Small Business Week Tips Strong

This week is Small BusinessWeek. Wow, right? Restaurateurs falter at the word business, but, it may be time to tune in since business has become more acceptable and enjoyable thanks to the Internet.

The dual segments of the restaurant business- running the actual restaurant and running the business- are as different as fast food and organic. Yet, unlike the comparison, in every restaurant the opposites not only have to attract they have to co-mingle. You can’t have a successful restaurant without successfully maintaining the business.

A few weeks ago a close friend and I were discussing his restaurant career. My friend owns a few restaurants in Southern California and has, over his lengthy career, started a small group of restaurants that he and his family grew into a national chain. He eventually sold the company and continues to run his Southern California properties.

I commented on what a tremendous accomplishment it was to have such a great run in such a difficult business. His forte is not only the front of the house but his true talent is most apparent in the very back of the house- not the kitchen- but the accounting office. And, he prides himself in being a student of the ever changing business policies.

After the discussion he summed up his accomplishments by claiming he and his family are just, “small business operators.” 

Small Business Week, so proclaimed by The White House, is not an earth shattering event and may be something you would rather ignore. But with a bit of curiosity and Internet travel, you may be able to pick up a few tips that could help you increase volume, customers and profits while decreasing expenses, personal days, and workmen compensation filings.

Sounds better doesn’t it?

I am not going to list all the SBW event items. I will, however, direct you to a blog by PR wizard, Nettie Hartsock offering daily tips to assist in promoting your business. By reading her blog you will find out how to obtain some free news coverage and possibly that front page story that you always wanted.

If nothing else you’ll find an answer to the question every owner asks his partner, manager, or chef, periodically:” How did the guy down the street get that big story in the paper?”

Obviously, he read Hartsock’s column during Small Business Week.