Steps to Success in 2018

It’s easy to begin a new year with high energy, but not so easy to maintain it as time progresses. A recent article by Donald Burns, published on the Toast blog, offers some tips for getting back on track with your 2018 restaurant action plan. Burns gives the following advice:

• Re-evaluate your standards—and then raise them. Take a good, hard look at how your restaurant is performing and decide where you could be doing better, then implement new policies and procedures.
• Map out your marketing plan. Marketing should be a year-round activity, not an “I’ll get to it when I have the time” activity. Burns recommends six specific areas to concentrate on when developing your restaurant marketing plan and reminds the reader that it’s not enough to simply create a plan—be sure that you also follow it.
• Make sure your management techniques are up to date. Invest in improving your company’s culture by taking a class or reading a recent book on modern restaurant management skills.
• Speaking of your company’s culture, work towards strengthening it. Cultivate a positive and rewarding environment that will make your employees excited to head to work each day.
• Consider refreshing your menu. Use the data available to you from your POS sales reports to inform the decisions you make.
• Call in a third party to help you stay on track. Consider recruiting a restaurant coach or mentor to guide you in the pursuit of your 2018 goals and make sure that you stay on track.
• Make a plan and stick to it. Record your goals and the steps that it will take to accomplish them. Keep your goals front of mind by regularly reviewing your list and evaluating your progress.

For more information, read the article in full at Toast.