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As you review your P & L statements at the end of the year, it’s a great time to think about your income streams. Are there certain products or services that aren’t bringing you as much profit as you expected? Are there some offerings you are simply just tired of doing and it’s not worth […]

Let’s say you’ve owned a culinary business for years and you’re doing pretty good until recently you’ve hit a plateau. You have a great food product or service, but you can’t seem to get more customers for whatever reason and experience the growth you’ve been hoping for. This plateau in business is pretty common, especially […]

As I’m sure you’re painfully aware, it’s hard to find good kitchen staff. As your company grows, the need to hire more sous chefs, cooks, dish washers and other staff becomes more apparent. You’ve worked so hard to be at a point where you can afford to hire the staff, but to your disappointment you […]

Do you know the power that a simple conversation can have on your business? Probably more than you think. Marketers are acknowledging that we have started to automate too much – whether it’s automating emails or mindlessly scheduling pictures on Facebook and Instagram and collecting “likes.” The bottom line is, is that no one likes […]

To celebrate 1 billion users, Instagram launched a stand-alone video platform in June called IGTV.  This platform/feature allows you to post longer videos that don’t disappear after 24 hours like Instagram stories do. I know what you’re thinking. “I barely post on Instagram and IG stories, now I have to worry about ANOTHER platform?!” While […]

Have you ever wondered if your customers actually care about your company mission? Better yet, does communicating your mission actually lead to more sales? For Boba Guys – one of the most successful boba stores in the U.S. – that’s been the case. For many of us, we think that simply having a great food […]

Have you seen that your inbox is full of emails with emojis in the subject lines? Recently, this strategy has been used by companies big and small. Why? Because it works. I’m guessing if you’re like most people, the emails that catch your eye in that long stream of junk mail, are the ones with […]

I recently met with a high-profile business coach for a one-day strategy session in Arizona (coaches have coaches too you know!). We discussed several ways that I could put more creativity and original thought into my business. There were lots of great suggestions and exercises we did, but there was one cool exercise that was […]

The culinary world lost a legend today – Chef Anthony Bourdain. It’s always heartbreaking to hear about the death of someone who inspired so many and had such talent. My heart goes out to his friends and family and all of the chefs (including myself) who looked up to him in many ways. One of […]

If you have been following the culinary trends this year, you’ve probably noticed that snacks are in high demand. What some of you might not know, is that baby boomers want them too, not just millennials! Ms. Lyons Wyatt, executive vice-president of thought leadership at I.R.I., says that “On average consumers are snacking over 2.5 […]

Presenting your prices can be a little intimidating when you offer a high-end chef service. Will people really play THAT much for a custom meal and boutique catering?  You know you’re services are worth it, but will they see the value in it? Some other questions you might ask yourself is “Should I put the […]

Reviews. Every business needs them. They will be one of the most valuable things you can use in your marketing. Why? A study showed that 68% of women and 66% of men consult online reviews and 72% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. That is saying a lot! Clearly, […]

I love drawing my inspiration from others, especially when it comes to newsletter opt-ins on my website. These days, you have to get really creative in order to get people to give you their email address and information. No one likes spam. That’s why it’s so important for you as a culinary business owner to […]

This blog post is probably long over due, because meal delivery companies have now been popping up everywhere for the last year or so. So it’s about time to address the elephant in the room – should personal chefs and those who own small, local meal delivery companies be worried about these big companies? After […]

All businesses, including culinary businesses go through periods when numbers are a bit lower than they were last month or maybe even a few months before. Business fluctuates for many reasons depending on consumer buying behavior, the time of year, competition etc. There are many factors, but I find that for most chefs their numbers […]