The Gray Cat Blog
A comprehensive collection of blogs designed to assist small business owners and multi-unit operators.
Whether this is your first industry convention or you are a seasoned pro, I am a firm believer that establishing a well-thought out plan in advance of attending an industry convention is...
Growing your enterprise can usually be accomplished following two paths: a) organic growth – the process of building your overall portfolio of stores through the development of ground-up...
“The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.”
– George Jessel
What is it about public speaking that drives...
The debate has gone on for many years–should you implement an existing branded foodservice program or are you better off developing your own unique proprietary brand? This answer...
Evaluating new sites for the multi-unit operator can be a daunting task. The operator is constantly chasing a number of potential opportunities only to have a few select sites come to...
One of the most interesting activities that I have been involved with regarding branding is called a Semantic Differential exercise. It is important to delineate salient attributes that form the...
Operational excellence is a retail buzzword that often gets glossed over. Retailers talk the talk, but often miss on walking the walk. Operational excellence has a singular focus: the customer. The...
Last week, I sat through a meeting with one of my clients where we discussed the infamous question of “who are we?” that faces every retailer. As retailers grow – both in store...
The concept of vertically integrating your brand message is clearly not new. Companies for years have embraced the concept that if you are going to communicate a brand message, it is best to...
Come on, admit it. You wish you were a better networker. Fear not, it is time to unleash your inner networker.
Networking is one part art and one part discipline and while there is more than one...
“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into...
Foodservice operators have long wrestled with the challenge of balancing the demand for increased menu options by customers with that of menu simplification. While a focus on systems and procedures...
