What's Your Time Worth

During the past week I had the opportunity to meet with many restaurant owners to review how their business is going and what they are doing for the future. The conversations had one consistent theme.

For the most part the owners I had met with were so involved with the day to day management of their business that they were not aware of what is going on around them. A look at their menu which is the basis of profitability revealed that pricing was not keeping pace with inflation or even their competitors. Obvious room for improvement and profitability. 

On the marketing side, technology advances has created new opportunities to reach customers in ways that did not exist just two years ago. These new marketing tools are becoming major elements in aggressive marketing plans by major chains. Local search, customer engagement, loyalty programs are some of the basic tools needed to compete.

The point of the story is that it pays to get involvement from professionals who can help your business.  A marketing analysis that was done for one of the clients last week showed an upside potential of over $200,000 based on his current average check and customer counts. The customers who see this shake their head because they don't even know where to start to develop these programs.

It pays to work with people who can bring expertise to your business that you may not have. The ROI is there, the market is there. Do you want it?

What's your time worth?