558: Brooke Greer on Scaling a Catering Business

Brooke Greer, a Dallas native & graduate of Baylor University in Waco, moved to Austin in 2004. After working in sales and crafting her management skills in customer-service,  Greer founder her calling in events-planning. Over the years she's worked for Austin’s Word of Mouth Catering, and Olive & June. In 2014 Ben Edgerton, Owner of Contigo Restaurant, approach Greer with the opportunity to run their restaurants catering; today, she's a partner.

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

"I'd rather be looking at it than for it."

In this episode with Brooke Greer, we discuss: 

• How important it is, especially as a caterer, to always be prepared. Greer suggests using checklists and traveling to the event site to look for any possible issues. 
• How being calm and patient with clients has served Greer. 
• If you want to progress in your career, don't wait to be told to take initiative. Take action now, ask for forgiveness later. 
• How the client or guest, is not always right. Also, how to handle a client or get who isn't right. 
• The benefits of offering equity to someone to start and control a new appendage of your business, such as a restaurant starting a catering arm.  
• If you're adding catering to your restaurant, why it makes sense to treat it like a separate 
  business. 
• Having the mindset that catering have no limits, especially when it comes to the physical space. Your real only limit is the budget of your client. 
• How to scale a catering business.
• How to approach a mentor. 
• How differentiation will help you become more competitive. 
• How to grow the relationship with your clients. 

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Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Drive
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   1. Not getting emotionally attached to thebusiness
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   1. Look to see how the person apply organizes them self. 
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • Operate with a servants heart. 
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Smile! 
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
   
   • Mastering the Rockefeller Habits: What You Must Do to Increase the Value of Your Growing Firm
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   1. Cook food 
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
   1. Total Party Planner
   2. Slack
10. 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. Treat your employees like family.
    2. Take initiative.
    3. Enjoy you job and have fun doing it.  

Contact info:

Contigo Restaurant

 

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 Brook Greer for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

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