Solving Bigger Problems

NEWSLETTER

Hey, Kyle here.

Every 2 weeks I share the best of what I’ve learned growing small local businesses, restaurants, and myself.

Today, I’m sharing 2 quickies and 1 longer piece near and dear to my heart:

🏠 A bar website format you can steal

🎤 How to tell a better story in 2022

👨🏼‍🎓 A bar + entrepreneurial growth program (presentation deck included)

🇲🇽 BONUS: 3 funny things my mom has said in Mexico


4 reasons I love this simple site we built for Cenote Restaurant & Lounge:

  1. All the info you need on the left (arguably too much, may recommend trimming)
  2. Image ‘slideshow’ gives a sense of ambience. We may eventually turn this into a video background for even more character. 
  3. Dead simple menu.
  4. Ambassador.ai‘s waitlist feature. This widget also enables online ordering, swag sales, newsletter signups, etc.

Go ahead and steal / iterate on this format for your own website!


How to tell a better story in 2022

‘Storytelling’ is a well-loved marketing buzzword. But what does it actually mean? Why is it important? How do you ‘do’ storytelling? 

In this Guest Getter episode, Rajiv shows how to apply his PASA (Problem + Approach + Solution + Action) Elevator Pitch Formula to your story.

BTW, every business solves a problem — including cocktail bars, burger joints, vegan cafes, etc. The more clearly and frequently you articulate the problem, the stronger your brand’s ‘hook’ will be in the mind of your customer.


👨🏼‍🎓 A bar + entrepreneurial growth program

Remember a few weeks ago I shared this ‘breakthrough model’?

Here are the big hairy problems in the hospitality industry that can make it tricky and tough to sustain:

  • Continuously strapped for resources.
  • Ownership is on a hamster wheel — tons of mental, physical, and financial overhead.
  • Exiting is a challenge.
  • Lots of operational, reputational, and financial risk
  • Meanwhile, an owner’s average annual takehome pay is around $44k.
  • Staff want growth and development but can’t get it. They feel stuck. Leads to high churn.

Add to this 4 ‘pressure cooker’ market forces that are converging:

  1. Pent-up populace…
  2. Inflation / rising cost of living…
  3. Supply chain woes…
  4. The Great Resignation…

And you have a perfect shit storm.

I believe the solution is equipping bars and restaurants with a training path for their team — not just ‘on-the-job’ skills, but entrepreneurial skills (that they apply to the business).

(One thing I’ve learned is that business is not a spectator sport. It is not best learned in the classroom. It is practiced on the court.)

We’re beginning to roll out this training program with one of our partners in the next couple weeks. 

It’s a work in progress, but I shared the training system with the team on Wednesday.

Check it out here. I’d love your feedback.


🇲🇽 3 funny things my mom has said in Mexico

I’m living and working in Playa del Carmen for the month and my mom’s visiting for a couple weeks.

Here are 3 funny things she’s said:

– “Some day I’m going to buy a hamburger and feed it to one of these stray dogs.”

– “Stop singing in the shower. You’ll drink the water”

– After trying one Mexican brand of sunscreen: “Mexican suncreen is terrible.”

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"Left me feeling smarter and better prepared."
Marc Stoiber
Marc Stoiber
Owner