530: Getting Profitable by Planing, Executing, Measuring, & Correcting with Michelle Cairo

 

After working over a decade in corporate finance, business planning, accounting, and performance management, Michelle Cairo brings a wealth of knowledge surrounding business. Prior to leaving the Corporate World, Cairo was CFO of Opus Solution and Director of Finance for Pacific Power. In 2010, she was selected Portland’s Best CFO for medium-sized companies by the Portland Business Journal. Michelle holds a BS in Finance from University of Utah and a Masters of Business Administration from Utah State University. Today, along side brother Elias Cairo, Michelle serve as CEO of Olympia Provisions.

 

Show notes…

Favorite Success Quote or Mantra.

"Those who believe they can or can't are right." 

In this episode with Michelle Cairo, we discuss: 

• What Cairo learned from her farther and how her father influenced who she is today. 
• What Cairo learned about herself after working in bigger, corporate operations. 
• Why it is so important to understand numbers in your business. 
• Why being a part of your community can be key in "figuring it out"; Community can be such a supportive resource in the process. 
• Having the mentality that you need profit to survive. Once you know what kind of profit you need, reverse engineer the processes steps to make it happen. 
• How Cairo took a six figure pay cut to make Olympia Provisions work. 
• Taking the Plan, Execute, Measure, Correct approach to becoming profitable.
• How Cairo dealt with extreme success.  
• Using the numbers to project growth and take risks. 
• The pros and cons to operating with partners. 
• Having balance between being "the maker" and being a business. 
• Getting creative to form new channels of revenue. If you can dream it you can do it. 
• How you learn more when you're open to learning. 

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Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?

   • Optimism.
   • Positivity.

2. What is your biggest weakness?

   • Being a know it all. 

3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?

   • Ask questions to get after whether or not who's being interviewed is an authentic person.

4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?

   • Cash flow. They're combating this challenge by leveraging the profit first mentality.

5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.

   • Own your own shit. 

6. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 

   • Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
   • Profit First:Transform Your Business From Cash-Eating Monter to a Money-Making Machine. 
   • Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It and Why the Rest Don't

7. Share an online resource or tool.

   •  Yoga with Adriene
   • Down Dog

8. What's one piece of technology you've adopted in your restaurant and how has it influenced operations?

   • Google Sheets
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9. If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?

   1. look at every problem as an opportunity.
   2. Be nice to yourself.
   3. Enjoy every moment. 

Contact Info

[e-mail] 

@itscairotime

 

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining today! Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

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Huge thanks to Michelle Cairo for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

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