new competitors, bad weather for most of the season, increases in costs you did not foresee. Internal has do with you. Procrastination is a silent goal killer. Maybe you need to be friendlier to your guests. The number 1 thing that stands in the way of most people achieving their dreams is themselves. Refer to the contents of Step 2 as often as needed to motivate yourself towards your goal. Take a hard look at step 3 and list what training you may need. Zig Ziglar says, “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.” Determine who you can work with to achieve this goal. You should find a mentor or business coach to guide you along the process of achieving your goal. You may also need someone that will teach you what you need to know from within the food industry. As well as someone that will hold you accountable for your results and that has been in your shoes. Plan of action. List every step required to achieve your goal. List everything you can think of that will progress you towards the goal. Delegate if possible. The smaller actions are perfect to hand off to someone you might be training. This gives them a chance to learn the business a little better and also show some ownership and responsibility towards the business. Break down big actions into smaller chunks, each with their own deadlines. Smart VS Smarter Goals You may have heard the acronym SMART pertaining to goal setting. In recent years many coaches and trainers have added ER to make a more complete process to setting, writing and achieving goals. If you aren’t familiar with SMARTER goals the process is: Specific (you know exactly what you're trying to achieve) Measurable (you know when you've achieved it!) Action-oriented (you can DO something about it!) Realistic (it IS achievable) and Time-Bound (has a deadline) Exciting & Ethical (lights a fire and is morally & legally right) Resources (what do you need you don’t already have) Let’s look at the first example and see if it checks all the requirements: “I will purchase with cash, a brand-new Lightning Bolt w grill cart from Hot Dog Cart Company for $4199.00 (including shipping) by 1/1/2019.”
The Plan “I will purchase with cash, a brand-new Lightning Bolt w grill cart from Hot Dog Cart Company for $4199.00 (including shipping) by 1/1/2019.” “I will generate $50,000 (10% increase over last season) in profit by 10/31/2018 (end of my selling season)” “I will find a site that has a foot traffic count of 1000 or more per hour with 2 or fewer direct competitors within 2 blocks and has at least 80 square feet for my set up by 5/1/2018” 1/2/2018 set up additional bank account for cart purchase and deposit 10% of profits weekly thru 12/31/2018. 1/2/2018 begin search for new location identify at least 3 new sites with foot traffic in excess of 1000 per hour, 2 or less competitors and enough set up space.
1/2/2018 and ongoing. Submit applications for large events (proven attendance 10000 daily) Get accepted to a minimum of 5 this year and offer to be on stand-by for any event declined admittance. 2/16/2018 Open for spring break season (possibly using old site until new one is available) Increase sales with:
Analyze P&L monthly (by 2nd of following month) to determine if meeting projections for sales and profit and take corrective actions if not meeting goals. Be in new location by 5/31/2018 Order New Cart by 11/1/2018 Now that’s the formula that I have just given you pure and simple.
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Bill MI have had a passion for helping people since an early age back in rural Kentucky. That passion grew into teaching and training managers and owners how to grow sales, increase profits, and retain guests. You’ll find a ton of information here about improving restaurant and food cart/trailer operations and profits. Got questions? Email me at [email protected] Archives
January 2023
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