Make It Happen: A tiny book for building a BIG restaurant business

By Ryan Gromfin

Too many restaurant owners and operators are stressed out, exhausted, overwhelmed and struggle to create the profits and freedom that drove them to open their restaurant.  Make It Happen explodes the myth that the restaurant business is harder than other industries.  It challenges the belief that you must be in your restauran

• Language: English
• Publisher: Authentic Restaurant Concepts Inc.
• Release date: Nov 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798985017427

Book preview

Make It Happen

Make It Happen

A tiny book for building a BIG restaurant business

Ryan Gromfin

Contents

Free Tools & Additional Resources

It’s Time To Scale

Foreword

Introduction

1. The Expectation Economy

The world is not fair

You are green and growing or ripe and rotten

Complain or get to work on it

2. Why You

Why not you

You are no more special than they are

The only way to fail is to give up

3. Here Is Your Opportunity

There is opportunity everywhere

You will hit a few bumps in the road!

Get back on that horse

The Manager

4. Goals

What is a goal anyway?

How do you achieve your goals?

5. Meet Your Mentor

There is a proven method

A plan to get lucky

The ultimate formula for success

6. Restaurant Management

Micromanaging

People can’t be managed

Micromanaging

The Leader

7. Restaurant Leadership

People want to grow

Earning your team’s respect

Listen more, talk less

8. Building Out Your Dream

Adjusting team member behavior

Selecting the right team members

Training your team

9. Next Steps

Fix this next

Time-sucking vampires

Fight or flight

A Life In Restaurants

10. The Reward

The money

The freedom

The joy

Let’s Do This Together

Do You Want To Keep Learning?

Grow Fast, Grow Right

Urgent Plea

Free Tools & Additional Resources

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Just to say thanks for investing in this book (and reading it, of course), I would like to give you free access to some additional tools, resources, and training.

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Create your FREE membership at:

www.TheRestaurantBoss.com/books

It’s Time To Scale

black and white icon of a box of fries, with the fries coming out of the boxappearing like a graph going upwards

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SCALE is an online training program where I teach you the exact same strategies and processes that I teach my private clients all over the world.

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With 25 plus years of experience working with restaurant owners and operators from all over the world, SCALE is the most complete course you will find packed with the systems, tools, and processes you need to grow your restaurant brand.

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Instead of spending thousands of dollars and committing to a year of working with me to learn the proven methods for SCALING your restaurant business, you can instantly get everything you need so you can go through the course at your own pace.

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DON’T WAIT.

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Watch this FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP now to learn more about SCALING your restaurant and say YES to SCALE.

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www.TheRestaurantBoss.com/free-workshop

Foreword

I first met Ryan Gromfin over 20 years ago when he donated a substantial auction item to a charitable organization that was near and dear to my heart. I didn’t know Ryan personally, but I believed he must be a very nice guy to make such a donation.

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I learned that he worked at the very upscale Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, so I figured that he was a pretty talented chef.

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Ryan and I kept in touch over the years, including when he asked my thoughts about a restaurant concept he was developing. That’s when I discovered he had an entrepreneurial spirit.

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When Ryan went into coaching, I learned more about, and was impressed by the depth and breadth of his knowledge about the restaurant business.

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So, you would think that when Ryan asked me to read a draft of his book I would not be surprised to learn he was a great writer also. But I have to admit I was skeptical. I agreed to read the book because he was a friend. But I was not looking forward to what I assumed would read like a book written by a chef, not a writer. And, if I was right, how would I tell my friend that his book was not good? Fortunately, I was very wrong. This book far exceeded my expectations. It is a well-written, engaging, and valuable resource for anyone in the restaurant industry.

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As the co-founder of BJ’s Restaurants, Inc., I have experienced many successes and failures over the years. There were so many lessons in Ryan’s book that resonated with me. Had this book been available for me to read during the early days of BJ’s, I might have avoided some very painful experiences.

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I found this book inspirational but at the same time brutally realistic. Ryan doesn’t sugarcoat the hard work and sacrifice needed to successfully develop and operate a restaurant. Serving the public, day and night, seven days a week, is not easy. Dealing with a group of team members, many of whom do not see the restaurant industry as a career, is not easy. Working with a very perishable product is not easy. Nothing about the restaurant business is easy.

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It is commonly thought that over 90% of new restaurants fail. Whatever the accurate failure percentage is, I believe the reason is that most people don’t realize that, when they open a restaurant, they are getting into the restaurant BUSINESS—one of the most complex and competitive businesses around. It involves so many different elements: real estate, manufacturing, human resources, service, marketing, distribution, to name a few. Having good food is not enough to succeed. Having efficient, friendly service is not enough to succeed. Those are the basic price of entry. There is so much more involved. So, how do you succeed in such a challenging business? Reading this book is a great start.

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An even more important question is why would you want to be in such a challenging, difficult, complex, competitive business? Being in the restaurant business should be more than a preference—it should be a passion. And, I believe it is a privilege. Our job is to make people happy. To give them some enjoyment—a respite from whatever else is going on in their lives. We provide an opportunity for people to socialize with friends, family, or business associates. We nourish the body and the soul. That certainly is a privilege, but also a responsibility. A responsibility to do whatever we can to make every guest experience matter.

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I will never forget an email I received years ago from a guest at BJ’s. She was thanking me for a fundraiser a BJ’s in Texas held for a charity formed in memory of her 8-year-old son who succumbed to cancer. BJ’s was her son’s favorite restaurant. He loved our meatloaf. He would have it every time he visited our restaurant. When he was too sick to leave the house, his mother would promise that, when he got better, they would go to BJ’s again for the meatloaf dinner. He did not get better, but the thought that we gave this little boy something to look forward to during the last weeks and days of his life puts what we do into perspective. It truly is a privilege.

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And a responsibility—to yourself, your family, and your team members—to survive in this very challenging business. Reading this book is an important part of your journey to give yourself and your restaurant the best chance to succeed. Please take Ryan’s recommendations seriously and consider him your coach as you learn how to navigate what is among the most challenging and rewarding industries around. I believe you will enjoy reading this engaging story with valuable insights about entrepreneurship from a talented chef and a really great guy.

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Paul Motenko

Co-CEO of BJ’s, who took the chain from three to 82 restaurants and nearly $1 billion in annual revenue before leaving to pursue a new concept in the mid-2000s.

Introduction

I’ll warn you now, this book is not for everyone. If you believe that there’s a magic pill, silver bullet, or bottle of snake oil that will turn your current restaurant or future endeavor into a successful, thriving business overnight, this book is going to be a huge disappointment to you.

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Restaurants are not an opportunity; they’re a calling, and you really do have to be a certain kind of crazy to make it in this business. If you know in your heart of hearts that this is the right business for you, but you’re struggling to get that next promotion, make enough money as a manager, or live the life you know you deserve as an owner/operator or manager, then you are in the exact right place at the exact right time.

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When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

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Previous mistakes are all in the past. Today is the first step in your new journey. I wrote this book for seriously motivated team members, managers, and owners who want to develop and train their minds to become restaurant ninjas.

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It’s not a paint-by-number set of instructions to run your business; it’s designed to open your mind and challenge your mental game. Like it or not, that’s where most of business is won or lost.

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If you think that success is mostly luck, I’m going to show you how to set yourself up to make your own luck. If you are nervous or afraid that you might never achieve the level of success that you desire, those nerves and fear are

Reviews for Make It Happen

[Nenad Miljkovic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An Amazing book, definitely worth a read, thank you Ryan!