In this video Jeremy talks about some major mistakes he sees restaurants making and some steps we take with our clients. Watch the whole video below or read the transcription to learn more!

Hey, this is Jeremy Turner. I’m the founder and managing director of EPIC Mission, and today we’re going to talk about restaurants. When it comes to restaurants, one of the greatest mistakes that I see again and again, and you can see this mistake if you watch any of the restaurant takeover shows on TV, is a restaurant that has no real defined personality. Who is this restaurant? What is this restaurant? What is their specialty? What is their focus? Too many times restaurants have eight, ten, twelve page menus that have a plethora of different types of foods on there, and really none of them are particularly good unfortunately. Instead, restaurants that tend to do really well have a few things they do, and they do them exceedingly well. It’s a simpler way to operate, and it creates a focus so that when a patron visits your restaurant, they know exactly who you are and what you do and what your specialty is. Where your specialties are. So, I would recommend streamline your menu, streamline your concept, get super focused, find a few things and do them exceedingly well. A really common mistake that I see again and again in restaurants is this: Its business owners that don’t treat their restaurant like a business. They are mistaken into thinking that because they can operate one facet of the restaurant really well – Maybe they’re great marketers, but the food is terrible or they are great cooks, but they aren’t good leaders of people, and they don’t have good management skills. When business owners don’t understand that the restaurant industry is really tough. It’s way more difficult than people realize, and so knowing that your restaurant has these multiple facets that you have to look at beyond just food or just the marketing or just the management of people – just the financials. A great restaurant takes into account all of these things and great restaurant managers – great restaurant owners and leaders are able to manage all these different aspects, and they do them really well. So, if you are considering starting a restaurant, or if you currently have a restaurant, I would highly encourage you to get intimately familiar with the various aspects of what it takes to operate a great restaurant. Those restaurant owners that are really concerned about sustainability. Now in today’s world this is a huge concern with COVID with Coronavirus and then how its disrupted our world. And so when we have tough times such as we’re experiencing now, it’s extremely important for business owners of all types to get creative about how it is that they do what they do. How do they solve problems for their desired market? And how do they deliver on their brand promise again and again. Outside of these crazy times as we’re experiencing now, sustainability in restaurants can be tied to a couple of things. One is restaurants that do well tend to be engaged in their community. They do more than just open the doors and feed people. They get involved in what’s going on in the community around them. They treat their people exceptionally well. It’s more than employee becomes a family of sorts. A great culture that supports these individuals and their lives however they can outside of the traditional working hours. And the third thing that these great restaurants do is they maintain a focus on delivering amazing quality and delivering great value again, and again and again. Not skimping or cutting corners. When times get tough, don’t cut corners. Don’t cut the recipes. Don’t skimp on how much cheese goes on something. These are really important details, and your customers notice when you start skimping, when the recipes change, when you’re charging more and delivering less. If you’re a restaurant looking to increase sales, there are two things that I’m going to tell you about that I think can absolutely help you out quite a lot. The first is if you look in the community around you at what’s nearby within walking distance or within a short drive of you, there are likely a lot of other businesses. And these other businesses have human beings that have to eat. So, what I would encourage you to do is to take the time to map out who’s around you, and then do some very purposeful visits to these businesses around you and take them samples of some of your best items. This introduces these individuals to your restaurant, lets them taste firsthand what it is that you do, and can help you begin to develop relationships with these individuals and with these businesses. The second thing is catering. Catering is something that so many restaurants completely overlook, and it can be an absolute goldmine. So what I would encourage is come up with a very simple catering menu that contains a number of items that you can absolutely execute on again and again and again, and then have also been tested and will travel well. Not every piece of food that you can make will travel well, or is good to be created in your restaurant and then taken off site and heated up. And so make sure that you’re aware of what it is you’re putting on your catering menu. But if you can do these two things, if you can get out, go into the community, meet people, take them a sample of some of your best items, you can also take a catering menu with you and drop it off, give it to these individuals. The next time they have a catering need, they will have tasted your food first hand, and they’ll have the menu in front of them. They’re more likely reach out and connect with you. That’s all I’ve got for you today on the topic of restaurants. I hope you found the information helpful. If you have questions that we didn’t address today, you can absolutely reach out anytime. I’d be happy to chat with you. In the meantime, thank you so much for tuning in, and I look forward to seeing you next time. Take care and best wishes in the meantime.

In this video Jeremy talks about business consulting a service that EPIC Mission provides and some steps we take with our clients. Watch the whole video below or read the transcription to learn more!

https://vimeo.com/447508591/c8f4f684ee

I’m Jeremy Turner. I’m the founder and managing director of EPIC Mission. Today we’re going to talk about Business Consulting. When we first meet someone who says they may be interested in hiring a consultant, it’s extremely important for us on our end to dig really deep and make sure that we really understand what is the core problem that this individual in this organization is experiencing at the present. We want to make sure that in our work we dig really deep and we’re addressing underlying issues not the surface level symptoms, so that we can really create some permanent, lasting change for this organization. Now once an individual or an organization becomes a client, our first step is to conduct a visioning session with this organization to ensure that we are all very clear on what the future looks like, where we want to go, where we are now, and what the plan is to move from here to there. To include things like timelines, expectations, and roles and responsibilities for both parties. That way we have really clear expectations, and we can hit the ground running. There are a couple of reasons why someone might need a business consultant. Here are a few: One is an individual or an organization may just need a fresh perspective, and this is absolutely one of the benefits of working with a consultant because we are not in your business every day. And so we have our fresh perspective when we come in and take a look at everything that you’re doing. Two is capacity. You may not have the human resources or the time to work on whatever you need help with, so that would be reason number two. And three is you may need outside expertise. There could be something around strategy or fund development or whatever, and you just don’t have that expertise within your organization. So this would be one of one additional reason why you might look outside of your organization and potentially higher business consultant like us. If your business has plateaued, and you’re feeling stuck, there are two really quick things – easy things – that you can do to hopefully get yourself unstuck and get moving forward again. Here they are: One is if you take a look at your current customers, your current clients, or your recent previous clients, these are people that already like you. You’ve already served them you’ve done well and they love you. Consider are there additional problems that you can solve for them? So are there additional products or services that you can begin to implement and provide to these people with whom you already have a relationship? The second thing is to consider are there other groups out there? Are there other market segments who need what you’re already producing? Who need your current product or your current service and you just haven’t thought about them before? So, you would take your current product or current service and begin to market it to another sector of the community. Here you could either consider creating new products, new services for existing customers and/or are there additional customer segments that you can begin to serve using your current offerings? If you’re thinking about starting a business, I would urge you to consider this: The number one reason why businesses fail is that they are creating a product or a service that nobody cares about. Nobody wants or nobody needs, and so before I started a business, I would want to make absolutely sure that this business is centered around solving a meaningful problem – a problem that enough people care enough about that they would be willing to part with their hard-earned cash to purchase your solution. And so, it’s crucial that you take the time to validate that the problem you’re seeking to solve is indeed meaningful. And that the solution you’re offering is actually something that people would want. You can’t go ask your mom. You can’t go ask your friends. Unfortunately, they will lie to you. They love you, but they will lie to you. So you’ve got to get outside of your really close circle of friends and family, and seek to validate that this problem that you think you’ve identified is indeed a meaningful problem and that the solution you’re offering is actually a solution that people will want. That’s all I have for you today on the topic of Business Consulting. I hope that you found the information helpful. Thank you again for tuning in, and I look forward to seeing you next time.

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In this video Jeremy talks about mistakes he sees in fundraising and steps you can take to make sure you’re on the right path. Watch the whole video below or read the transcription to learn more!

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I’m Jeremy Turner. I’m the founder and managing director of EPIC Mission, and today we’re going to talk about Fundraising. In fundraising, they’re really two big mistakes that I see again and again that organizations are making. The first one is organizations that in their outbound messaging they’re focusing on what they need. Not necessarily what they do. So in their asks, they’re making way too frequent asks asking for money because of something that they need in the moment. And, they’re not really tying their asks back to what it is that they do, the impact they make, the problems that they solve, or the needs they fill in their community. The second huge mistake that I see again and again is organizations that don’t practice great stewardship that don’t make their donors feel known, recognized, and appreciated. So instead when organizations take the time to reach back out and acknowledge the gifts that folks have given and perhaps tell them a little bit about what that money was used for and how it helped propel the organization’s mission forward, instead, those donors feel recognized and appreciated and are more likely to give more and more likely to give more often in the future. There’s a really common mistake I see organizations making with relation to fundraising, and it’s this: Businesses of all types have to continue to grow and evolve and innovate through time. This includes nonprofit organizations and their fundraising efforts. So one of the mistakes I see again and again is organizations that don’t innovate how it is they fundraise. They continue to rely on the 37th Annual Spaghetti Dinner or the 5K, and the community just has perhaps grown tired. The organization may see their donations dwindling, and they don’t really understand why. So, I would highly encourage organizations to look at ways that they can possibly generate earned revenue if they haven’t done that in the past. If they are currently doing it, how else might they do it or how could they continue to innovate how they generate earned revenue while also taking a look at their contributed revenue opportunities, and how they can continue to evolve those as well. So they can make sure that they’re keeping their current and prospective donor base engaged. If you’re getting ready to start fundraising for your organization, there are three things that I would highly encourage you to do. First is focus on your education. Fundraising is a skill set. It’s a craft, and you’ve got to take the time to pour into yourself and develop your own skill set. There are tons of different places that you can go to get training. Whether it’s from an organization like ours, like EPIC Mission, whether it’s the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Go online and go into your community and find some way to learn how to do fundraising better. Two is working on the messaging that you’re going to be delivering through your fundraising asks. Too often, I hear organizations and they’ve got these big flowery fluffy messages, but I don’t really know what it is they do. People want to know what you do. How are you making the world a better place? Why do you exist? What’s your purpose? And one of the ways that you can really get your purpose – understand your purpose for yourself – and begin to communicate that out is to encourage and to learn some of the stories of impact for your organization. Find a family – find an individual who’s been impacted by your organization and learn exactly what this means. How has their life changed? How is their life better as a result? And if you’re a new organization learn these stories of impact for your sector, perhaps. That way, as you’re talking to people and seeking to engage them and build deeper relationships with them through the fundraising process, you can help them understand what it is you do and why they should care. Online fundraising has a couple of benefits for your organization. One is with the power of social media, you can reach a ton of people. Two, you can reach people who are geographically – physically – not nearby. They could be on the other side of the state, on the other side of the country, or on the other side of the globe. Three, you have an opportunity to connect with people who may want to give to organization and support your mission, but they don’t necessarily want to have to talk to anybody. They don’t really want the more traditional and personal relationship of sorts. So online fundraising can be another tactic, another tool in your tool bag and maybe a great addition to your current fundraising strategy. That’s all I have for you today on the topic of Fundraising. I hope that you found the information helpful. I look forward to seeing you next time and want to thank you again for tuning in today.

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