Who and What is a “Back of House Consultant”

If you’re visiting this site you’re potentially in the market for a Back of House consultant for a variety of possible reasons. The common denominator might be that your sales are starting to level off profits are down and you’re not meeting the forecasted profits. You want to address the issue before “things” get out of hand. Food and labor costs are moving in the right direction, but they’re still too high or you haven’t been tracking either and you need to get a better hold of your numbers. Customers say the food’s good but you know consistency is still a challenge and the kitchen, which has been disorganized from day one, isn’t getting any better.You know there has to be a better way to market your restaurant, however marketing is not your strength, and it’s not your manager’s either. Besides, you and your key employees are working 70 hours a week and even if you knew “what” to do, there’s little precious time to actually get it done. Could it be the right time to consider bringing in a consultant? Is your problem something you can get over yourself with time and care? Or do you need the help of a specialist to really get well?

 When to Consider a Consultant

Hiring a consultant, in principle, is difficult for many independent business people. Independent business owners often pride themselves on toughness and self-sufficiency. and when you are squeezing every penny to make it through the early years of the business, it’s hard to open the checkbook for anything that doesn’t provide an immediate return. Does any of this sound like you? The reality of it is, the consultant is there to prevent you from going through the growing pains and the trial, tribulations and errors of running your operation. They assist you in putting systems into place allowing your business to run efficiently and profitable from the get go, even after the novelty of a new eatery in the town has run out. The fact of the matter is that 85% of the Businesses that bring aboard Consultants have a longer life span that the ownership who think they can do it on their own. Stubbornness has cost many a business to go Belly up in their first year. The Moral of the story is…..Smart Business owners surround themselves with tool for success. They know in their heart the investment they make in a consultant is something that can set themselves up for success and far outweighs the losses when everything catches up with you or even worse the demise of the business.

 Is Your Restaurant a Good Candidate for a Consultant?

You need to do some soul-searching before hiring a consultant. You have to be willing to listen to what a consultant has to say. You have to be open to changing the way you’re running your business and one has to be willing to listen and seriously consider someone else’s opinion in the ways to change the way you’re doing business. If you’re not willing, then hiring an outside consultant would be a waste of your time and money. There is some merit in this viewpoint, to a degree. Some operators prefer to look to themselves first and foremost to solve their problems. Consultants can confirm or correct a picture you may have about your operation, but first you need to understand for yourself the complete nature of what it takes to run your operation efficiently and profitable. You MUST be smart and objective about your business. Consultants can’t save a lazy operator or an owner who doesn’t follow the advise of the consulted and falls back into the routine that sent the business spiraling to begin with.. There is no room for arrogance, ego’s and bullheadedness. Put it like this, at some point, even the smartest entrepreneurs need to muster a little humility. The restaurant business is complex. For many operators of independent restaurants, hiring a consultant is inevitable. They realize they don’t know as much as they would like about every aspect of their complex and multifaceted business. They then come to the realization that the bottom line is that consultant can bring to your business ideas and solutions that have been successful in other operations. Consultants who are worth their salt bring with them specialized knowledge, skills and experience to assist the operator with a combination of problem-solving, planning or implementation services depending on what the situation dictates.

When a restaurant faces a nagging problem or is about to enter a new stage of growth, it may be time to consider a consultant.An investors who run into a Turn-key operation opportunity should know the value of a consultant in assisting them in breaking away from past ownership and create their new identity for a much bigger draw of customers.In the long run, the initial cost of a consultant can be recouped many times over by helping you overcome a troublesome operational problem or avoiding costly mistake in the startup or expansion phase. Consulates pay for themselves in the first 2 years of your operation in just the amount of customers they drawn in for you and the inhouse savings with the proper systems and philosophies in place.

The right consultant, being an objective outsider, may be able to recognize and employ solutions more effectively than you and your staff. When you’re so close to a situation there is a tendency to favor a predetermined outcome, versus a creative solution. Consultants provide a fresh, objective point of view without an agenda to push.