1085: Lauren Bailey, Co-Founder/CEO of Upward Projects Restaurant Group

Lauren Bailey is the CEO and Co-Founder of Upward Projects, based out of Phoenix, AZ. Lauren knew she wanted to be a restaurateur while mixing a drink at a bar on Martha's Vineyard in her early 20's. She got a job at PF Chang's when that concept had only 2 locations. She then returned to her hometown of Phoenix and began working in fine dining restaurants, and she even worked with Sam Fox Restaurant Concepts. She finally opened her first restaurant, Postino, with her business partner Craig Demarco. Today Upward Projects has 32 restaurants in 10 cities across 5 states with 1,900 employees. The company hit 100 million dollars in sales last year.  Favorite success quote/mantra: "The brain works really well at talking you out of things, so you need to talk yourself into things." In this episode we will discuss:  Entrepreneurialism Opening restaurants Scaling FOH Business coaches Partnerships Raising capital AND MORE! Today's sponsors: Restaurant Technologies the company that helps restaurants, "Control the kitchen chaos." With RT's total oil management, you get: Dependable fresh bulk cooking oil delivery; Filtration + oil usage monitoring and reporting; Used cooking oil pick-up, and recycling; And say goodbye to messy, dangerous restaurant rendering tanks-yuck. RT's end-to-end cooking oils solution helps you manage your used cooking oil storage, collection, and recycling- conveniently, safely, and cleanly- with no upfront costs. Head to www.RTI-inc.com, and let them know the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast sent you their way. MarginEdge: Boost your efficiency and profitability without adding labor costs. MarginEdge is a complete restaurant management software that allows you to seamlessly manage all aspects of your business from one central location. Track food costs in real time, make inventory faster and less tedious, easily cost out your recipes, and get a daily P&L so you always know where you stand. See how it works at marginedge.com/unstopabble. National Council for Mental Health and Wellbeing -  Create healthier, more engaged employees with Mental Health First Aid at Work for Restaurants. This training teaches employees how to recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health or substance use challenges. It's trusted by leading companies, offers flexible training options to adapt to the often- unpredictable restaurant and food services environments, and it's developed and delivered by experts. Visit MentalHealthFirstAid.org/Restaurants to learn more OR use this link: CLICK HERE Restaurant Systems Pro - Join the 60-day Restaurant Systems Pro FREE TRAINING. This is something that has never been done before. This 60-day event is at no cost to you, but it is not for everyone. Fred Langley, CEO of Restaurant Systems Pro, will lead a group of restaurateurs through the Restaurant Systems Pro software and set up the systems for your restaurant. During the 60 days, Fred will walk you through the Restaurant Systems Pro Process and help you crush the following goals: Recipe Costing Cards; Guidance in your books for accounting; Cash controls; Sales Forecasting(With Accuracy); Checklists; Budgeting for the entire year; Scheduling for profit; More butts in seats and more… Click Here to learn more. Contact the guest: Website:https://upwardprojects.com/  Instagram: @laurenbailylb Thanks for listening! Rate the podcast, subscribe, and share!  We are on Youtube: @RestaurantUnstoppable