Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Sales & Marketing

Preparing your Cafe and Restaurant for the 2020 Recession

February 29, 2020 No Comments

The last time we had an impact like this in Australia was back in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks in New York. Then there was the Global Financial Crisis in 2007 – 2009, which affected Australia to some extent, but a rapid economic response by the government stopped it from having the effect here that it had elsewhere. I wrote a fairly lengthy article back in 2001, with advice on how to manage the effects

Read More »

Taking the Stress & Shame Out of Self Promotion

February 24, 2020 No Comments

Where did we learn that self promotion is a bad thing, and why do we accept that as the truth? Marie Forleo feels you should feel ashamed if you don’t promote your skills and achievements. This should resonate with people in hospitality – by definition most of us have to be ‘out there’ with the public and promoting the next event, tomorrow’s lunch or just an extra round of coffees. In many small operations, the

Read More »
Event Management

Event Management & Booking Systems for Restaurant and Function Venues

January 20, 2020 No Comments

Most event management systems are now cloud-based, and have become an integral part of planning and organising weddings, special dinners, parties and catering. The Main Event Management Systems in Australia Priava – ‘a purpose-built enterprise venue and event management booking system in the cloud for managing all types of venue and event bookings. All the complexities involved with multi-venue availability, event logistics, catering, equipment and resource requirements, and the delivery of those services are all

Read More »

How to ask your Member of Parliament for financial help or to change a policy…

January 7, 2020 No Comments

Tourism and hospitality are reeling from fires, drought and the COVID-19 crisis – the effects on small business are catastrophic. That means a lot less employment, no-one investing in new equipment, and a lot less money in the economy. A recession is already here. It’s time for much more government financial support for small business operators in Australia – on the scale of what was done after the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) in 2007-9. Through

Read More »
Coffee Retailing

How to do Coffee Retailing properly if you sell Speciality Coffee…

January 4, 2020 No Comments

I highly recommend you follow Dublin café owner Colin Harmon on Instagram, and in this short video he shows off all the Christmas gifts you can buy at his cafe – a master at coffee retailing. I heard him speak a couple of years ago in Sydney, and he was fierce on the value of adding good retail to your mix if you sell specialty coffee – he said up to 25% (!) of their

Read More »

The Restaurant Management Blogs I’m Finding Most Useful…

August 17, 2018 No Comments

Have to admit I’m an information glutton, and part of my job as Community Manager at Silver Chef is to keep employees updated on what’s happening in the wider hospitality community. Generally I prefer to follow blogs and twitter, instead of receiving email newsletters – here are the ones I find most useful at the minute. And I’m very open to suggestions… Aaron Allen, Quantified Marketing Group – blogging on restaurant marketing internationally Jim Sullivan of

Read More »
Hospitality Thought Leader

Simple Ways to be a ‘Hospitality Thought Leader’ and Build Your Reputation

May 8, 2018 No Comments

A recent comment on LinkedIn got me thinking: “LinkedIn is an amazing B2B lead generating tool, but if you are not actively reaching out to prospects and showcasing your thought leadership through regular posting it’s unlikely that you will generate any quality leads…” ‘Thought Leader’ – I can’t say I love the term, but I realised there are many ways to share ideas and observations, so people become interested in your experience and opinions. You

Read More »
LinkedIn for Restaurants

Make LinkedIn More Effective: for Chefs, Restaurant Managers & Owners

April 26, 2018 No Comments

Want to be taken seriously as a professional? A good LinkedIn profile is essential, and this means more than just dumping your CV into a new location. LinkedIn for Restaurants, Cafes and Foodservice can be a powerful marketing channel. People who want to know more about you for a job, as a referee or even for a presenting opportunity will always Google your name. Your LinkedIn profile will appear high up on the first search

Read More »

Invisible? How to Stop Customers Forgetting Your Restaurant

February 19, 2018 1 Comment

Unless you’re a major industry icon, or they’ve visited 5 times, most people don’t remember your business name… True story: 2 people in café, one on the phone. She looks at her friend and asks ‘what’s the name of this place?’…and the friend doesn’t know! Worse, there was nothing inside the café to tell them – no signs, nothing on the table or staff uniforms. Future business lost for sure. Before you go spending big

Read More »

How to Celebrate the Smart Women At Your Restaurant on International Women’s Day

February 6, 2018 No Comments

Use International Women’s Day on 8th March to celebrate staff and customers. There are many simple ways to mark the occasion, and you’ll get top marks for showing you notice and care – this is marketing with a heart. Women hold up half the sky, and as visitors and workers, at least half of your business… Make it a week not just a day – there’s plenty to talk about, leading up to 8th March.

Read More »

Recent Highlights: