Which One Are You?!

Which One Are You?!

 

 

Before we get into this weeks blog submission let’s reflect on a few things:  

 

We all want similar things in life and we usually attain those things through hard work.  But what happens when we’re working incredibly hard but aren’t reaping the appropriate rewards?  

 

- Do we continue to do the same things over and over and expect a different result?  

- Do we work even harder?  

 

The former can be widely known as the definition of insanity. You know, trying the same things over and over and expecting a different result?

 

At Vision Ten & Ten we’d like to present a 3rd option.  How about working smarter?  

 

Our blogs have an aim and a purpose.  As we continue through our journey of developing a software that’s going to revolutionize the way restaurateurs run their establishments, we’ll be sharing stories from successful owners so that we all can learn from their experiences.

We are learning that many owners are able to keep a "light pulse" on their ordering habits. Meaning mostly a loose interpretation of expected costs and pricing from a number of vendors for a variety of items.

 

Let’s be honest, it’s near impossible to keep on top of the fluctuating pricing of so many food items, and even harder to spot discrepancies in charges from your vendor.  It seems like the last thing any owner has the time for is to check each line item in an invoice and make sure it’s 100% accurate.  Your Vision Ten & Ten Guys have spoken to HUNDREDS of restaurant owners and we’ve found 3 categories of personalities when it comes to tracking food costs:

-  Those with "photogenic skillz:"  You know who you are!! When asked “How do you keep track of your yearly spend on each item?" or "How do you make sure vendors are charging you the correct price?”, you very confidently point to your head and say “it’s all up here”.

-  Those who do some, but admit, not enough.  You take the time to track or monitor each line item of an invoice, but only quickly scan it for BIG red flags.  Typically you will catch fluctuations or errors on big ticket items (poultry, seafood, etc) but neglect the smaller “unsold items” (i.e. Splenda)

-  Those who track meticulously but slave themselves in doing so.  You are the owner who takes an invoice and enters the contents from every line item into your accounting software, easily spending 2-4 hours per week with this exhausting and time consuming activity. You appreciate how your bottom line is reacting to these efforts but hate the effort required to complete this task. To make matters more frustrating, it’s taking time away from other operations within your business in addition to cutting into your personal time!!!

It’s with all 3 of these owners in mind that Vision Ten & Ten forged ahead to begin creating VenWatch.  An Optic Recognition Software platform that allows restaurant owners to simply snap a photo of a vendor invoice and upload it to our portal.  Once done, the owner can sit back and wait for the magic to happen.  

 

VenWatch will not only store all invoice data electronically, but it will provide reports suggesting price trends, price alerts, price discrepancies and much, much, more.  

 

Why is this so important?  

 

For starters, knowledge is power.  Having a great understanding of where and why you’re spending your money can go an extremely long way in improving your business decisions.

 

VenWatch puts YOU in control.  

 

1. Make informed decisions on food items for your menu.  

2. Be conscientious of the quantity and cost of those  “unsold items” you are buying.  

3. Get aggressive with vendors on inaccurate charges to keep the money where it belongs, IN YOUR POCKET!!!  

 

Next week, we’ll be providing a real life example of how one of our users has worked “smarter" and saved $$ THOUSANDS $$ of dollars for their restaurant by VenWatching their invoices.  

 

See you next week:

 

Your Vision Ten & Ten Guys, Dom and Dan.

Do you have the Time?!

Have you ever dreamed of opening you're own restaurant?

We have, and the more we research, the more we appreciate just how difficult this industry has become.  We can certainly tell you from the hundreds of conversations that we've had, that it takes a special type of person to own and run a restaurant in today's economy.

Dwindling margins, increased competition and aggressive bargain hunting aren't making the business any easier for restaurateurs who are trying to make an honest living.

Vision Ten & Ten, Co-Founder, Dom Balsamo; has had the pleasure and disservice of growing up in the restaurant business. He knows that while the business can be very lucrative, and the experiences can be extremely gratifying, it's often the type of hard work best left to those who enjoy thankless jobs. 

The type of thankless jobs that require you to be on your feet for 10-12 hours per day, 7 days a week; regardless of Weekends, holidays, birthdays, picture perfect or disastrous weather.  You name the scenario and the owner sees it as only one thing, another day at work!

We've learned that the restaurant business isn't for those who enjoy regular free time, long holiday vacations or the occasional day off from inclement weather.  It's for those who understand that in order to be successful, you have to work your tale off, and only rest once they know the job is completely done (despite knowing the work will never be done!)

Needless to say; the restaurant industry is only suitable for the most incredible types of people. 

Because it can be very rewarding to own a reputable and successful restaurant, many current owners are often looking to unique business practices improve their business. These practices certainly include regularly searching for ways to increase customer volume, but that doesn't have to be the only way to become successful.

 

What if we were to influence you to think more about streamlining you current business and improving your bottom line by not focusing solely on increasing the total number of covers each night?  

 

Please visit our website (www.visiontenandten.com) and follow the link to learn more about the development of the VenWatch, Optic Recognition; Restaurant Invoice Management software platform.

 

We are sure that you'll agree that there are many ways to improve the way you own and run your restaurants.  Some are obvious and easy to implement, while others require an owner with sufficient time on their hands.  Needless to say, we appreciate that time is of the essence in this industry; and that as a result, this renders most "business improving ideas" generally worthless to those who need them the most.  

 

Let Vision Ten & Ten, and the VenWatch Software save you time!!!

 

As a team dedicated to improving business efficiencies, our goal is to deliver weekly blogs that will help many restaurateurs look at their operations differently.  Hopefully an idea or two makes it into your bag of tricks with the help of VenWatch!!

Authored by,

Your Vision Ten & Ten Guys; Dom and Dan