Owning a restaurant in a small town is more than a challenge. It is a labor of love. When we opened in May of 2005 the town of Drew was much different. There was a grocery store and a pharmacy and many other businesses and employers in this little town. Now it is not much left and I have seen my business drop a few percentage points every year until the last two.
I realized that while the market had diminished it had not totally vanished. I had to find ways to increase my share. Every day I ask myself three questions. What business am I in? What business am I really in? What Business should I be in?
Through these three questions, I have tried a lot of different ideas. Some have worked very well and some have been total failures. What I can tell you is this. Last month was a 30% increase in sales over the same month in 2017 and this month is on track to beat the previous month by more than 30% and beat the same month from 2017 by more than 50%. By all accounts this restaurant should be closed yet here we are growing.
Here are four things that changed my business.
1. Increase the hours you are open. I knew when I went to 7 days a week earlier this year it would be an automatic increase in sales. My instinct was that because I was open more, sales would increase in the hours we had traditionally been open. That may seem counter-intuitive. Most businesses assume that opening more hours will spread business out over those hours. My gut told me something different. I had spent 15 years with the same hours of operation only to have regular customers call ahead to ask if I was open. Now that I am 7 days a week no one has to ask and same day sales have dramatically increased. In fact, most of our increase in sales has been in the times we were already open. An accountant would look at the numbers and tell me I am losing money on Monday nights but I know that being open on slow nights means more business at other times. You have to give to get and any business is a service first.
2. Become a media company. I cannot tell you how important attention is in this economy. Traditional marketing such as TV, radio, and print media, has become expensive and noisy. People have blinders on to the ask. Traditional means gives you 30 seconds to invite someone into your business. You can, in fact, build a brand this way but it is very expensive.
When I was operating 1933 we got a bad review on Facebook. The customer called our chef “the bozo behind the grill”. It was clear to me that he had no idea who was cooking the steaks and so he imagined a “bozo”. This was about the time Facebook started it’s live feature and I had an idea. I wanted the average customer to know who the bozo was. I started doing Facebook live from the kitchen.
People loved being able to see what really goes on in there and pretty soon they were coming in asking for Chef Lishman. It was right then it really hit home with me. Everyone has a story to tell and all customers want to know who they are giving their hard earned money to.
We started making more videos and editing them. We even went to New Orleans with a film crew for three days. Now I Vlog and of course Blog. I have realized that in order to build my brand I have to be visible.
The internet allows me incredible attention arbitrage. I can shoot, edit, and distribute all of the media I want for no money at all. The gatekeepers are gone. It is a great time to be an entrepreneur.
3. New revenue streams. This is the hardest and most exciting for me. All small businesses do something that no one else does. It is in your story and is part of your brand. There is some product that you haven’t thought of or considered that fits perfectly with what you are doing. For us, the internet again offers a new avenue for sales. Being a restaurant selling a perishable product complicates online sales. What business should you be in?
We have just started an online store selling branded products for our restaurant. We are adding our house seasonings and spicy seasoning as well as locally grown rice.
4. Surprise and delight. We have started giving away a lot of free food. It is really easy since we throw away some. People will always love free food.
One day my manager Bryce Cruse and I made a list of prospective customers or customers we haven’t heard from in a while. We made up these little gift certificates that said we miss you and drove all over town giving them to people we knew fit our buyer persona.
This is pretty easy in a large or small town. You know the people within walking distance of your business who fit your target. Go and get them.
You have to give to get. That is just how the world works. Give until it hurts. You have to stop thinking about the short-term and start thinking about legacy. How will people remember you or your business?
Stafford is an entrepreneur in Drew, MS. He owns Shurden Farms and Stafford’s Market. You can email Stafford at staffordshurden@gmail.com for interviews and speaking events.
staffordshurden 