If you’re anything like me, you might want to do as much as possible yourself. I wanted to know as much as I could about the processes and ins-and-outs of my business. Also, my budget was tight and doing what I could on my own allowed me to focus money in other places where I felt it was necessary to hire a professional. One way to ensure your business succeeds is to hire well and give your team the leadership and skills needed to advance your vision.
A JOB POSTING is an advertisement to attract applicants. It should include the job title, a brief job description including responsibilities and work to be performed, location, and a list or summary of qualifications. It should also include important business details such as benefits provided, company culture, and mission. You may also want to include the rate of pay though it isn’t necessary.
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Make your job title-specific for the role you need to be filled.
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Start with an attention-grabbing summary. Why is it exciting to work at your company? What makes your business unique? Include the job position expectations and the location of the job.
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Outline the responsibilities and day to day activities of the position.
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Next, you will want to list the qualifications and skills required-include any education requirements, wanted experience, hard skills, and soft skills
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Include a list of perks or a “what’s in it for them” section. Mention flexible hours, any PTO offered, dog-friendly workplace, educational opportunities, and any other perks your business had to offer. You may or may not disclose the rate of pay in your job posting, if you choose to you should do so here.
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Does the applicant apply directly to the posting or should they email you directly? Include any necessary contact info.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Taariq David, a restaurant industry consultant, on his front porch one beautiful fall day. We discussed creating culture in the workplace, leading a team, and the excitement (and challenges) of starting a new business. Taariq talked about forging ahead with his new ventures David Hospitality and Hospitality Bruhs.
ME: Tell me about Hospitality Bruhs: how big is the team, how it got started, and the goals of the business.
TAARIQ: After 20 plus years in the restaurant industry it seemed that the next natural step for me would be to open a restaurant. However, I felt like I had already done that with Saint Leo. Hospitality Bruhs came about organically talking to my boy Paul in Detroit. He said “My boy Sam's a chef, he's going to put a recipe together for us to cook. Can you recommend a cocktail for it?” From that it was “Let’s do an interview on zoom. I see this as a tv thing, a podcast…” then brainstorming and boom-Hospitality Bruhs.
Our next step is to set up a Patreon account where we will post quick videos like “How to Set up Your Bar” and “5 Tools Every Kitchen Should Have” along with instructional sessions, food and cocktail demos, interviews, and discussions surrounding the hospitality industry. We will also offer live stream cooking events.
ME: David Hospitality Services is a consulting firm for bars and restaurants. They can lean on your industry expertise to build a team and expand upon existing skills. How did you decide to branch out from a hands-on team leader to a consultant who helps restaurants to improve their service and elevate their team?
TAARIQ: Restaurant Consulting is essentially everything that I’ve been doing for the past decade for others as a General Manager. Now I’ll be doing it for myself, for David Hospitality. For over half of my life I’ve been creating training programs. I’ve been watching the service, the culture, and the systems that are in place, and seeing what needs to be tweaked in restaurants. I definitely envision the consulting being a hands-on type of process as well.
With David Hospitality I have the knowledge to get clients where they want to go and give them the tools to be successful. I’m going to start by cold calling, networking, building, and see what happens. David Hospitality will offer tiers of service, a one-time training program, once a month refreshers, contract for twice a month, whatever the budget and needs of the company are. As you know, this is a tricky time for restaurants.
I set up the business as an LLC then I was like, now what. I’ve been working with the Transactional Law Clinic at the University of Mississippi. They’ve answered questions that I couldn’t figure out. We’ve been working on an operating agreement for a single-member LLC and a contract template for new clients. They have been extremely helpful.
ME: You were the general manager at a handful of restaurants in Oxford, recruiting and leading staff along the way. You reached out to me to join the team at Saint Leo because of our experience working together. What is it like to build a team from scratch vs. adding to existing staff?
TAARIQ: Both have their own unique set of challenges. The training process is easier when you are building it from the ground up. Implementing culture is easier right off the top, rather than trying to shift a culture. With a new business, you can build your team based on the culture and training program you created, check out the vibes of the staff, and see how they mesh.
If you already have a staff that is used to doing things a particular way, they have to unlearn and relearn. That’s more of a process when implementing menu knowledge or a new bar program. It takes more time than building fresh. You don't have to battle the “this is the way we’ve always done it” when starting fresh.
Established daily, monthly, and yearly sales history to date make it easier to project sales so it’s easier to plan and staff an established restaurant. You can’t do that with a new place, especially the first year out. A normal pattern hasn’t been established.
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Business Resources:
The Transactional Law Clinic
University of Mississippi Law School
Marie Cope (Co-director):mscope@olemiss.edu
Cameron Abel (Co-director: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://law.olemiss.edu/academics-programs/clinics/transactional-law-clinic/
I found this article from Square on hiring employees to be a quick read and full of information:https://squareup.com/us/en/townsquare/basic-labor-laws-how-to-hire-employees-correctly
Brand building is defined as “the process by which a company creates or improves customers’ knowledge and opinions of a brand.” It creates a relationship between your business and its consumers. It establishes trust, and it entices people to buy from you. Building your brand is more than just choosing a name, colors, fonts, writing a slogan, and designing a logo. It is defining your brand’s identity, deciding who you are, and what you stand for. 
Be consistent: Pick 2 colors and stick with them in all instances. Repeat the same colors on everything you print, mail or email. Never change your colors until you know for sure you should — if you're unsure — don't. A simple repeated color palette can take you a long way as your business grows. The idea is that potential customers, over time, will see your name and associate it with your colors and graphics. The colors you choose should clearly represent the nature of your business. A quick google of the meaning of colors will help you understand basic color theory. If you are still unsure, stick with black. You can always add a secondary color as your business grows. Fonts should be treated the same way. Avoid complicated or hard to read fonts for your logo and branding. Choose a simple font and stick with it. Looking at business cards can be a great way to understand how your logo should work. If you shrink your logo to fit on a 2" card, you will see that “simple” is the best way to go.
Bank reconciliation ensures payments have been processed and cash collections have been deposited into the bank. The reconciliation statement helps identify differences between the bank balance and general ledger balance, and to process necessary adjustments or corrections. A general ledger is the main accounting record of a company or organization.
A unique selling proposition, or USP, is the one feature of your business that makes it unique from your competitors. It is what drives customers to purchase your goods or services over your competition. It makes you stand out from the crowd. Maybe you are focused on locally sourcing handmade goods to sell in your storefront or you offer a custom design feature as part of your home organization service.