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Finance
A Restaurant Is More Than Food & Service
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Jim Laube |
Success in the restaurant business is not just measured in terms of
smiling, satisfied customers but also in the cold, hard realities of
facts, figures and finances. There is a big difference between managing a
restaurant and creating a profitable business. The hospitality history
books are filled with scores of good restaurants that had a short life
span because they were lousy businesses. Operators who are consistently
successful year after year not only have the ability to create a superior
dining experience for their guests, but they also understand and keep
close tabs on the financial ebbs and flows of their restaurant. Most
receive a daily flash report that gives them the essential numbers in
terms of sales, labor productivity and key product usage. Each week they
know their food and labor cost as well as inventory turnover and react
immediately when something is out of line. Financially savvy operators are
also in a big hurry to get their financial statements at the end every of
the month or four-week reporting period. They wouldn’t think of waiting
two or three weeks to know how their restaurant performed. While the
restaurant business is about much more than numbers, every decision and
action taken in the restaurant will eventually cause a negative or
positive effect on the bottom line. Given that the average restaurant
makes about a nickel out of every dollar in sales, keeping a close watch
on the numbers should be right up there with taking care of the customer
in terms of top management focus and attention.
Bio:
Jim Laube is the founder and president of
RestaurantOwner.com, an
online resource center for independent restaurant operators. He
specializes in working with operators who want practical advice to make
their restaurants more profitable and improve their business management
practices.
Jim began his restaurant career at the age of 15 working for a
quick-service restaurant and earned his way through college as a server
and bartender. After earning his degree, he worked for a regional
restaurant chain and an independent fine dining restaurant. He has been a
restaurant manager, controller, CFO for a regional restaurant chain and is
also a CPA.
As an author, Jim has contributed to Restaurant Hospitality, Nations
Restaurant News, Foodservice.com, Pizza Today, Restaurant Startup &
Growth, the Society for Foodservice Management's “SFM Source,” and the
American Express “Briefing” newsletter.
Jim is also a popular industry speaker having conducted over 500
presentations to thousands of restaurant professionals in the U.S., Canada
and Europe. His clients include Red Lobster, Papa John’s Pizza, KFC,
Marriott, , Hard Rock Café, SYSCO Corporation, Cornell University, Aramark,
the National Restaurant Association and many state restaurant
associations.
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