Time management tips for restaurant entrepreneurs

 For restaurant owners who have more than one business, time management is of the utmost importance. Find out how this tips can help you as a restaurant owner oversee your restaurant businesses and still find time for your personal life.
1. Keep a day to day to do list of your daily tasks close at hand by syncing your list with all your

Caramel Popcorn

  If you are a fan of sweets, then you should try this caramel popcorn which is not only great for any holiday or occasion but also makes a creative gift.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 quarts popped popcorn

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Keep popcorn warm until you are preparing the sauce.               
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Place popcorn in a large bowl, pour the caramel sauce in a thin stream over the popcorn, stirring to coat.
3. Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.               

TIPS:
1. For softer, chewy, shiny version of the popcorn bake only for a few minutes.
2. You can add peanuts, walnuts, or almonds for an even sweater treat.

Courtesy of BS4U2C

3 Ways to boost your productivity as a restaurant owner with tech tools

 As technology continues to advance restaurant owners should start thinking about working smarter not longer. Thankfully the devices we found can help you amp up your output and increase your efficiency as restaurant owner.
1. Monitor your restaurant remotely- D-Link HD Media Router 3000 minimizes over-the-air traffic by turning power outlets into possible network connections. This router allows everything from monitoring your restaurant to viewing your restaurant's site visits.
2. Never miss a call by routing all your calls to one place- Plantronics Calisto 835 is a desktop speakerphone device that uses Bluetooth to connect to your cellphone, USB to hook up to your computer and phone line. It even comes with clip-on microphone to allow you to take calls no matter what you are doing.
3. Think, speak, or text on your feet- Motorola Elite Silver is a headset packed with HD-audio and dual microphone to block background noise if you think better on your feet. The free app that comes with the headset reads messages aloud and allows users to reply or initiate new text by speaking. This devise travel case also doubles as a charger.

10 Commandments of how servers can increase their sales

 Like anything else in the restaurant industry, there are rules to selling especially when it comes to the art of up selling. To ensure sales success in your restaurant, whether you are just starting or an established server, here are ten of our commandments for sealing the deal and increasing sales.
1. Know your menu- we can't stress enough how important it is to know what you are talking about when you are describing a dish or up selling one. Knowing your menu will not only make you credible in the eyes of your guests but will keep you authentic when it comes to helping your guests in their decisions.
2. Communicate clearly- no one will take you seriously if you don't communicate clearly and confidently. You can practice by recording yourself and then playing it back to ensure your communication is coming across as you intended.
3. Make and maintain eye contact- if you want to be believed it is crucial to make eye contact with your guests. It suggests interest in them and their needs and projects confidence in yourself, the product you are offering, your services, and in what you are suggesting.
4. Always carry all necessary server tools- at all times be prepared it won't be good for your sales if a guest order a bottle of wine but you find yourself without a wine opener and the guest takes it as a sign that he/she should not be ordering a whole bottle. Always carry your tools, matter of fact if you can have a back up too.
5. Use humor- any humor that can make people feel good or inspired is always great when introducing specials to your guests. Everyone loves a good story, and people are more likely to buy when they are less serious. You will sell and up sell more if you can get your guests to lighten up and laugh.
6. Ask more than once- if you are told "no" figure out a way to circle back and ask in another way for a "yes". This doesn't mean you didn't listen, it just means you are sold on your view more than you are on your guests.
7. Check on your guests- leaving your guests after you serve their food or drinks doesn't mean your job is done always make sure the dish they ordered is just as good as they expected.
8. Always treat any other restaurants guests as your potential customers- regardless of the circumstances always treat a guest as your own potential customer, a simple "hello", "how are you" , or clearing their table can make a world difference.
9. Be positive- no matter in what mood the guest are or how they respond, keep your own mood light and maintain can do attitude throughout the conversations. When you go negative due to the customer being negative there's only one outcome and it's not good. Remember negativity succumbs to positivity.
10. Always smile- this is not just about your attitude but also about your physical manifestation. Practice smiling and do it until you can disagree with a smile, negotiate with a smile, over come objections with a smile, and sell with a smile. Smile at all times this is the secret to success.

How restaurants can beat slow periods after the holidays

 For many restaurants after the holidays sales slow down even in a good economy, and sometimes as a result even employee morale may plummet. To help your own restaurant bottom line, here are couple suggestions:
1. Explore- the beginning of the year is an excellent time to take a survey or poll. This is a great way to show your customers that their opinion matter by letting them shape your plans for 2012 that can be anything from your menu to your marketing campaign. To up your winter traffic, you can give out limited time deals for those who participate in your surveys.
2. Network- organize or attend network events where local business owners participate. You can share ideas or collaborate your efforts and offer a package deals as a reward to a joint effort contest.
3. Freebies- you can offer for example basic cooking techniques classes for free or any other classes that will fit your restaurant goals. Once classes are completed, you can opt for paid advanced classes. This is a great way to increase your sales since so many people nowadays want to learn or expand their cooking skills.

How restaurants can protect their social media information

 Protecting your restaurant social media presence has never been more important these days. Since your social media activities are a valuable currency, you should protect all your information from blog posts, to your restaurant's videos, to links, posts, and any other information you have ever shared through out any of your social media networks. Here is how your restaurant can easily do this:
1. ArchiveFacebook- this is a free Firefox tool that allows you to save actual web pages from Facebook, photos, messages, notes, and other Facebook information directly to your hard drive.
2. TweetBackup- another free tool which offers archive of up to 3,200 of your tweets and the people or brands you follow. The best thing about this service is that it doesn't require your Twitter password to do any of your daily back up.
3. BlogBackupr- this free service offer daily back up of your restaurant blog such as Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr, etc. without having to install any software.
4. YouTube downloader- yet another free program that will allow you to download your restaurant's videos from YouTube including HD and HQ videos, convert them to other video formats like MOV or MP3 files, and then easily save them on your hard drive.
5. Backupify- they offer regular backup of your social information on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and others. You can easily save online profiles, messages, Google apps, and more. The price of their services very from $4.99 to $19.99 a month.
6. SocialSafe- with this service you can create an online and offline searchable digital journal of your entries and photos of both your Facebook page and Twitter account. You can also back up sites such as Google+ and Viadeo for only $13.99 a year.
 Save you social information at all times, and you may end up saving your restaurant's future.