678: Stacey Poon-Kinney on Volume Hides Everything

As a descendant of restaurant operators Stacey Poon-Kinney caught the restaurant bug early. After 8 years of managing a restaurant chain, Stacey and her father took over Megan's Cafe in 2007. After a successful 2 year run, Stacey decided to rebrand to The Trails Eatery and expanded the restaurant footprint to twice the size, but her success was followed by near-total failure in 2011. On the edge of losing total hope, Stacey reached out to the Food Network and Robert Irvine's Restaurant Impossible for help and the rest is history. Check out Episode 641 with Greg Scheinman as mentioned in today's episode! Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra: "The magic is in the details." In today's episode with Stacey Poon-Kinney we will discuss: Growing up in kitchens Connection through food The value of money and hard work Valuable lessons learned at big franchises Volume hides everything Mentors When it is and is not appropriate to flip out on your team Structure in the kitchen Being pregnant in a managerial role in the kitchen Taking over an existing restaurant Get tax records if you're taking over restaurants Butts in seats earns money Regulars are key to success Always look for a lesson in bad situations Community is no longer spacial Applying to Restaurant Impossible for help and what that's like The importance of insurance Water damage and how to deal with it Dealing with a break-in Fear is a great motivator POS customer service Today's sponsor: BentoBox empowers restaurants to own their presence, profits and relationships. The hospitality platform disrupts third-party services that come between the restaurant and the guest. BentoBox puts the restaurant first and offers tools that drive high-margin revenue directly through the restaurant's website. BentoBox is trusted and loved by over 5,000 restaurants worldwide including Union Square Hospitality Group, Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, Lilia and more. Restaurant365 is a cloud-based, all-in-one, restaurant-specific accounting and back-office platform that seamlessly integrates with POS systems, payroll providers, food and beverage vendors. It generates accurate real-time reporting and analysis in user-friendly dashboards, facilitating immediate, data-driven decision making. Restaurant365 eliminates manual, error-prone processes and is designed to help restaurant businesses grow with functionality that helps optimize labor costs, reduce food costs and increase revenue. Foodager and Bevager have reinvented hospitality management. With these tools, you'll lower your food cost by up to 5% on your kitchen inventory and lower your pour cost by up to 10% on your bar purchasing. Don't forget the 30 hours of labor you'll save each month. Additionally, Bevager and Foodager integrate with countless POS and accounting software. To learn more head to bevager.com/unstoppable or foodager.com/unstoppable. Knowledge bombs Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success? Communications What is your biggest weakness? Communication What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview? Kindness, consideration, a sense of humor What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it? Time Management Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team. Vintage hospitality What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff? Challenge staff to remember three new names of customers What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM  Name one service you've hired. Way Front marketing in San Diego What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your restaurant walls and how has it influence operations? ToDoist list making service Yelp Nowait Toast POS Insight Timer meditation app 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? Live from your heart Ask questions Say thank you Contact info: Website: www.thetrailseatery.com Instagram personal: @spkcooks Instagram business: @thetrailseatery Facebook: @TheTrailsEatery Twitter: @TheTrailsEatery 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! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post. Also, please leave an honest review for the Restaurant Unstoppable Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. Huge thanks to Stacey Poon-Kinney for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!   Restaurant Unstoppable is a free podcast. One of the ways I'm able to make it free is by earning a commission when sharing certain products with you. I've made it a core value to only share tools, resources, and services my guest mentors have recommend, first. If you're finding value in my podcast, please use my links!