In this episode, we discuss how open book management works, how open book management leads to a better society, how open book management is about the game, creating a company of owners, giving your team equity in your business, what is meant to be great instead of big, and then we make an example of two small giants: Union Square Hospitality & Zingermans Community of business.

Bo Burlingham is an editor-at-large of Inc. magazine and the author of five books, the most recent beingFinish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top. Today we'll be discussing two of his previous books: Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, 10th-Anniversary Edition which was one of five finalists for the 2006 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year award. and The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company introduced the concept of open-book management, has sold more than 300,000 copies and was named one of “the 100 best business books of all time.

In this episode, we discuss how to approach a negative customer, why it is always best to take the human approach, how to identify when it is time to "fire" a guest, How to go about firing a guest, why you need to hold your business partners to the same standards as someone you'd be willing to marry, how to protect yourself opening under an LLC, implementing an operations agreement taking time to develop your team and business plan, and how even being a little distracted can cause you to fail. 

Chef Dave Query got his start in the restaurant industry at the age of 15 working at a hotdog stand. He would go on to graduate from the CIA in 1985. by 1988, at the age of 25, he was a restaurant owner. In 1994 Chef Dave founded the Big Red F Restaurant Group. 22 years later Big Red F is operating a total of 12 restaurants which consist of 6 unique concepts.

In this episode we discuss how to approach mentors, living intentionally, being selfless by purchasing from local and independent suppliers, making your restaurant an extension of your personal brand and believes, how to gather data and emails, training your staff, and delegating.

Chef Marcus Guiliano is an award-winning chef, green restaurateur, real food activist, professional speaker, restaurant consultant & ultra-marathoner. In addition to successfully owning and operating the first Green Certified restaurant in the Hudson Valley, Aroma Thyme Bistro, Chef Marcus has begun to devote his time consulting and troubleshooting for other restaurants. Chef Marcus has launched activist/watchdog-oriented sites including NoFarmedSalmon.com, ChefonaMission.com & the controversial FoodFraudTV.com. You also need to check out 50mistakes.com, where Chef Marcus shares 50 common mistakes restaurant owners make. 

The purpose of this episode is to introduce you to the concept of a MASTERMIND GROUP. We'll start off with a brief history of masterminds and then I'll dive into some of the finer details behind the theory of a mastermind group. The explanation I give came directly from the man himself, Napolean Hill and his book, Think and Grow Rich, where the concept of a mastermind was first expounded upon. 

After we all understand what a mastermind is and how it works, you'll join the members of the first every mastermind group I hosted and they'll share with you the benefits and value they extracted from the experience. 

In this episode we discuss why you need to tackle your passion full on once you discover it, incorporating learning and sharing knowledge into your culture, how to exceed expectation, why the experience is more important that the food or drink, and when you boil it down its really just about making people happy. 

Initially treating the restaurant industry as means to financially sustain plenty of other creative endeavors, Bobby Burns is now 24 years in. What got him hooked is the raw transparency and intimacy between the bartender-guest interaction. Bobby has had experience in all genres of the industry from corporate restaurants and fine dining venues to nightclubs and dives. Today he is the General Manager of Forest Hills Station house, in Forest Hills, New York.

In this episode we discuss developing relationships, always learning and asking why, how giving can help you get, understanding your numbers, knowing the vision you're setting out to achieve, moving on why you've achieved you goal, spending time on your business and not in your business, the power of staying optimistic and positive.

New Zealander Dean Brettschneider, a.k.a. the Global Baker, has earned many accolades dedicating his life to the craft of baking. Author of 13 cookbooks, columnist, TV personality, judge, teacher, student, and restaurateur... this guy does a little bit of everything. In 2012 Dean open opened the first two of what is now 7 Baker and Cook location, in 2015 he open Singapore's first gourmet sourdough pizza restaurant Plank sourdough pizza and in January of 2017 he opened the first Baker & Cook and Plank Sourdough Pizza in Manila. in April 2016 Dean Opened Brettschneider's Baking and cooking school.

In this episode, we discuss how Shila's family went from rags to riches by opening a restaurant, how systems can create harmony in your restaurant, what it was like to go from host to CEO and President of the family business in 13 years, and how to obtain work-life balance in a family business. 

In 2004, when Shila Morris was 18 years of age, her parents, Misty and Gary Young, purchased the original Squeeze In, located in Truckee, CA. During the next 13 years, Shila went from earning a little extra cash at her parent's restaurant to becoming the President and CEO of 7 Squeeze In locations with franchise opportunities on the table.