A product of Chicago, IL, Joe Fontana gave up his cush office lifestyle to pursue his passion for hospitality and food. At the time, this specific passion was meatballs. So he started where he could, selling meatballs at a farmers market, which lead to a Kickstarter campaign to support his brick and mortar. The meatball thing didn't work out, but it created opportunities, specifically, an opportunity for Fry The Coop. Check out previous episode 425 with Joe Fontana as mentioned in today's episode! He was also the guest for episode 715! Check that out too! Check out Zap Props in Chicago as mentioned in today's episode. Check out Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz as mentioned in today's episode and suggested by both Eric and Joe. Also, check out Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler as recommended, quite highly, by Eric in today's episode. Show notes… Calls to ACTION!!! Join Restaurant Unstoppable Network and connect with my past guest and a community of superfans. Subscribe to the Restaurant Unstoppable YouTube Channel Join the private Unstoppable Facebook Group Join the email list! (Scroll Down to get the Vendor List!) Favorite success quote or mantra: "If you want to prosper for a year, grow a plant. If you want to prosper for ten years, grow a tree. If you want to prosper for one hundred years, grow people." In today's episode with Joe Fontana we will discuss: Growth Growing PEOPLE Restaurant design Publicists? Creating opportunities FOR OTHERS Inward growth Promote within Visioning Communicating your vision The importance of vocabulary and language for culture in your business Use language to reinforce vision Profit First Money Management The Pivot Today's sponsor: 7shifts is a modern labor management platform, designed by restaurateurs, for restaurateurs. Effectively labor management is more important than ever to ensure profitability and restaurant success. Trusted by over 400,000 restaurant professionals, 7shifts gives you the tools you need to streamline labor operations, communicate with your team, and retain your talent. Best of all 7shifts integrates with the POS and Payroll systems you already use and trust (like Toast!) turning labor into a competitive advantage for your business. Restaurant Unstoppable members get 3 months, absolutely free. BentoBox empowers restaurants to own their presence, profits and relationships. The hospitality platform disrupts third-party services that come between the restaurant and the guest. BentoBox puts the restaurant first and offers tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through the restaurant’s website. BentoBox is trusted and loved by over 5,000 restaurants worldwide including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Lilia and more. Ecolab: Streamline your clean with Ecolab’s new EPA-registered 2-in-1 solution, Sink & Surface Cleaner Sanitizer. It will help reduce risk, simplify your procedures and help ensure compliance. This solution cleans and sanitizes hard non-porous surfaces with a single product, eliminates the rinse step and equips your staff to clean more efficiently. Clean simplified, confidence delivered. Contact info: Email: joe@frythecoop.com Instagram: @frythecoop www.frythecoop.com Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Joe Fontana for joining me for another aw