FastUpFront

Because such a large percentage of small businesses are restaurants, I would like to make a dedicated series of posts to running a successful restaurants. There will be a post for this series about once every week or two. Please request specific topics via the comments form of this post.

Two of the many points which contribute to restaurant success are: ambiance and marketing. The menu design is an opportunity to hit both of these points in one place. In fact, experts say that an effective menu design can increase profits up to 10%.

There are a few for options for restaurant owner/mangers when they are deciding how to go about designing their menu:

On Their Own:

• Some restaurant owner/managers are happy just using MS Word or Excel to put together a simple menu which they then print out and either leave as plain paper, laminate, or put into menu jackets.
• Although this method is the cheapest, getting the layout right can be very time consuming. Often the final product leaves a lot to be desired.

Menu Templates:

• There are specially designed menu templates available for restaurant owner/managers to input their menu into. These are already formatted and have places for you to add graphics. They also have graphics you can choose from.
• Menu templates are great if you already know exactly what order you want to lay out your menu in. They are a big time saver and will make a finished product which will improve your restaurant’s image.

Full-service Menu Design:

• There is also the option of having your menu professionally designed by a company like The Menu Maker. They have special techniques and design tricks to make your menus image enhancing ‘eye candy’ which can skillfully direct customers to certain items.
• This is pricier, but most restaurants that use it are very happy with the result and find that it pays for itself in image reinforcement, marketing, and in encouraging sales of the more profitable dishes.

Graphic Designer/Ad Agency:

• Some restaurant managers decide that they want to go with a professional graphic designer, or use the same agency which they may be using for their other marketing and ad needs.
• The plus here is that the agency will be able to easily streamline the menu with the other marketing efforts. Also, it means dealing with fewer vendors (as opposed to using an agency for mailers, etc and a menu design firm for menus).
• However, generally designers at these companies work on many projects other than menus; therefore, they may not be as “expert” as those at menu design companies. Additionally, it can often be more expensive, because they don’t have all the menu resources which a menu-dedicated design agency will have at its disposal.

The decision you make regarding how, and through whom, you design your menu can have a big effect on your bottom line – so make sure you think about all the issues before you invest time and money in your design.

The trend to “go green” has been leaving its footprint in countless industries. Small businesses that typically have limited resources to invest in things like renewable energy or environmental business consultants can still have a positive effect on the environment without making a huge investment of time or money. Here is a “how-to” for small businesses looking to give to the environment.Operating in the Green

Running and maintaining a green business depends on operating with good habits. These small changes can go a long way…

1. Reduce waste:

• Look for ways to reduce the use of paper in your business’ internal and external communications by, for example, setting your printer to automatically print double-sided, switching from a fax machine to a fax modem to send and receive paperless documents, using electronic forms whenever possible, and emailing letters and documents to be read online rather than printed out. Also make sure to review your company’s mailing lists.

• Recycle or refill the ink cartridges in your printer. Many stores, such as Office Max or Staples, will either recycle your old cartridges or refill them.

• Provide washable china and utensils for your employees so they do not have to use plasticware or styrofoam cups. Encourage your employees to bring lunch from home in reusable containers or frequent restaurants that offer green packaging.

2. Conserve resources:

• Whenever you purchase new office equipment, such as printers, scanners, fax machines, and telephones, be sure it is Energy Star rated.

• Set computers on “standby” or in “hibernation” mode when they have not been accessed for more than 10 minutes.

• Acquire a laptop computer as opposed to a new desktop to cut your energy usage up to 80%.

• Plug all office equipment into power strips that can be turned off at night. Most computers and office machines draw a “phantom load” of electricity even when they are turned off.

• Use motion sensors and time switches to turn the lights on and off in offices and restrooms.

• Use programmable thermostats and time switches to regulate the heat and air conditioning in your office.

• Save on water with faucets that automatically shut off as well as water conserving toilets.

• Make use of as much daylight as you can. Where natural lighting is not adequate, change your old fluorescent light fixtures to new T-8s with energy efficient ballasts. Change all other incandescent light fixtures to CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) or LEDs (light emitting diodes).

3. Dispose of waste responsibly. Establish a recycling program in your business. Set up bins to collect scrap paper for reuse. Recycle aluminum cans, glass, cardboard, office paper and newsprint. Make sure to also dispose of your old equipment responsibly. You could bring these items to an E-Waste facility or take advantage of manufacturer take-back programs.

4. Use eco-friendly supplies. Purchase products that will make little enviromental impact, such as non-toxic cleaning materials, post-consumer recycled paper and biodegradable plates, cups and utensils.

Cultivating Your Corporate Culture

In order to successfully run a green business, you need your employees’ active participation and commitment.

1. Develop an environmental policy. Create a policy that clearly outlines your business’ environmental goals and objectives, and make sure to go over this policy with your employees.

2. Form a Green Team. Bring together a group of employees from different areas of your business who will be responsible for evaluating and identifying environmental projects and promoting these projects to the rest of your employees.

3. Encourage continual education. Provide employees with the opportunity to attend environmentally focused events and to be a part of networks, such as Young Environmental Professionals, where they can learn about green workplace initiatives and develop connections among other business professionals and green leaders.

4. Create a space for employees to share ideas. Set up a company-wide listserve, or provide suggestion boxes, so that employees can voice their ideas and opinions on enviromental projects.

5. Recognize employee contribution. Make sure to establish a system for reward and recognition among those employees who participate in your environmental initiatives and offer helpful suggestions

and ideas.

Creating Green Space

Your physical surroundings can create a positive effect on the environment… and your mood.

1. Bring in plants and small trees. Adding foliage, such as spider plants, English Ivy, Warneki, and Ficus, to your workplace brings beauty while simultaneously improving the indoor air quality.

2. Harvest the sun. Where possible, configure your workspace so that the greatest number of people have access to daylight. You can do this be relocating private space to the interior and designating the space next to the windows as common areas.

3. Get LEED certification. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is designed to promote operations and maintenance protocols that reduce energy consumption and water usage, and improves the indoor environment. LEED certification also gives third-party recognition that sustainable results have been achieved.

Green Travel

According to the US Bureau of Travel Statistics, Americans make an estimated 405 million long-distance business trips each year. Fortunately, there are several ways to minimize the environment impact of doing business on the road.

1. Seek alternative means of transportation. Encourage employees to take the train or bus to work. If public transportation does not reach your business, then create a ride-share board so employees can carpool.

2. Allow for flextime. One way to save energy while keeping your employees happy is to be flexible with the hours employees come in to work. For example, by switching from an eight hours, five days a week to 10 hours, four days a week, commuting gets reduced 20%.

3.Use hybrids and biodiesal. If your business requires a fleet of vehicles, such as delivery trucks, vans or company cars, then purchase hybrids or use biodiesel instead of regular gasoline.

4. Encourage telecommuting and teleconferencing. Choose remote meeting methods and allow where possible for work to be done at home.

5. Frequent green businesses. Seek out and research green hotels, green restaurants (avoid take out and fast food packaging) green car rental agencies, and airlines that have economically friendly business practices that mitigate the environmental impact of traveling.

Check out Rachel Walker’s response to this article.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the supposed benefits of the of the US/ Iraq war, with many bemoaning the economic impact of its astronomical cost. According to the Congressional Research Service, the Iraqi war has cost Americans over $500 billion dollars. In 2007, the US budget for the war came to $4,988/Iraqi, the equivalent of spending $121,000 per person in the US! And recently, Joseph Stiglitz a former Nobel Prize winning economist and economic advisor to President Bill Clinton, published a book claiming that the war in Iraq is a central cause in the America’s economic slowdown.

As the US death toll hovers around 4,000, it may be hard to imagine how anyone could really be “benefiting” from this war. But the nature of the world is that in every conflict, someone somewhere is benefiting So who are the top gainers?

• Members of congress. Guess which top lawmakers have personally invested funds in companies that are raking in billions of dollars in defense contracts. It is currently estimated that over 150 members of Congress invested close to a quarter-billion dollars in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in FY 2006.

• CEO’s of Top Defense Contractors. According to the Institute for Policy Studies‘ Executive Excess 2007 report, the CEOs of some of the biggest defense contractors have been cashing in on the US/Iraq war since 9/11, even despite blatant failures in performance.

• Corporate America. An extensive conglomerate of security companies, oil producers, and businesses involved in various facets of reconstruction and infrastructure are all benefiting from the Iraqi war despite the rising costs of doing business there.

With so many people, in such key positions benefiting from the Iraqi war it is no wonder why it has yet to end.

The first rule of manipulation in general, but especially at work is: Be Subtle. The moment others consider you to be manipulative, they will dissect everything you say and do in order to protect themselves from being manipulated. In order to be effective, you must have the trust of those you want to influence.

Environment: Your work space should be, clean and very well balanced. Not too many personal pictures, but one or two are good. At least one should be of you with a close friend or a dog (shows loyalty and implies you aren’t completely self centered). A healthy plant is good, and sickly plant is very bad.

Dress: Wear professional clothes, preferably dark in color. Dark colors are perceived as more powerful. If you need to know how someone is feeling, or want them to be more open with you, it is better to wear lighter, pastel colors.

Refreshments: A recent study showed that people will think more warmly about you if they are holding something warm while talking to you and looking at you. So, offer a cup of tea or coffee.

Conversation: Casual mention, in a positive light, someone who you know the other person holds in great esteem. It is best to do this at a time when it isn’t OBVIOUS that you know the other person’s feelings. If you are in your boss’ office and they have a picture of Reagan, you don’t say: I like Reagan. Later, when you are standing in the hallway together, you can quote Reagan to make your point.

If you don’t want to be manipulative, and still want to get your way, you can use my three rules: be polite, stand firm and be helpful.

In today’s economy even the banks need to find creative ways to fund business loans!

Whether you have your own business, or just your own work space, here are some good things to avoid when decorating at work:

Uncouth photos. You don’t need to remind your coworkers that there is a much-less-professional side to you. Family photos are great, but avoid swimsuit shots (even if you are hot, but especially if you are not).

Dead/Dying plants. Aside from being ugly, sick plants don’t do much for demonstrating your competence. If you can’t even remember to water a plant, what does that say about your responsibility? Plants are great, but make sure they stay healthy. If they aren’t, take them home until they get better.

Fresh Flowers. As pretty as flowers are, many people have allergies. So, before you sign up for the “boquet of the week”, check with coworkers to make sure that no one has serious allergies.

Clutter/Toys. A few cute items are fine if you work in a “creative environment.” Don’t go overboard. As fun as it seems, it will most likely distract you and make you less productive.

Tacky Posters. Stay away. Stay far, far away.

There are many issues that can hold people back in life and at work. Problems that are often discussed include lack of skills, brains, social aptitude, and organization. As detrimental as these issues can be, there is a greater evil waiting in the dark corners of the office (and at home): the Procrastination Beast.

There are many methods of conquering this sly creature and, in order to trick the Procrastination Beast, it is often best to combine and switch methods. Here are some tacticts.

Guerrilla Warfare.

One tactic which is almost always helpful is to literally hide. Turn off your cell phone, don’t check your email and close the door to your office (if you have one). If you are in a cubicle, you can make use of a Do Not Disturb sign. This method overlaps with the stick method, because it means you don’t get to turn on your phone/facebook/whatever until you finish working.

You can also work on a different project you have been procrastinating as a method of appeasing the Beast. At least that way you get something done.

A third guerrilla tactic is to do something marginally useful, not at all related to what you are procrastinating, and to tell yourself that at specific benchmarks in that project, you’ll take a few chips out of the project which the Beast is guarding. Because you are busy with something, the Beast isn’t paying close attention and won’t notice if you make a quick, short attack.

The Carrot.

Reward yourself! There are 2 main methods of doing this. The pre-reward and the post-reward.

The pre-reward only works if you are intellectually honest and/or come from a guilt-ridden culture (Judaism, Catholocism, etc). In this scenario, you get yourself the prize (chocolate, playstation, blackberry, new book, etc.) and possibly even use it, and then you HAVE to do the work you have been pushing off.

The post-reward system is more conventional. Basically, you make an agreement with yourself that IF you do the work by such and such a time, THEN you get X, Y, or Z (or all of them). It is very important that the “such and such a time” part is in the contract. The procrastination beast is very, very clever and will continue procrastinating until it hits a deadline. The hope is that the deadline will electrocute the beast.

The Stick.

Now, unless you are into that sort of thing, you don’t actually beat yourself with a stick. And, come to think of it, that might not work as a deterrent if you are into it.

This method only works if you are intellectually honest. The stick is representative of punishment. Basically, you set a time by which point you must have started working in earnest. If you haven’t started working by then, then you don’t get to go on your date Friday night (this only works if you actually want to go). It is best to set multiple benchmarks, to help keep your momentum until you actually finish the project.

Now some might say that the “stick” is naturally in place at work: If you don’t do your work, you get fired. However, that is a very theoretical stick with lots of holes and very dependent on the mood of everyone involved, and what their lawyers let them do. If you know that you will conscientiously use the stick when needed, then it works much better to have a specific punishment goading you along.

Fight on, valiant knights!

The following is a short list of successful businesses that highlight some of the problems of modern society. We are not personally attacking the companies and businesses listed here, we are simply pointing out some of the questions one might ask about the society that creates a demand for such services and products.

1) Miss Bimbo.

 

This is online game where young girls, from the age of 7, compete to become the “hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the whole world” is being forced to make some changes.  They were giving advice to girls to “stop at nothing,” even “meds or plastic surgery,” when trying to make their bimbos win. Nicolas Jacquart, the London man who created Miss Bimbo was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying: “It is not a bad influence for young children. They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals are morally sound and teach children about the real world.”

Due to recent pulicity, they are rewriting the rules of the game – but this still doesn’t say a lot for today’s moral code.

2) Rapex

Rape has become so common in South Africa, that a controversial new device has been invented to combat it:  Rapex.  This is basically a female condom with sharp ‘teeth’ lining the inside of it.  Feminists are enraged because they consider it a reversal to the days of the chastity belt – putting the responsibility on the victim as opposed to on the rapist. 

What do I say?  Don’t piss off your girlfriend or she might just think this is a good way to get even.

3) PamperedPuppy

 

Pampered puppy is just a magazine/e-zine and a good one at that. The site itself is good, what concerns me is the HUGE quantity of business there is around the Accessory Dog. I don’t mean the “accessorized dog”. It is fairly obvious to me that the dog’s themselves are accessories. It is basically the same as the “Miss Bimbo” game, except with an actual creature. Truthfully, I’m not that concerned about the dog either. It just bothers me that people spend so much money and affection on animals when there are so many children in need of help. Where are our priorities?

4) Hitler Action Figure

 

And it is only $400. 

5) Babysitter Cameras 

 

Unfortunately, society is full of bad guys.  And, unfortunately, our children are incredibly vulnerable.  Nanny cams have been around for a while, but they have recently become much more affordable and, therefore, more popular.  Not just for catching child abuse, the cameras can be used to check and see if your kids are just being put in front of the boob tube all day.

I have a question for parents out there:  If you have time to watch the video from these cameras, why don’t you have time to be with your kids?

6) Miss Teen USA.

Now, I have nothing strongly against Miss Teen USA. But it provides a unique opportunity to look at the quality of America’s upcoming finest role models:

Know of any others that should be listed here? Post in comments and I’ll check it out.

When we were renovating our new house a few years ago, I insisted that we make a home office for my use. It would have a separate outdoor entrance (in addition to an entrance from the hall). I wanted it to have extra insulation so as to protect me from noise distraction. It needed space for a big desk near a window and of course all the electrical/internet hookups. A wall fan was a must. A sofa finished it off to make sure I had a comfortable place to take breaks.

Perfect.

When we moved, I discovered that the office was the very best place to keep boxes I had yet to unpack. And the luggage. And the portable closet. And the books we were embarrassed to let the neighbors see (bad science fiction and the like). Whenever my husband came home from work, he would find me diligently working… on his laptop at the kitchen table, or in my bed. At the beginning, it was understood that this was just temporary, until we unpacked. Then, the dirty looks started. Then, “Isn’t this what we built the office for?” Finally, he simply refused to call the laptop his, and would occasionally mutter under his breath – wondering why we had invested in setting up an office.

Eventually, the day of judgment came: My mother-in-law was coming to visit. I knew she would neither be impressed by the messy office which was impossible to enter, nor by my taking up the kitchen table with laptop, papers, work, etc while the children were eating. I knew I would have to do something.

My 8 step clean-up technique:

Step 1: Pre-reward myself by eating some ice cream. If I do this, I feel guilty if I don’t actually clean up.

Step 2: Take everything (except furniture) out of the room. Leave it in the hallway until step 6.

Step 3: Unplug all equipment and organize the wires, using those neat twisty-ties from sliced bread bags to tie them together.

Step 4: Clean. (Mop, scrub, dust, etc.)

Step 5: Put back anything that is completely necessary, and relevant to the office.

Step 6: Decorate. Check out my article on Office Decorating No Nos.

Step 7: Sit in the hallway with 4 boxes. Throw garbage into one box and sort the other things into the other boxes.

Step 8: Eat ice cream to celebrate having cleaned the office.

Ever since that day, I use my office to work. I put my husband’s laptop away somewhere, and I haven’t seen it for a month. But… as I look around while I’m writing this, I see it might be time to go through the 8-step plan again. The only problem? I’m out of ice cream.

Working more than 20-hours per week will start to have an effect on your grades, but whether you are looking for more money, more experience, or both, working for 10-15 hours/week can help you out a lot when you are in University.

Studies show that half of the students who work while in college do it either in retail/sales or in food service. However, I think that a student’s best bet is in the following areas:

1) Receptionist. Although the pay isn’t great, you are often being paid to just sit there. During your slow time, most employers don’t mind if you do homework as long as you are alert.

2) With a Professor in your area of study. Through your univerisity and in separate ventures, many professors are looking for students to do the boring parts of their work, or to help out on studies. When I was in undergraduate, I used to help with an economic professor’s behavioral studies, and he paid me well above minimum wage. But, even when this option doesn’t pay a lot, it can be great. It is [particularly good for your resume and/or if you want to continue in academia.

3) Paid Internship. More and more internships these days are paid. Even 10 years ago, when I started out as a Theatre major, I was able to find a paid internship. The big plus was that I got school credit for the internship, a weekly stipend, and an room in an apartment. Later, I was able to get an internship in PR for a few bucks above minimum wage. Both of these internships got me money, experience and school credit. That is a hard combination to beat.

4) Nighttime Baby-Sitter. Before wrinkling your nose at the mention of babysitting, remember that many parents like to put their kids to sleep themselves before going out. They are willing to pay a premium for a responsible, mature college student, as opposed to a teenage brat who might do who knows what with her boyfriend while the kids are asleep. Many parents are even happy if you sleep on the sofa if they are out. Whether you sleep, or do homework, you are basically getting paid to do what you should be doing anyway.