601: Chris Dahlander on Balancing Soul and Profit

Chris Dahlander is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in Advertising. Previous to starting Snappy Salads, Dahlander served 4 year as a project manager for the Forbes Group and 8 years as the Director of Marketing for Romano’s Macaroni Grill. In 2006 Dahlander opened Snappy Salads with the mission to make the world healthier than the way he found it. 13 years later Snappy Salads has scaled to 17 locations and growing throughout Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth.

Show notes…

Favorite success quote or mantra:

Sacrifice and persistence are the only two items that you need for success

In today's episode with Chris Dahlander, we will discuss:

• Sacrifice and persistence as the only two necessary items required for success in any category of life
• The importance of family
• Leaving any place as HEALTHIER than the way you found it
• Operational excellence
• Consistency
• Hire slow/fire fast
• The importance of volunteering
• Trademarking your brand and ideas
• The legal side of restaurant/concept development
• The importance of learning what NOT to do
• Balancing SOUL and PROFIT
• Seeing the absence of a concept and building it
• Appreciating sponsors!
• Doing what's RIGHT, not what's easy
• Knowing when to give up
• self-regulations
• Being more environmentally-conscious in the restaurant industry
• Scaling
• Getting game-changers and leaders in your organization
• Reflection

Today's sponsor:

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BentoBox helps restaurants grow their business through a connected suite of tools, offering them an integrated website to connect with their guests and drive revenue online. Restaurant owners and operators are able to easily update menus, promote specials, take catering and event inquiries, sell merchandise, gift cards and more.

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Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Leadership
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Being too humble
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Leadership
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Staffing. Promote what we do well and how we treat our team members.
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • One rule: do the right thing sincerely and automatically regardless of the situation
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Make the guests' dining experience so great that they want to return tomorrow
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner?
   • The Greats on Leadership: Classic Wisdom for Modern Managers by Jocelyn Davis
   • Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek 
   • GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM 
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Have a purpose other than to make money.
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls and how has it influence operations?
   • POS: Olo. Punchh app.
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?
    • We are all one
    • Everything has already been revealed
    • We are all perfect in our own imperfectedness

Contact info:

Email: [e-mail]

Snappy Salads website

Instagram: @snappysalads

Facebook: @SnappySalads

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 Chris Dahlander for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

 

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