A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. Next week, I will spend a day observing the operations of a bakery in Brookline. The owner wants …
A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. Every time I run into Chris Douglas, chef/owner of Tavolo and Ashmont Grill in Dorchester, he’s talking about one of …
I started working with a new client last week who wants to re-energize his business. In our initial meeting, I asked him his goals for the strategic audit. He replied, “I want to make a profit.” I responded, “How will …
Last week I attended a farmer to farmer conference put on by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. During the lunch break, I listened in on a conversation between two farmers discussing the challenges of selling to restaurants.
Over the last few months, I spoke with micro-lenders – ACCION USA and The Carrot Project. The story is the same: they have capital to lend, but are having trouble finding “qualified” borrowers.If you are seeking financing to start or grow …
A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly “Food Consulting” Newsletter. Click here to receive the newsletter by email. The prevalence of social media has created new, low-cost marketing tools for the entrepreneur. It also presents challenges …
Every March and August, restaurants in the Boston-area offer discounted prix-fixe menus as a way to lure customers into the restaurant as part of the well-promoted restaurant week. While it doesn’t cost anything for a restaurant to participate in restaurant …
Samantha’s (the name has been masked, as the company was recently sold to a new owner) was a local food service company with retail cafes in the financial district of Boston. They catered to the lunch-time crowd with salads, soups …
Perhaps it’s a sign of a recovering economy: entrepreneurs are opening new businesses. Lydia Shire and Jasper White’s new restaurant, Towne Stove and Spirit opened this summer at the Hynes Convention Center. Farmers Juan Mendez and Andrew Rebula, broke ground at their …
Recently, I was reading the autobiography of an entrepreneur. He described the demise of his gift catalog business: “Finally, after the program grew so that it produced revenue of three-quarters of a million dollars and only cost us approximately $750,000, …