Posted On February 16, 2012 by swillis
In The Catering Kitchen with Post Exchange Catering
Recently our client, Rick Leigh, President of Post Exchange Catering sat down and provided some great insight into the workings of a seasoned, catering business in Atlanta, GA. Read on for great info and tips!
Tell us about your business.
Located in metro Atlanta, Post Exchange Catering has been dazzling corporate clients since 1993. Whether it is a catered breakfast, meeting luncheon, corporate picnic, or customized box lunches, we pride ourselves in delivering dining solutions with professional on time performance. As metro Atlanta’s corporate catering specialists, we guarantee quality food and exceptional customer service. Our operation is Monday through Friday with an emphasis on breakfast and lunch events.
What brought you to begin using Total Party Planner?
Our original process was one that we pieced together using spreadsheets, databases, and Quickbooks. With our old system we were tied to the office computer and only one of us could work on the information at a time. While this process worked for many years, we reached a point where the procedures needed to be standardized to facilitate our growth. We also found that while most recipes had been written and stored in a manual, the employees failed to use them as access was difficult during production time. After sampling many online options, the team at Total Party Planner made our choice pretty easy. No one spent as much time teaching me or letting me bombard them with questions like the TPP team did.
What is your favorite program feature in Total Party Planner?
Picking a favorite feature is almost like asking me to choose a favorite son or daughter. There are many excellent features to choose from. Probably the one that helps my business the most is the recipe feature. This has helped us become more standardized and helped my staff be able to work in any station in the kitchen because the recipe and method are spelled out for them. I also like the event production sheets. These reports are the map we all read to see where our day is taking us.
How has Total Party Planner helped your business?
Total Party Planner has streamlined our data entry and made our events more consistent beginning to end. While we spent a large amount of time setting up Total Party Planner the return on the investment was quickly recouped. It is comforting to know I can access anything pertaining to my business in one location.
What sets your company apart from others in your area?
Post Exchange Catering is unique as for the 19 years we have been in business our focus is on the corporate market exclusively. No nights, No weekends with few exceptions. Our staff is family focused and we will never ask them to work Sundays.
What do customers expect when doing business with you?
We will always provide good food with service that is unmatched. Our customers appreciate that we offer: online ordering, a 24 hour catering hotline, an awesome customer rewards program, and donate to a featured charity each month.
What advice would you give a new caterer?
“Say what you do then do what you say”. It is no more basic than that. Also, seek out a mentor, go to Catersource each year, and join the International Caterers Association (ICA). I have found that caterers as a whole are a sharing bunch. We love to share our successful ideas and our pitfalls that new caterers can avoid. Oh, and of course I would suggest “before you take your first order, spend time setting up Total Party Planner”.
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Posted On January 30, 2012 by John Cohen
Catersource Conference & Tradeshow 2012
I know from experience that catering is hard enough when you try to travel the difficult road alone. So why not share your questions, struggles, needs, wishes, and ideas with over six thousand of your peers from all over the country? That’s what’s so amazing about the Catersource Conference and Tradeshow – learning and sharing together. The conference brings people together who all have only one goal in mind… executing great catered events.
Along with being challenging, catering can also be an extremely competitive business right? Your probably not at home having meaningful discussions with a direct competitor about food costs and business trends. This is not true in Vegas… you will interact with hundreds of other business men and women in which competition is not an issue.
The educational conference is a learning experience like no other. You will take away useful knowledge and skills from the 4 days of seminar’s taught by industry experts. Mike Roman, founder of Catersource and catering guru, guarantees it. The main selling point for Catersource is continued growth of your business with success along the way.
Don’t let the glitz and glamour of Vegas take away from the value of the show. It is not a non-stop party. You are there to learn and study. Sure, there is a lot of fun to be had too, but the daytime class schedule is designed to maximize your education. Even the night time special events are meant for learning. They are a great way to show all the new trends for the year “live and tangible”. I know I personally have never been short of amazed over the years at the creativity on display.
The tradeshow portion of the conference is also a great way to see new products in the industry. It is a buying show, so be prepared to be offered some amazing deals from the vendors!
Lastly, but certainly not all inclusive in this blog article, are the tabletop contests, chef challenges, and unbelievable raffle prizes. For full detail about the show, or to register online, visit the Catersource website .
If you are planning on attending, please stop by booth #649 at the tradeshow and say hi to the Total Party Planner catering software team. We would love to meet you!
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Posted On January 16, 2012 by John Cohen
Catering A New Year, A Fresh Look
The start of a new year always offers a chance to examine the year we finished and look ahead at how we can make this year an even better one. As a small business owner myself, I know how important it can be to review what went well and what didn’t, and plan out strategies for the coming year.
Some questions to ponder as you enter this reflective sojourn may be: Could we have been more efficient? Could we have done more business? Should we have taken less business? Did we take profitable business? What am I not going to do this year? Do I need help? Did I manage well?
Even if you aren’t a strong numbers person, take some time to review some reports on your business to determine how successful you were. It’s not always the bottom line that tells the story. There may be hidden trends in your business that you don’t see unless you really look at the numbers and think about what they mean. If you’re a Total Party Planner customer, some of our automated reports can help you. Some key end of year reports to review are
- Menu Item Popularity – what sold well and what did not.
- Profit Summary – what types of events were the most successful.
- Sales Forecasting by Client - who were our biggest clients. Take some time to send a thank you note if you have not already.
- Sales by Referral – who brought you the most business. Don’t forget those thank-you cards too!
- Inventory Cost Changes – can we save money with better purchasing?
- Lost Revenue by Cancellation Reason - are we consistently losing events to a competitor? Are prices too high?
- Accounts Receivable – ensure your receivables are up to date. Check this report weekly if not daily.
The important thing to remember when doing this kind of exercise, is that once you have concluded what you need to focus on this year, write it down. Then tell someone about it. This helps make it become more real. The plan isn’t going to unfold by itself, so set yourself up for success this year. I know you can do it! Good luck!
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Posted On January 9, 2012 by John Cohen
Contact Management for Catering
Everyone knows that staying in touch with your current customers and reaching out to new customers is important to help your business grow. The hard part is finding the time to do it. Using Constant Contact (or any email program that’s out there) can be an easy way for a new or small business to stay connected. And it’s easier than you might think.
The biggest hurdle often times is just getting started. Sometimes it’s best to schedule time – just an hour or so – and commit to creating an email list and writing a few short stories. It may be useful to think about people in your circle of friends or family who could help. Do you know someone good at data entry who could help import your contact list? Or, maybe you know someone who likes to write and can assist with creating stories?
Even if you don’t have anyone to help, most emailing programs are fairly user friendly and they make it easy to learn how to get started. Pick a template that compliments your business (colors, themes, number of stories), and just start plugging in what you want people to know about your business. Be sure to include links back to your website and ways to connect with you. More specifically, include a “call to action.” Ask them to come out and try a specific dish, or book now for great wedding specials. The best part is that when you send out your newsletter to customers, it’s easy for them to forward to friends and that leads to more referrals for you.
If you get stuck and don’t know what to include, check out your own in-box. What emails have you gotten recently that caught your attention? Reading what others are doing can spark an idea that can be related to your own business. Creating a data bank of ideas that you want to include is a great way to always have a list to refer to in case you get stuck. Start a folder within your email box to keep emails that you like, as reference.
Make 2012 the year that you reach out for more business. If you can carve out an hour or two each week to manage your list and write some short items, customers will stay connected and forward your emails, leading to more referrals. At Total Party Planner we want this to be the year you really prosper!
Ready to start? Use this link to sign up for a free 60 day trial of Constant Contact today.
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Posted On November 21, 2011 by John Cohen
Catering the Blockbusters
So it’s that time of year again when Hollywood unleashes all of the big budget holiday blockbusters. I think most of us look forward to seeing at least one of them this year… whether it’s vampires, Muppets, talking cats, or dancing penguins.
And you ask yourselves… what does that have to do with catering John? Well, just a nice segue to a share a quick movie story about growing up in a catering family.
Every time we went to the movies, no matter what the film was, my parents made my brother and I sit through the entire credit list at the end of the movie. Was it punishment for us squabbling over who ate the most popcorn? No. It was the fact that my parents were fascinated to read who the caterer for the film was!
Now admittedly, we never knew any of the companies, but I think it made them feel part of something bigger – and that they were in the same profession of the company that had their name “in shining lights”. They were also, in their own strange way, recognizing a peer in the industry. Conversations between them always led to what they served, how they did the setup, and which actors and actresses had special diets. (And just to note, while they dreamed of the Hollywood catering glamour, my brother and I were discussing the awesomeness of Darth Vader being Luke Skywalker’s father…)
So, were we just an odd family? Or does anybody else out there want to admit that they too are among the last people to leave the theaters waiting for the 2 second “Catering By: ” credit line! Or maybe you are a Hollywood movie caterer willing to share an interesting story with us.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Enjoy your family, friends, and all the fantastic food that I know our catering friends are going to be cooking up this week!
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Posted On November 14, 2011 by John Cohen
Catering Profits on Thanksgiving Day
If you cook it they will come…
It was exactly 15 years ago when my parents decided they were going to offer dinner meals available for pick-up on Thanksgiving day. I distinctly remember thinking “Who would buy that? Doesn’t every family get up early to cook their own Thanksgiving meal?”
Well let me tell you, I could not have been more wrong! The business ended up serving about 300 meal packages. With each meal feeding up to 4 people, they fed about 1200 people that Thanksgiving Day.
So why did it work?
- They did effective advertising. In the case of an inaugural launch of a “new product”, word of mouth would not be enough. The main marketing was done through some well placed ads in the local newspaper (remember 15 years ago the Internet wasn’t anything that it is today).
- At the time, it was a relatively new concept – at least in their region of Western New York. It caught people’s attention.
- My parents had an excellent reputation for fresh home cooked food. People knew it was going to taste great!
- They heavily stressed how convenient and EASY it would be for people who bought the meals. All they had to do was follow the reheating instructions.
- An on time promise for pickup. Meals would be ready either the night before or Thanksgiving morning – without delay.
- They kept the meal simple. Each meal included all the traditional fixings : turkey, dressing, vegetable, sweet potatoes, vegetable, cranberry, chef salad, and fresh rolls.
My parents also knew that giving people more than enough food to provide leftovers was important too. Everybody loves those leftover turkey sandwiches on Friday! From a pure marketing standpoint, they were already thinking about the following years – and earning repeat business. The few extra dollars in food cost by “overloading” this year would be money well spent in families coming back year after year.
So if your not offering a Thanksgiving dinner special this year, perhaps build it into your marketing plan for 2012. It could be a great spike in revenue and profits right before heading into the last wave of holiday business.
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Posted On October 17, 2011 by Contributor : Bill Keeler
Guest Article: Lessons from Steve Jobs by Bill Keeler
There’s a lot of talk about Steve Jobs, what he created, and what he left us. I’m even more impressed by HOW he worked, and his philosophies. Below are a few key ideas he believed in….and what I typically talk about in business coaching. Maybe these things are worth taking another pass at….things like hiring great so your company gets better and better with each hire, not just filling a role on your org chart….or having a REAL USP (unique selling proposition) that separates you greatly from your competition…and pricing and selling on real value (like your USP), not on low price…mostly out of fear.
- “Value” is different from “price”
Woe unto you if you decide everything based on price. Even more woe unto you if you compete solely on price. Price is not all that matters—what is important, at least to some people, is value. And value takes into account training, support, and the intrinsic joy of using the best tool that’s made. It’s pretty safe to say that no one buys Apple products because of their low price. - Marketing boils down to providing unique value
Think of a two-by-two matrix. The vertical axis measures how your product differs from the competition. The horizontal axis measures the value of your product. Bottom right: valuable but not unique—you’ll have to compete on price. Top left: unique but not valuable—you’ll own a market that doesn’t exist. Bottom left: not unique and not valuable—you’re a bozo. Top right: unique and valuable—this is where you make margin, money, and history. For example, the iPod was unique and valuable because it was the only way to legally, inexpensively, and easily download music from the six biggest record labels.
Unique + Valuable = Has a market
- A players hire A+ players
Actually, Steve believed that A players hire A players—that is people who are as good as they are. I refined this slightly—my theory is that A players hire people even better than themselves. It’s clear, though, that B players hire C players so they can feel superior to them, and C players hire D players. If you start hiring B players, expect what Steve called “the bozo explosion” to happen in your organization
If these ideas interest you, please feel free to leave a comment.
Bill Keeler has extensive experience working with small businesses from his 14 years in the radio advertising industry…first as a top seller working directly with small business owners throughout Central Virginia, and next as s Director of Sales building winning teams. He’s been a leading member the AdviCoach system (www.AdviCoach.com) for over 2 years, and helps small businesses throughout Virginia. To learn more about Bill Keeler please visit his website http://bkeeler.advicoach.com/.
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Posted On October 10, 2011 by John Cohen
Software Increasing Catering Profits
In last weeks blog, we talked about better food costing, and higher profits, through the use of a software package. The post discusses how an automated system can be the catalyst for both time and monetary savings. But how exactly does a software program do this?
I thought a few bullet points for clarification might help…
- Having accurate food costs will help you set competitive and profitable menu prices.
- After setting initial menu prices, the program will help manage fluctuating ingredient costs. What effect does a +/- 10% ingredient cost have on the menu item(s) associated to it? Knowing this, menu item prices can be adjusted accordingly.
- Having an auto-generated shopping/order list from a program will save countless hours of a kitchen manager trying to figure out that detail. Even if not wage related, what else more productive (and profitable) activities can they be doing in lieu of creating an order list by hand?
- Eliminate waste by only ordering what is needed. The system will tell you exactly what you need to order.
- A program will easily calculate overall event profit. We can tweak pricing (not just menu – but beverage, rental, staff, etc.) to make an event profitable. When we just cant work out pricing to get out of the red? Pass. Nobody wants to work for a loss.
- Quick turn around times for professional proposals. Ultimately this will mean more business from very impressed prospects. Even after a proposal bid is won, changes in client choices can be immediately evaluated in terms of the effect those changes have on profitability.
- Never miss an outstanding accounts receivable. Easily run a report to see which clients have payments due, or coming due.
- Time is money! Automating everything you do on a daily basis means more time for you to do what you do best : running your company from the kitchen – not behind a pile of paperwork.
The order list is an important report mentioned a couple of times in this article. For more information on better shopping, see Mike Roman’s blog post from last week by clicking this link .
If you have any specific experiences on saving time or money through the use of automated systems, please share your comment!
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Posted On October 3, 2011 by John Cohen
Food Costing For Caterers
Last Friday afternoon I had a great conversation with Jim Israel – a business consultant from Philadelphia Pennsylvania. We were talking about the importance of caterers managing their food costs.
I think all caterers would agree that food costing is a critical component for the success of their company. But at what lengths would you go to get costing information that is accurate and continuously up to date?
I hear all the time, “It’s not worth the time to track costs in full detail - I already have a general idea of costs.” or “It’s going to cost too much in wages to track the level of detail where it would make a difference.”
Whether you manually tabulate every receipt from your vendors in a spreadsheet, or use a sophisticated program like TPP to automatically generate the data, it is important to know your numbers. Let’s consider a very simple example of the numbers for 1 month at a small to medium sized business:
Food inventory cost and kitchen manager labor per month : $10,000
Month sales : $30,000
Calculated food cost : 33%
Other monthly expenses (insurance, utilities, building, etc) : $8,000
Profit for month : $12,000 or 40%
Again, a very simple example!
So what if a program could help us shave a few percentage points (even just 3%) of our raw ingredient cost and kitchen labor? Oh, and by the way, a program will absolutely help you make those savings! Watch what happens to our example above (assume everything else remains constant):
Food inventory cost & kitchen manager labor per month : $9,000
Month sales : $30,000
Calculated food cost : 30%
Other monthly expenses (labor, utilities, building, etc) : $8,000
Profit for month : $13,000 or 43%
With 12 months in the year, that’s an addition profit per year of $12,000! Money that can then be invested in new equipment, marketing, vacation, etc.
We would probably all agree that the initial time invested up front should bring a significant ROI. So what are you waiting for?
An interesting article I found on calculating menu prices once you know food costs is:
http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/pricing-a-catering-menu/bd175.aspx
Also, for more information about Jim Israel, visit his website : http://www.conjureconsulting.com
Do you have a successful method for calculating food costs? Share your story with us!
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Posted On September 11, 2011 by John Cohen
Catering to Investors and Buyers
One evening while browsing shows on the ABC television network, I stumbled across Shark Tank. Intrigued by the premise of the show, I watched one episode and was instantly hooked. If you haven’t seen it, the basic plot is that entrepreneurs appear in front of a panel of “Sharks” to ask for investment dollars. Now it isn’t really the amount of money the entrepreneurs ask for that fascinates me, but rather the reason why the “Sharks” will decide to invest in the company or not. From the few episodes I have watched since, here were some reasons for both “Yes, I will invest” and “No, I do not want to invest”.
Yes, I will invest:
- The product itself is unique and marketable.
- The investor themselves had already had success with a similar product in the past.
- The investor feels they will see a positive return on their investment sooner rather than later.
No, I do not want to invest:
- The owner is too tied to the success of the company.
- The business is early in it’s infancy stage and unproven.
- The investor feels it would take too much of their time to be involved.
Interesting enough, the entire theme of Shark Tank also closely parallels a recent event I attended through the Chamber of Commerce. They hosted speaker John Warrillow – author of the book Built to Sell. John’s moving speech talked about steps to take to build a profitable company that both investors (or according to ABC the “Sharks”) and buyers will be attracted to.
So, using John Warrillow’s principals, what steps can a catering company do to make their companies more investment, or sale ready? Here are the key points from John’s book:
- Identify your products that are scalable. That is, they are teachable, repeatable, and valuable. I think we would all agree that your catering company fits nicely into all three of those categories.
- Create a positive cash flow. Charging up front for your events (or at least enough to cover costs) reduces the amount of working capital you would need to continuously provide the company. Investors or buyers like to know that the required working capital is not an impedance.
- Hire a sales team. Although you may have the most passion for your food and service, investors and buyers want to know that it isn’t just one person responsible for the success of the company.
- Sell what you do best and nothing else. Even if the extra revenue of helping a bride with her full wedding plan sounds attractive, skip it if it isn’t what you defined as your scalable product. Stick to what you do best.
- Build a loyal management team around long term incentives. Investors and buyers want to know that your catering manager, executive chef, and sales manager are locked into the company for continued success after investment or sale.
For detailed information from John Warrillow, visit his blog page at http://www.builttosell.com/blog/ .
Do you have a catering investment story or business sale (or purchase) to share? We would love to hear!
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