Take a look at the video of the day in the life at Filta. It was recorded on the Friday of a recent traning course. See the people in the office, some new Franchise Owners in training and the famous training BBQ.

Nobody was injured (or taken to hospital with food poisoning) during the making of this movie.

The BFA (British Franchise Association) posted the latest FiltaFry case study in the UK.  

The FiltaFry Franchise is an Assiciate Member of the BFA.

“Working for myself is fantastic!”

Shock redundancy hit former bindary technician Dean Martin when Norwich’s New Jarrold Printing closed in September 2006. However, turning lemons into lemonade, he used his new-found freedom to commit to a FiltaFry franchise.

“I was disappointed being made redundant, but I miss the people more than the work,” says Dean. “Working for myself is absolutely fantastic. The main benefit is being your own boss, choosing what hours you want to work and when. I just like being in control. I am dealing with the same customers on the same days each week and I like going out to look for more work to get more income. I’ve got a good rapport with the customers and I have got no one to answer to. It has turned out being made redundant was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

FiltaFry franchisees provide a cooking oil filtration service to restaurants and hotels. The national shortage of cooking oil and massive price increases mean that FiltaFry’s environmentally friendly service, which prolongs the life of cooking oil, is in high demand. “I have built the business up from basically nothing to working Monday to Friday, with around 30 clients,” says Dean. “I could get more if I wanted too, if I started earlier in the mornings or worked later at night. The major bonus of this business is that there is no competition or any other business coming close to what I do in East Anglia. There are no other businesses doing what I do in East Anglia.”

Thanks to Franchise Direct, franchising is going green.

As businesses continue to embrace environmentally-friendly practices, the franchising industry has witnessed the recent growth in green franchises. As such, Franchise Direct, the world’s leading portal for franchise opportunities, is proud to announce the launch its own line of green businesses. Eco-conscious business practice represents the way forward and Franchise Direct is looking to provide the entrepreneurial world with a green injection.

The reasons for a green conversion are bountiful. The world can no longer sit idly by and expect the earth’s resources to replenish themselves. And while necessity drives the engine of environmentally-friendly commerce, profit is still part of the equation. The truth is, the time is coming is when environmentally-friendly practice will be the exception, not the rule, for small business owners. Innovative entrepreneurs are developing their green businesses at the moment and Franchise Direct has decided to provide them with platform for global success.

With Franchise Direct’s green franchises, entrepreneurs will be provided with a vast range of business opportunities linked together by a common commitment towards saving energy and utilising green energy methods. As the green marketplace continues to expand, Franchise Direct will be the central resource for this franchising sector, fostering the gradual evolution of the industry.

Take, for example, a company like Filtafry. In 1996, Filtagroup launched the Filtafry brand, after pioneering a cleaner oil filtration technique. Filtafry gained attention from restaurant owners immediately because it provided a more economical approach to oil filtration. Its environmental impact, however worthy, was something of a secondary concern. But Filtrfry sensed that a market was developing and chose to continue investing in its line of environmentally-sustainable products. Thirteen years later and Filtafry is at the forefront of its industry and living proof that green businesses can also be profitable ones.

The Franchise Filtafry is just one of the exciting environmentally-conscious companies that Franchise Direct now provides access to. There are also green opportunities with pizza, home cleaning and indoor air cleaning businesses with Franchise Direct. And this is only the tip of the franchising iceberg. As the marketplace responds to the present environmental challenges, green franchises like Filtafry will become more and more essential to commercial activities. You can be guaranteed that Franchise Direct will be on hand to provide entrepreneurs with direct access to the most innovative green businesses.

As the success of a company like Filtafry illustrates, there’s no stopping a unique entrepreneurial idea. If you’re an investor look to ride the crest of the green wave to financial success or if you have a sustainable business concept that’s ready to thrive on a national level, let Franchise Direct act as your conduit to profitability and business growth.

Author Information

Diana Thurmann
Franchise Direct

Filta Franchisees, throughout the world, provide the FiltaFry service to hundreds of top hotels. 

From Hiltons to Sheratons, Ws to RIUs, Filta helps them achieve their green credentials by recycling their oil. The latest hotel to take on the service is the amazing Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. 

Filta’s President, Jason Sayers, says “We service hotels in over 20 countries throughout the world.  Dwayne (franchise owner) claims that the Atlantis is the nicest we have.  Well I know some guys from the UK, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, and other countries where we service who will argue they have some better.  However, there’s no disputing the fact that the Atlantis is one of the great hotels in the world.”

Filta’s Booth (5360) was busy during the NRA tradeshow and convention in the Windy City. 

It was nice to meet so many existing Filta customers – some as far away as Panama – hello Omar!  It was a really good showing for Filta, and we decided it was the perfect place to unveil a 7’ cutout of the bad oil fighting superhero FiltaMan. 

FiltaMan was designed as part of the creative direct mail campaign for the second half of this year.  Keep your eyes open for more sightings of FiltaMan and several other new characters coming soon.

The cartoon character “Mr Chris-P-Fry“, or “Mr Chris-P-Chip” as he was known in the UK, has had an update.

The new character, FiltaMan, is at the center of a new direct mail campaign set to go out during 2010. 

The first two mailers promote the FiltaFry service.  Initially, FiltaMan fights crime with his MFU with the headline ”Want to See Our Weapon of Mass Reduction?“  In a follow up, FiltaMan fights Evil Oil with the tagline “Bad Oil is Evil… Stop it!”.

Next the FiltaBio service mailer shows FiltaMan kicking away an old waste oil dumpster and, for those Filta aficionados out there, the updated Mr Chris-P-Fry is featured in the background. 

The final mailer promotes the FiltaCool service with FiltaMan combating “Frosty Stalker“  with the tagline “Stop Good Food Going Bad“.

If that wasn’t enough, a 7ft cardboard cut-out of FiltaMan has been made and is on display at the NRA Show in Chicago this coming weekend.

For now, FiltaMan is being limited to mailers and the show.  If FiltaMan is a real hit, you may see him in your area soon performing more kitchen crime fighting activities!

More Filta Franchise Owners complete their training at Filta’s USA headquarters in Orlando, FL.

These vans are ready to provide FiltaFry, FiltaCool and FiltaBio services.

Dane Sampson, 20 years old from Bristol explains how the head office franchise team at FiltaFry Plus have supported him and enabled him to achieve his short-term aims in 2 months! 

When I wanted the challenge of running my own business I decided that franchising was my best option. I chose to invest in a franchise because I wanted to own a business that already had an established reputation and could give me support if I needed it.

While researching into the franchise opportunities available FiltaFry really stood out because it was such a unique business. Also I felt that it had a good earning potential and would provide the opportunity to expand.

My franchise covers the Bristol territory and since launching in September 2009 my round is already half full. I have had no problems in getting customers and I found that the training I did prior to my launch had fully prepared me for the running of my business. The beauty of this franchise is the repeat business week-in, week-out with the same customers and you only need 35 to 40 customers to reach serious earning potential.

Within two months I managed to fulfil my short-term aim of having a full round. I am now concentrating on establishing my business and building a good relationship with my customers and in the future I might look at expanding.

Although it is more difficult being self-employed the skills I have learned running my franchise will stay with me for life. I feel that, being self-employed, anything is possible and the opportunities are endless.

I was only 20 when I took the leap to be my own boss and the support of the FiltaFry head office team has enabled me to develop the skills needed to be a successful business owner. If someone had told me when I left my job that I’d be doing all this for myself within a year, I’d never have believed it!

By Julia Bauer | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — When General Motors shut down its 36th Street stamping plant last year, maintenance supervisor Mark Ruhland figured it was time to be his own boss.

“I heard about (GM) jobs in Flint, but I loved Grand Rapids, and I started looking at what I could do,” said Ruhland, 49. “There’s a thousand restaurants in Grand Rapids, so I looked at what they had to service these restaurants.”

A year later, he has a circuit of area restaurants where he purifies cooking oil to double its useful life.

Although he deals with 350-degree fryer oil and works a five-and-a-half day week, with almost no holidays, he would “never, never, never” look back.

“What I like about this is: I know exactly what I have — it’s my business,” he said.

Ruhland is part of a national trend — men middle-aged and older who have lost their jobs in the Great Recession. Looking for the next chapter of their working life, they decide they want to go on their own.

About 80 percent of jobs lost nationwide in recent years were held by men. The reason is simple: manufacturing, construction and other male-dominated industries were the hardest hit.

Some chose to go back to school. Others sent out stacks of resumes for so-so jobs paying less than their previous job with fewer benefits.

No wonder, then, more people cut off in mid-career are choosing to go into business for themselves. At least the long hours and low pay are their call.

That’s what the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College found. Workers 50 and older are more likely than younger workers to be independent, self-employed workers, and 23 percent of mature workers laid off in the past year are considering their own business.

In Michigan, with the nation’s highest jobless rate, the number of people taking the entrepreneurial plunge is surging.

“Last year, we saw a huge jump” in start-ups, said Dante Villarreal, Region 7 director of the Small Business and Technology Development Corp. based in Grand Rapids.

One in three participants who take the agency’s Fast Track small business training end up launching a company, he said.

In Grand Rapids, Ruhland also is focused on the future — and growth.

His Filta franchise is a one-man operation, but he’s expanding into Lansing this spring, aiming eventually to employ three vans and workers.

Ruhland clearly believes in the technology and environmental benefit he brings to Van Andel Arena, Fifth Third Ballpark, McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon, Brann’s steakhouses and other busy fry sites in the Grand Rapids area.

“Everybody loves you. They like you because they don’t have to do the nastiest job in the kitchen.”

An estimated 28,000 teens in fast food jobs are rushed to emergency rooms each year after suffering nasty falls, hot grease burns, and other injuries.

Filta is always helping to reduce accidents in kitchens by taking away the risks to staff around the fryers.  This is an article from Caremark showing some of the many issues.

By Ann Pappert
CONSUMER HEALTH INTERACTIVE

As a young employee at McDonald’s, Tom Smith learned early that he would have to be careful with more than just flipping burgers. Although the restaurant enforced strict safety rules, one night while routinely cleaning the grill, Smith didn’t put on the insulated, fireproof gloves provided by the restaurant. When his arm slipped onto the grill, he sustained a nasty burn. “I thought I knew everything about cleaning, that I knew what I was doing, and I didn’t need to wear the gloves,” he recalls.

That was some ten years ago, but Smith, now an area supervisor for McDonald’s in Brooklyn, New York, still shares what he learned from that experience with his employees. “There’s a lot of repetition in these jobs, and it’s easy to become overconfident and take shortcuts that can lead to accidents,” he says. “I tell my workers that safety must be number one.” Smith, who is in his late twenties, has worked at McDonald’s since he was 16. As he talks, he glances over from time to time to the counter where his workers are filling orders industriously.

When things get busy, Smith, whose easy-going but no-nonsense manner fits right in with the rest of his crew, excuses himself to jump up and help his crew take drink orders or work the cash register.

Cathy Rivas, a college student working for Smith, says that her McDonald’s shift is great for students because the hours are flexible and Smith is happy to give her time off to study for exams. On any given day Rivas, who was working the counter during this reporter’s visit, may clear tables, sweep and mop the floor, scrub the bathroom, cook burgers and fries, and fill orders for soda and coffee. Because she’s performing multiple tasks, Rivas — like other fast-food workers — is exposed to numerous potential hazards. During an 8-hour day, she runs the risk of burning herself on a sizzling grill or fry basket, slipping and falling on a wet floor, or being exposed to harmful chemicals such as cleaning solvents. “They really emphasize safety here,” she says.

Safety is important in any job, but particularly so in the fast-food industry, where young and inexperienced workers abound. In fact, according to the National Restaurant Association, the fast-food industry is one of the largest employers of teens in the country, and many go on to senior positions. More than half of McDonald’s middle and senior managers started as fry cooks or other entry-level positions, and more than 50 percent of store owners began as crew members in a franchise. The fast-food industry also has one of the best records of promoting minorities.

But the industry has a troubling safety record. Of the 2.5 million teens working in the restaurant industry, the majority injured on the job are most likely to be working in fast-food outlets, according to a 1999 study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Collecting data from a sample of hospitals across the country over a two-year period, NIOSH estimated that emergency rooms treated about 44,800 injuries suffered by teenage restaurant workers. Of those injuries, an estimated 28,000 — a whopping 63 percent — took place in hamburger, pizza, or other fast-food establishments. Interestingly, most of the injuries occurred in hamburger restaurants (52.6 percent), as compared to pizza places (12.6 percent) and chicken or fish restaurants (11.7 percent).

The NIOSH study also determined that nearly half of the injuries involved hot grease and that more than half of the injuries from falls were caused by wet or greasy floors. Researchers further found that the type of injury varied according to gender. Of teens working in fast-food restaurants, males were more likely to have burns, lacerations, and other injuries related to cooking, while females were more likely to suffer sprains, strains, and contusions associated with cashiering and clearing tables.

Researchers have also found that teens working in fast-food restaurants are six times more likely to be burned than teens working in any other industry. According to the Burn Foundation, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, teens working as fry cooks in fast-food restaurants are at special risk for burn injuries.

Not every worker who accidentally burns himself is as lucky as Tom Smith, whose lesions were relatively minor. Investigating burns among restaurant workers in Colorado and Minnesota, researchers found that of the 71 teenagers in Minnesota who had had work-related burns, 31 suffered permanent scarring. (Of these injuries, 28 occurred in fast-food restaurants, and 14 of those accidents involved hot grease.) One 16-year-old crew cook in a Minnesota fast-food outlet was burned over much of his body as he was pushing a container of hot grease outside to filter it. As he reached the door, the container slipped and the lid popped off, spilling the scalding grease all over him.

According to the Burn Foundation, burns are likely to occur when workers ignore safety rules, are pressed for time and take shortcuts, or when they become too familiar with their jobs and take unnecessary risks. Tom Smith agrees. “Most accidents happen from overconfidence and cutting corners,” he says. “Preventing burns is mostly a question of using common sense.” At the McDonald’s he manages, new employees receive on-the-job training alongside more experienced workers and practice with training cards.

Fast-food employees also need to be aware of the ever-present potential for robberies or random violence in their establishments. Five employees of a Wendy’s in Queens, New York, for example, were shot to death in early 2000. Tom Smith took the tragedy to heart.

“I used it as an occasion to remind the employees to always follow our set procedures for robberies,” he says, adding that the rules include barring any ex-employees from going behind the counter. In addition, he cautioned workers not to panic or try to play the hero — in other words, to simply hand over the money. To deter hold-ups, managers also skim large bills from the registers during the day, and prominently display a sign stating the employees don’t have access codes to open the safe.

Here are some other safety tips from NIOSH and industry experts:

• Prevent burn injuries by providing employees with appropriate gloves and scrapers and other cleaning tools with handles.
• Allow hot grease to cool before you move it.
• Wherever possible, use slip-resistant flooring to prevent falls and keep floors dry and well maintained.
• Wear nonskid shoes to prevent slipping.
• Extinguish hot oil or grease fires by sliding a lid over the container.
• Avoid reaching over or across hot surfaces and burners.
• Don’t plug in electrical equipment while touching a wet or damp surface.

To guard against accidental electrocution, NIOSH also recommends that employers buy plugs and receptacles that don’t energize before insertion is complete; construct receptacle boxes out of non-conductive materials; label all fuse boxes and circuit breakers; and train workers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

 – Ann Pappert has coproduced stories on health for Dateline NBC, worked as an associate producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s “Fifth Estate,” and served as a consultant on in vitro fertilization to the World Health Organization and Ontario Ministry of Health. A freelance journalist in New York, she has also written for the Toronto Star, the Toronto Globe and Mail, and Canadian Doctor.

Having invested in his Filta Franchise a year ago, Franchose Owner JJ Paul discusses the business and his experiences.  JJ Paul occasionally writes to this blog as a guest writer.

Earth Day is coming soon, so we thought it would be worth taking a look at how Filta helps kitchens reduce their carbon footprints.  Well, with three “green” services, Filta helps in many ways including:

• Reducing the amount of cooking oil being used
• Reducing the energy consumption of fryers
• Taking the waste oil and sending it through to BiodDiesel
• Reducing food wastage
• Reducing cooler energy consumption and costs
• Prolonging the life of the coolers thereby putting back the day a new one needs to be manufactured

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

Visit http://www.earthday.org/

New Filta Franchose Owner Bob Smith talks on screen at the end of  his training course in Orlando, FL

Hot on the heels of  its “Best of Orlando award“ from The U.S. Commerce Association, The Filta Group was awarded 30th place in the national Franchise Hot 100 published by redhotfranchises.com.

This award recognizes the growth of individual franchisees in the Filta network as well as the strength of the business model during the trying economy of the last couple of years. 

The FiltaFry, FiltaCool and FiltaBio services combine to make up the Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions business.

I found some great information that I thought I would share with current or potential customers.

Did you know that the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a division of the CDC) conducted an 18 month study and found that over 5,200 adolescent (young workers) sought emergency-room treatment for work related burns associated with cooking in a place where food was prepared? Of the hazards where burns occurred, servicing cooking equipment (i.e. adding, filtering, removing hot grease from fryers, and cleaning) ranked toward the top. It’s not a matter of if someone will get burned, but when.

We all have a responsibility to educate food service workers on proper safety when it comes to working with and around deep fryers.

Filta just launched its FiltaBio service. Once the cooking oil has come to the end of its life, Filta can collect the oil and immediately remove it safely from the site… in most cases with no waste oil drums or containers continually attracting rats and other unwanted issues.

From there, the oil is purified and the majority sent to be made into biodiesel, the safe and environmentally friendly alternative to petrochemical based diesel.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States spends about $475,000 a minute on foreign oil – a staggering number when you stop to think about it. The annual total spent on crude oil imports is approximately $250 billion. The U.S. uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil a day (that’s about 3 gallons a day for every person in the country), more than half of which is imported. By 2025, demand is expected to rise to 26 million barrels a day – about 60 percent of which will be imported.

Consider this: In addition, China’s rising oil demand and imports have made it a significant factor in world oil markets. China is second only to the U.S. in consumption, surpassing Japan for the first time in 2003. Transportation sector ranks first in consumption. Roughly 67 percent of all U.S. oil consumption is in the transportation sector.

About 37 billion gallons of on-road diesel are used each year in the U.S. According to the EIA, reducing demand for oil in the transportation sector will have to be the central component in any serious effort to reduce the overall demand for oil.

A job analysis may seem like a big project that is unnecessary for the average restaurant owner.  While job analysis are a tool that is most commonly seen being used in big corporations, it is indeed practical for usage in small organizations, especially those that require employees to handle a multitude of tasks in a given day.

In essence, a job analysis is a written description that outlines the job expectations, job functions, and job description for any given position.  The benefit to taking the time to do this for each position in your restaurant is two fold.  First, it gives every team member a clear understanding of who is responsible for what activities on a daily basis.  Secondly, it provides a guideline to review your employees by, allowing you to clearly see where an employee lacks or excels in their job duties.  The hidden benefit is that in the event that you need to discipline or even terminate the employment of an individual, you can clearly prove that the employee understood their job duties and failed to meet expectations.  This can avoid costly unemployment claims and negativity against your restaurant in the marketplace.

Writing a job analysis is not a complicated matter.  Consider the role of each employee on both a day to day basis and long term objectives.  Walk through the work day visually for each position held in your restaurant.  If you are not well versed in each employee’s duties, tag along with one of them for the day and keep track of what is done and what could be added or removed from their workload to make business run more efficiently.  Aside from physical duties, consider what  you expect from each position in regards to personality, attire, and attitude.  Set goals that you think are reasonable for personal growth and document these carefully.

Once you have your basic notes, write the details down in a simple format that clearly states the expectations and duties.  Also include disciplinary actions that will be faced if these expectations and duties are not met.  It is important to make sure that you stick by what you put in writing, although allow for flexibility and make changes as needed over time.

Be sure to share your job analysis for each position with your co-managers and other support staff, and make sure that it is used as a report card to keep track of employee progress.  While it should not take more than a few hours to write a job analysis, the time saved will be a blessing when it is time for you to review your employees for consideration of raises.  Having a firm checklist they agreed to upon being hired to compare their work against avoids what can otherwise be an awkward and daunting process that most managers dread.

So while generally considered a  tool for large organizations with human resource departments, even the smallest of start up restaurants can benefit from a detailed job analysis.

Professor Bob Ashley of the Rosen School of Hospitality and Hotel Management talks about the FiltaFry service.

See what people who have been to a Filta Discovery Day say… you may be surprised.  Here they talk about the day, the people they meet and the FiltaFry business.

Toss out everything you learned about marketing prior to last year. 

Even those with marketing degrees may be looking at how successful businesses today handle marketing while scratching their heads in confusion and wonder.  The internet has virtually done away with newspapers, quite literally in some markets.  Gone are the days of running expensive paper ads, mailing coupons in the mail and guessing which radio spots will work best for your restaurant.  Social media is all the buzz in all aspects of marketing today and the best part is that, for the most part, it is free!

Social media, according to Wikipedia, is “media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques. Social media uses Internet and web-based technologies to transform broadcast media monologues (one to many) into social media dialogues (many to many). It supports the democratization of knowledge and information, transforming people from content consumers into content producers.”  What that means in plain English is it is a way to use the internet to reach your target audience directly with little more than a few strokes of your keyboard.

So how can social media marketing benefit your restaurant?  Easy.  It’s been proven by the National Restaurant Association that the bulk of your business will be repeat customers.  Someone comes into your establishment, enjoys a fine meal and comes back for more.  Tapping into their attention span while they are online reading their email, chatting with friends, or catching up on Facebook gives you an opportunity to directly place your restaurant into their mind.

The best way to start is to let your customer know you have an internet presence.  Give them incentive to accept you into their virtual world by handing out cards when they check out with your restaurants online information.  Your website, myspace profile, Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account should all be listed.  If you do not have these, or have no idea where to begin, you can likely get one of your internet savvy employees to happily set these up for you. Reward your customers for adding you to their network by offering frequent coupons or other incentives available only to your followers.

It is important not to cross the line between friendly reminders and spam.  Nothing will kill your marketing plan faster than continually advertising to your audience.  The key is to mix your direct advertising with fun little bits that keep your audience engaged.  A perfect example would be for a pizza restaurant to post about a printable coupon in the morning before people are thinking about where to go for lunch, then in the afternoon share with your fans the fact that “The world largest pizza was a round pizza 122 feet and 8 inches across. The ingredients were 9,920 lbs of flour, 198 lbs of salt, 3968 lbs of cheese and 1984 lbs of tomato puree.”  While fun, these type of statements will get your fans talking about and passing along your name to their friends, eventually adding to your customer count.

The Chef of a Sam Sneads restaurant gives his thoughts on the FiltaFry service.

Having completed the February training course, new Filta Franchise Owner Paul Casarotto speaks about his experience with joining the Filta team.

If you are considering starting a new business, like many others in your situation have faced before you, you have probably weighed the options of starting an individual business from scratch or opting for a franchise situation.  Comparing the two can be a daunting and confusing process, as both have pros and cons that can greatly affect your business and your financial stability in the years to come.  Investing in just about anything in an economy like we are facing today can be a scary process.  Fully considering your options and making the best choice for you is the best insurance you can have for your investment.

What type of risk taker are you?
You need to start the decision making process by taking into account your comfort zone as well as your goals.  With a start up, you have a higher risk of investment, as nearly fifty percent of all start up businesses fail in the first five years.  You will also find you will work harder to meet your goals, at least initially.  Without an established brand to back you up, you have to push yourself infront of your target customer and draw them into your doors.  While hard work and bigger risk may scare some people off, for the adventurous entrepreneur the payoff can be big.  Consider any major franchise out there today.  Each of those mega corporations started out as someone’s local, home-grown business.  If your dream is to own an empire, an individual business may be the best option for your investment capitol.

If you prefer to invest in a manner that is lower risk, franchising may be the better option for you.  Franchising provides a great opportunity to open a business without the requirement of building a brand.  The brand recognition, consumer loyalty and track record is there for you to see.  Franchises often have entire teams devoted to helping their franchisees succeed- from choosing the right real estate to walking you through supply orders, a franchisor is committed to helping you avoid mistakes. Franchisees reap the benefits of corporate advertising, as few individual businesses can hire design and marketing teams to promote their concept the way a major established corporation can. The downside to franchising is that you must run your business within the guidelines of the parent company, so despite having your own business, there is still the “boss” entity many wish to avoid.  There is tremendous opportunity for profit, but your ability to expand in your market may be limited by territory boundaries.

There is no “best” or “one size fits all” answer to the question of franchise versus independent business. In the end, both can be lucrative, both have risks, and both have their limitations.  Talking with other experienced entrepreneurs that have struck it alone as well as successful franchisees is the best place to start.  In the end, it is a personal choice as to which is right for you.

As you think about opening your own restaurant the very first question you should ask yourself is “Do I have the experience and capital I need to start this venture?”  If the answer is yes, the next question is most likely “Do I open a franchise or start my own brand?”  While the idea of starting your own brand may seem appealing, it is important to consider one hard fact.  Over half of the businesses that start as new ideas fail in the first five years.  That’s not to say this country does not need and thrive on innovative ideas, but when it comes to your financial outlook you owe it to yourself to look at franchising with a proven brand.

The benefits to franchising can best be summarized with one statement.  There is less risk to the investor.  This isn’t to say that there are absolutely no risks involved in starting a franchise.  However, the chances of succeeding with a new business and generally the fastest way to see your bottom line in the black is to open a franchise rather than an independent business.

Considering that by and large, the majority of new businesses that do not survive that essential first five years in business are independent businesses, one has to question why franchises are a safer bet for your investment capitol.  There is no one magic answer, but rather several contributing factors that when pieced together complete a puzzle that is much more solid and therefore a safer investment all around.

Brand Recognition and Loyalty

Think about starting a brand new business from scratch. As an entrepreneur you have to figure out how to reach your target market, how to communicate to these potential customers what exactly it is that you offer, and entice them to spend their hard earned dollars at your establishment.

A franchise owner gets to skip the majority of those processes.  If the franchisor has been on the market for any real amount of time the general population is probably quite aware of what it offers and has a good impression of business.  It boils down to habit.  People are comfortable with what they know.  A perfect example in the restaurant industry would be opening a Wendy’s franchise.  If you are hungry and have a limited amount of time to eat, and you know that Wendy’s is fast food that you enjoy and can afford, you are more likely to eat at Wendy’s than to try the new burger joint that opened down the street.  While there are always some people that are more adventurous than others, the vast majority would save trying the new restaurant for when they have more time and money at their disposal.

Marketing
Brand recognition and brand loyalty come from another benefit of franchising- marketing.  Marketing is something that costs quite a bit of start up capitol for a new business, but for a franchisee is generally done on a much larger scale by the parent company.  Looking back to our Wendy’s example, the parent company obviously can afford much grander marketing plans than the average start up could ever dream of funding.  The money the parent company spends on advertising has a trickle down effect, benefiting both franchisor and franchisee considerably.

Planning

It is safe to assume that the reason why most independent start ups fail in the first five years is lack of a solid business plan.  With a franchise, these common mistakes have not only been made, but quite clearly overcome, for the parent company to grow to the point it is offering franchisees a part of the business.

While there may be extra costs involved in franchising, those costs are easily made up by the fact that the brand image and loyalty are firmly in place, large scale marketing is done by the parent company, and the majority of the business mistakes have been overcome before you hand over your first dollar.  In today’s economy, safe is the best bet you can make with your investment capitol.

It is not just working mothers that worry about the balance of home life versus career these days.  Study after study has shown that employees that have a life outside of work have the best attendance records, performance records and are involved in less accidents at the work place than their over worked counterparts.

It may be very tempting in lean economic times to cut back the hours of your non-salaried employees and allow your salaried managers to pick up the slack.  While the impact on your bottom line may be a sort of instant gratification, the long-term result is likely to put you in the red more than you saved to begin with.

A few things to consider:

Stress- Just because a manager is away from home more with an increased schedule load does not mean that their responsibilities at home have decreased accordingly.  We all know the feeling of their not being enough hours in a day, and an over worked employee still has to juggle their home life.  Pushing tasks back into sleeping time will over time create a less than alert manager, causing reactionary time to fall dramatically.  Safety is a big issue- a tired manager is less likely to notice safety violations and less likely to be accurate in reporting, both of which can have dire consequences to your business stability.

Dissatisfaction- It may seem downright silly, but Little Johnny’s soccer game or Sally’s dance recital may be just as important as work.  Employees that are not given an opportunity to enjoy family events or handle personal problems at home quickly become resentful of their employment. An unhappy employee is an unproductive employee as a rule. Once the loyalty is shaken effort on the job is likely to decrease, the impact of which a restaurant owner will see translate to the bottom line.

Attendance- Even the most dedicated employee can only do so much.  While your plan to cut payroll may look like a smashing success in the first few months, the wear and tear on your salaried employees will show itself in time.  Emotional and physical wellness go hand in hand, and historically employees with adequate time away from work have less illnesses and injuries as a result.  Likewise, they are less likely to feel the need to “call in sick” to attend to personal matters if they have no reason to fear a backlash if they need to request time off work.

Even if your top-performing manager is eager to pick up the extra work, it’s beneficial in the long run to require and encourage downtime.  Balancing your scheduling needs while understanding your employees do have needs outside of the restaurant will result in happier employees. Happy employees get sick less and make less safety mistakes. Happy employees also provide better service.  Superior  service, as we all know, is the best recipe for a successful business.

Doubltree Head Chef gives his thoughts on the FiltaFry service.

Every employer’s nightmare is a workman’s compensation or unemployment claim.  You do not have to have a degree in human resources or employment law to successfully protect your business and it’s assets from claims.

The nature of restaurants is it’s own evil.  Accidents happen from slick kitchen floors, customers are at risk of being burned by hot liquid (just think about the McDonald’s coffee fiasco), emplyee claims (mainly around burns from fryers) and turnover in employees is higher than in almost any other industry.  This is a recipe for disaster in the way of claims against your business, but there are several things you can do to protect yourself and your restaurant.

Policies and procedures are generally well outlined if you own a franchise and the training required by the franchisor will likely cover these in detail for your new employee.  If you own a non-franchise restaurant you need to think carefully about your own policies and procedures and make sure they are clearly laid out in a manual you personally review with each new hire during the training process.  If you aren’t experienced in writing, it may be worth your investment to hire an outside agency to review your manual and make necessary adjustments.  Handing a manual to a new hire is not enough, especially if they have worked in restaurants before coming on board with yours.  They are likely to think it’s the same across the board, and may gloss over important pieces of information that could prevent an accident.  If you do own a franchise, this review is equally important.  In either situation, yearly reviews of the manuals in the form of a group meeting is well worth the effort.  By doing so, there is no room for confusion or forgetfulness that can result in cut corners and inevitably accidents in the workplace.

Paperwork is something no one enjoys, but it can be your lifeline in the event a claim comes against you.  Document everything that happens, regardless of how small.  For insurance issues, detailed documentation of what occurred, how the situation was responded to, witness statements that are signed and dated, and follow up processes implemented can make all of the difference in liability.  If the injured employee broke any of your policies and procedures be sure to detail that information along with any disciplinary actions taken.

For unemployment claims, your paper trail is the only thing that can protect you.  In each of your employee’s files you should have signed copies of their acknowledgment of the handbooks rules, details of each time they were late or called out of work, and very detailed reports on any disciplinary problems that arise.  Even if your employee is given a “verbal warning” you need to have it documented that the warning was given and have the documentation signed by the employee acknowledging the issue.  Most states are at will states, meaning either party can terminate their employment without any real reason, but when it comes to an unemployment claim it is you versus the employee on who was in the right.  Even if there was only one violation to your policies, documentation of it can protect you if it comes to review by the Department of Labor.

Hear from Friday’s Front Row Manager about his experience with FiltaFry.

When it comes to the kitchen, you can’t cut corners. This where all of the magic is done. The chefs prep the food, make it, and present it in a way that makes it the most interesting for the diners. It is imperative to be able to keep an orderly kitchen that is safe and clean. Kitchens have many stations. These vary from prep, saute, salad, pizza, and even more. This varies dependent upon what the restaurant serves and how large the kitchen is. It is important to have all that is needed to make amazing meals. For example, if you have many different types of pizzas it is important to have all of the toppings stocked up and fresh just waiting to be thrown on top. Space requirements are important to maintain and a good restaurant manager will know and understand the space limits given.

Stocking your kitchen properly is important, too. Making sure that you have all of the necessary equipment and also have them in working order can make it easier. It can be better to get used equipment as it would save you money while still providing quality materials that are smaller. For larger equipment, it might be better to just pay out full price on new materials because it will last much longer and is cheaper in the long run. The other option is to lease equipment that stop working sooner than most things.

The most important thing about running a kitchen is safety. There always needs to be more than enough space for workers to move around the cooking equipment. The workers jobs need to be done while not compromising safety. All hot food needs to be handled properly and all workers need to be trained in doing exactly that. Working out a process of how you want all things handled is key to being able to keep safety number one. There should be a list of all necessary steps for this goal. Maybe making a handbook would be the best idea. You could section it off and have all employees read the books then do on-site training to confirm that they all understand perfectly.

Keeping a safe kitchen is the key element needed to run a good restaurant. As long as you keep it a safe environment, things will run smoothly. People will get hurt very rarely, making it easier for you. You won’t have to find a replacement or deal with unemployment for example. You will also get the food out faster and the quality will make the customers come back again and again. On top of that, your employees have the right to be kept safe in a risk free environment. They also deserve it. Keeping yourself aware and alert to the space requirements from the beginning will make it a well oiled machine before people even apply to work there. These are just a few tips and tricks to keep in mind for running a safe and efficient kitchen.

As a restaurant owner, you have enough on your plate in regards to overhead costs.  Commercial insurance is one way that you can easily save money in a tough economy.

Location, Location, Location
Any established restaurateur knows that location is everything.  It affects your target customer base, your traffic and your pricing strategies. If your business is in the start-up phase, you may want to consider leasing your property.  Many times, insurance is built into the cost of the lease, which can help net substantial savings month to month.  Even if its not offered at the onset, you may want to discuss this option with the property owner as a negotiating point.

Safety First

We have all heard it before, but safety in the workplace is about more than just protecting your business assets from lawsuits.  Obviously no one wins when an employee is injured.  Injury results in lack of production, medical expenses, and workman’s compensation issues.  It also will greatly affect your insurance premiums.  Make safety a priority- educate your employees on safety procedures to keep your kitchen and restaurant free from accidents and have proper disciplinary actions in place to discourage short cuts. All too often just being a little lax on safety procedures can lead to major accidents, but even the smallest of accidents can cause those dreaded insurance premium hikes.  Many insurance claims are centered around the fryers.  Taking away this liability by utlilising cooking oil filtration and fryer management servics, like FiltaFry, can help.  Keeping accident rates low will insure your premiums stay the same.

Careful Reporting

You may think that you are on top of your claims, and that they are reported carefully, but your employees may not be as concerned or knowledgeable about the impact they have on your insurance premiums.  If an accident does occur, make certain your reports are done promptly and are concise.  Track all incidents that lead to accidents, make necessary adjustments to prevent repeat scenarios, and educate your management team as to the importance of this aspect of their job to prevent major loses.

Knowing your insurer

If you run a franchise, you may be locked in by your contract with a particular insurance company.  If the choice is yours to make, be sure to do your homework and find a company that has competitive rates and good reviews from past and present clients.  Shopping around is a must, and if you are not comfortable or knowledgeable with exactly how commercial insurance works find an insurance broker that is well regarded.  Your local Chamber of Commerce is a great place to start to find the right broker.   A broker that specializes in hospitality insurance will understand the type of claims you may face and be able to lead you to the perfect company for your business needs.

Avoid Coverage Gaps

Missing a renewal date by just a few days can cause a major increase in your out of pocket expense even if no accidents occur during the lapse.  Have a plan set in place to regularly review your paperwork associated with your claims, be certain loose ends are tied up and that the information is easily accessible.  Renew early whenever possible, as you may find this gives you a small discount and will help you avoid any last minute quote changes.

Definition: a person or thing that leads. A guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group. – Websters

Recently, while thinking of ways to better myself and my business, I decided to Google the term “Becoming a leader” and the search provided an amazing 48,800,000 results. WOW! It would take a really long time to read through all this, so I began thinking of my own experiences. Although I have only been in business for myself for a year, I have experienced a great deal in my 15 years in the work force. Unfortunately, I have seen more bad than good and it’s a sad reminder of how far we still need to go as humans. My experiences have left me with knowledge of how I would not like to treat employees and what I believe will produce the best results when employing people. By no means am I promising a magic solution to employment retention, but I have found a few key elements that seem to work really well and I want to make sure you have these tidbits I like to call jewels.

Employees are Assets
Treating an employee as an asset is typically the furthest from a manager’s mind. Actually, they are sometimes thought of as a “number” or a “liability”. If you are examining a balance sheet or performing payroll I would tend to agree with you, every employee is a number as well a liability. But when your balance sheet becomes part of your vocabulary, and employees are referred to as replaceable, there’s a fine line that has been crossed and problems will begin to occur. Resentment fuels the desire to sabotage and eventually quit. No one wants that. So what do you do? Well, know this. Everyone wants to know they have value. Not only in business, but in life. It is a fact, we spend one third of our lives working. Why not you as the owner create an environment that makes it the most enjoyable time of their life! Talk with them about where they see themselves in the next six months or year. What do they like to do? Fish, hunt, golf, etc.. Basically, get to know them and see how close the business goals are to there’s.

Create and Adhere to Strict Guidelines
Although I believe strongly in the way an employee is viewed and treated, I equally believe that there are guidelines that must be followed and adhered to. If not, then it disrupts the flow of owner to employee relations and some employees may even find themselves thinking you’re a push over. That is why you should immediately put in place a set of guidelines for the business. Your guidelines should encompass areas such as proper procedures for performing service, van cleanliness, client interaction, language, attire, etc. Make sure each employee is properly trained on these guidelines and two copies of the document printed. One for them to keep for reference and one for them to sign and return back to you. The signed agreement should be placed in their personal file. The guidelines also help to establish a baseline for them to follow, and shows that you will not accept anything less. Lastly, its equally important that you follow these guidelines as well. When everyone is on the same page, taking your business to the next level of growth becomes easier to accomplish.

Generate Purpose
If you were like me I started this business with enthusiasm beyond control. The world was (and still is) my oyster and all I needed to do was make it happen. I had pinpoint accurate purpose. Everyone wants to have that level of purpose in the job they perform each day. That’s what makes it worth getting up every morning at 4am, or going after the business that said “check with me next week” for the fourth time, or cleaning the van and machine after a 60 to 70 hour week. The same applies to your techs. They look to you for not only guidance, training, etc. but direction into the future. No one likes to take a road trip that has no destination……do they? I adhere to a quarterly meeting with my team. We meet first thing in the morning on Saturday around 7am. It is mandatory and they do get paid and feed. I keep them for about 1 hour. I figure my cost to do all this is around $50. That is a drop in the bucket when it compares to time spent replacing a tech.

Be Considerate
These guys you call technicians are no different from us when it comes to exhaustion. They are not robots (although at times I wish they were), they are humans also carrying with them emotions and feelings. I’m by no means asking you to have a kumbaya session each week around the family campfire with them, but I am asking that you be thoughtful of what they are going through. It wasn’t too long ago that I ran all the services and demos. 20 hours a week quickly became 50 to 60. At times I was physically shot and my emotions were less than desirable (ask my wife). This job is hot and dirty, especially in the summer months in the South. Ouch! So be considerate.

Show your Worth
Allow your employees the opportunity to show their worth. I know for a fact that if managers would stop micromanaging their employees they would see a better product. Most people want the opportunity to excel and be the best they can be. But they have to be given the opportunity. As a owner/manager take the time and listen to what your team has to offer. Sometimes they are totally off, but other times they may provide some serious value. Take everything said into consideration and decide if it can provide value to your business. Let your team help you be a leader in environmental kitchen solutions.

Be a Servant
Last but not least, serve. Serve not only your employees, but your community. Sure you can make a lot of money and sit back and receive a check, but what about your duty as a citizen of the human race? We are all here for not only our own purpose but the purpose of others. Although that may sound deep, its true. We have the responsibility to assist others in their time of need, to educate, and the list continues. Things that you can do include charities, teaching, helping at a shelter, etc. one activity I took on this year involves teaching at a local school once a week. It’s a fantastic opportunity to speak with younger people who want to be successful in business. Another involved a shoe collection for the people in Haiti. My family and I went around and asked neighbors and friends to give their shoes as well a dollar for each pair given. This in no way is intended to boast or brag about my accomplishments but an opportunity to empower you and see that it is the little things in life we do that make such a massive difference to others. Reflect on this quote and see what you can do tomorrow for others.

“Life is a place of service. Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

The FiltaFry service is even offered in Hunduras!  From March 2010, FiltaCool is being offered in Honduras.

In a time where the national unemployment rate is at an all time high- over 10% in most markets- your initial response when contacted by a restaurant recruiter may be to hang up the phone.  Before you do just that, you may want to consider a few benefits that make the fee seen more beneficial to your bottom line.

Sourcing
If given the choice, would you hire a restaurant manager that has a proven track record of success with your competitor, or a manager that was fired from his last three jobs?  No doubt, the answer seems obvious.  But if the manager has a proven track record with your competitor, do you really think he or she is out beating the street and looking for a new job in a market ripe with lay offs and closings?  This is where a recruiter is most beneficial.  Recruiters will seek out those top-performing managers and bring them to you.  Despite what you may think, a good recruiter is not shady or underhanded in their process.  They simply present a better opportunity to that top performing manager and open the window of communication between you and the type of person you want running your business.

Scouring
Anyone who has tried to hire lately knows that a simple ad in the local newspaper will bring in hundreds of applications.  While your ad may clearly require five years of restaurant management experience, you’ll find that the desperate job seeker will translate that very loosely.  As a result, you find yourself wading through hundreds of applications of under qualified- or not at all qualified- individuals.  Hours of wasted time that could be spent growing your business can be avoided with the use of a recruiter.  The recruiters job is not only to source candidates for your position, but also to prescreen, interview and check references of the managers they present to you for consideration.  The end result is you only have to do a few interviews with highly qualified individuals that you know meet your expectations.  The only hard part at that point is choosing between them.

Trial Run
One of the best advantages to using a professional recruiter is that you have the ability to do a “trial run” with your new hire.  As a hospitality professional and business owner, you know that hiring a new manager is expensive.  The cost of training a new manager can equate to thousands in lost time and resources, a hefty price to pay repeatedly if your new manager decides to walk away shortly after or during training.  A recruiter’s job is two-part. They not only act as a recruiter, but often as a councilor as well.  A good recruiter stays in constant contact with their new hire and can alert you in advance of any concerns.  Its in their best interest to help you keep that person on board, as most recruiting contracts include a 90 day or more guarantee- your manager is replaced for free if either of you are unhappy.

So before you hang up that phone, consider the benefits.  You could just hire your competition’s star employee, save time and money by not advertising and wading through unqualified applicants, and have an insurance policy against a hiring mistake.  Recruiters are feeling the pain of a bad economy as well, so you may just get all of this at a more than reasonable price if you negotiate carefully.

To truly understand franchising, you cannot look at it like a business- but instead, a way of doing business. True, it is a way of owning your own business, but on the other hand, this unique niche offers a variety of proven ways to get your foot in the door to any number of industries. The truth is, franchising generates over one point five trillion dollars in sales a year, so, it’s not only a different way of doing business, but a profitable one.

A franchise is, by definition, a legal, commercial relationship between the person or company that owns a trademark, trade name, service mark or any sort of advertising symbols and the people or person who wishes to be able to use that identifying information for their business. This means following the franchisor’s business model, as well as going along with the way that they want things done, for the most part. The majority of franchises involve sales of some sort, the franchisee providing goods and services that either meet the franchisor’s standards or are actually provided by the franchisor themselves.

The franchisee/franchisor relationship is one that should be based on teamwork, essentially- there is a great deal of trust between both that must be there, and communication is key. This is a sort of mutually beneficial arrangement where many will say is actually in better benefit to the franchisor, but that is not so. For franchisees, it often means having a stronger, more solid backing and way of doing business, where they are able to turn a decent profit and even experience some growth. For franchisors, of course, they reap the benefits as well and on the whole, a well researched franchise investment should be good for both parties involved.

When you’re looking into franchise, there are generally two types. Business format franchising, which involves a bigger picture. This is usually involved, with the vast majority of franchises in this format being real estate, convenience stores, tax preparation services, lodging and fast food restaurants- though there are other businesses under the umbrella of Business format franchising. This form almost always involves not only a set way of doing things, but training, materials and often marketing programs. The simpler format is product and trade name franchising, which does usually only involve license of the use of trademark to the franchisee. Product distribution is usually fairly common.

Being able to choose which type is right for you is usually a non issue, however. The best way to find a franchise that suits your needs is to first consider what those needs are. Then, think through your long term goals and map out a loose plan for them. Once you’ve done that, consider what sorts of options you have in the way of financing, and then begin your research. From there, don’t discount a franchise simply because it is in an industry you’ve not considered. Many people find success in industries they have no experience with, as this is one of the big assets to franchising- the training is usually provided and with enough drive, you, too can be a success.

Most restaurant managers have to deal with this issue at some point or another. Going through the hiring process, training and working on making sure you have adequate staff can be a complex process that just continues on and on. However, going through all of this to find out that you have an employee who is stealing is an even more difficult task to deal with. The issues here are actually multifaceted. Losing money because of theft is a serious problem but also, how you handle a situation like this is difficult, you have to balance showing that you are prepared to enforce your policies without making other employees feel alienated by how you do so.

Before you do confront the situation, be sure that you are absolutely certain. If you have enough proof, be that through account sheets, someone else seeing them do it, or video surveillance, then you can proceed. However, you have to be able to prove that there is absolutely no reason to doubt that this person has been stealing, and if you have to catch them doing it- this is actually even better. You have to be able to prove not only so that you can get rid of the theft issue itself, but also so that the rest of your staff is fully understanding of why. Once this is in place, make sure that you are handling things privately. Many people make a big mistake trying to make an example or show other employees the consequences, but it is not necessary. You can then later have a store meeting to explain what has gone on and why you have done what you needed to. Gossip in the workplace can be a terrible thing and doing this will both make sure that those rumors don’t get started, but also enforce your theft policy in a subtle way.

Of course, the best medicine is always prevention. There are a number of things that you can do to ensure that you do not end up with an employee theft problem, or at least lesson the odds of it occurring. The best way of course happens in the hiring process. Make sure that you are really, seriously looking into their background and make sure that you do take the time to train properly so that you can figure out the way that the staff you hire on thinks and operates.  Also, be sure that you have great communication with your employees. Always make sure that everyone is clear on the policies for everything, not just theft. This shows a clear and direct set of rules that they understand and know exactly what the consequences will be. Be consistent and do not ever bend the rules or break them for any reason.

Keeping employee theft at bay also involves making sure that only certain people and a limited amount, at that, are allowed to work in areas where this can be a problem. Monitoring common theft areas can also help. Just a few small changes and you can greatly reduce the risk of ever having to deal with an employee theft confrontation in your restaurant.

Whenever we are faced with hiring a new employee for a restaurant the questions asked during the interview process are the best window we have to the morals, ethics, behavior and motivation of a candidate. It is important to ask both traditional and situational questions to best determine the likelihood of the candidate’s abilities to fit with the restaurant. Asking direct questions that relate to the job duties are the best way to assess a candidate’s experience. It is important to get a feel for how this person will handle the restaurant’s customers if they will be on the floor, or how they will interact with employees on the back end. Asking situational questions is the only way to gauge how the candidate might react under pressure or when dealing with tough judgment calls.

Many considerations must be made when hiring for an open position, especially if the position is managerial in nature. The length of time in the industry, the reputation of the restaurants the manager has worked at, and the way the person presents themselves are all very important. While pride is a good virtue in an employee, an ego can cause problems within the team environment.

Below is a list of questions to get you started on the interview process, and some insight as to what you could learn by asking them:

1. What accomplishment in your career are you most proud of? This is the best way to find out from the “get-go” the motivation level of the employee.  Everyone likes to brag, so there is no better way to hear all the good stuff than by asking this question.
2. What is the one thing you would do differently in your career path if you were able to start over?  This question is great for separating the “I need a job to pay rent” types from those that really want to make a career for them selves.  While its tempting to hire the eager “I need a job” types, keep in mind they are the first to leave when someone else offers them a better schedule or a dollar more than you do.
3. Explain a time that you thought out of the box. What did you do, and how was it different than what your company normally did? What was the result? This question is excellent to get a feel for how someone follows the rules given.  You may be surprised to hear them enthusiastically explain how they broke every rule imposed on them, or you may find out they are innovative and saved their former boss thousands by coming up with a better way to do things.
4. Of all of the supervisors you have had, who was your favorite and why? This question will give you insight on how to motivate the candidate should you hire them.  It also opens the door for the very important next question.
5. Of all of the supervisors you have had, who was your least favorite and why? Listen carefully to the answer given.  You will find out quickly if the person has issues with authority or has a “not my fault” type of personality- both of which you want to avoid at all costs.

These, in addition to the basic interviewing questions, will go along way in helping you hire someone that is a good fit for your restaurant long term.  Read between the lines as you listen to the answers.  You may be surprised at what you can learn!

Recently I was chatting with a current customer about business. He was astonished as to how quickly the Filta name was getting out and around the Birmingham area. His immediate response was “you must be doing a lot of advertisement?” For a second I had to think about how to answer that question. Let’s first define advertisement. Conventional advertising is: a paid announcement, as of goods for sale, in newspapers or magazines, on radio or television, etc. – dictionary.com.

This is all good, but as you can see this involves money and I don’t think you need to spend one cent. Instead, I am a firm believer that the best advertisement is simple, its you.
Yes, you are the best advertisement and its priceless. How do you become that type of “priceless” advertisement you ask? I’ll tell you.

1. Get to know your customers. Your business is meant to be a long term relationship with each client. You should be deeply interested and equally knowledgeable about their business and their industry they compete in each day. My background has been Information Technology for the past 13 years. When I got into this industry I was an infant. Forget about crawling, I was doing my best to just roll over! A lot of reading and a lot of time speaking with each client about their business actually gained me an amazing amount of insight into this industry. But I gained so much more. Respect. Friendships. And the list continues. As business owners our job is to yes grow our business, be profitable, etc.. but its also about the client. Having the best interest of your client first and not your bank account will make you more profitable than you can imagine.
2. Get to know your product. Don’t just clean fryers, be a freakin madman expert of it!! Know about cooking foods at different temperatures, learn about oil structure…..know it all! I don’t think I need to go any further, but if you need some help in this category youtube.com has a pile of videos on everything from deep frying and how good it is for you if done right to how oil breaks down. The Internet is your Oyster!
3. Be one of the team! I was speaking with another customer about our service. He laughed and said “ I don’t know what to do with the fryers, you make this so easy we don’t have to do anything but cook in them!” He continued to tell me how “awesome” this service is and that if he had his own restaurant he would have us service immediately. He also noted, that although “Filta service cost them in the short term” in the long term it saves them on costly insurance hikes due to burns, workman comp, etc.. Of course I was grateful for the kind words and am genuinely excited that they get, well..…excited! During that time we discussed proper cooking of french fries and I spoke with one of his cooks about low oil level in a fryer and to it would be best to just turn off the fryer and use another. My point: Im one of the team! They all look up to me, not down on me. AND, I don’t wonder when I might lose them as a client, instead I think about what great service I can offer them next. (Matter of fact, this one client is currently demoing FiltaCool. If all goes well, I will be installing about 100 panels by the end of the month.)

Bottomline: be a team player and you won’t need to advertise, your clients will hand you business.

Enough said.

Its been almost a year since I became a Filta franchisee and the experience has been nothing short of superior. But I believe that my thoughts of joy have been created and did not happen by chance. Anything in life takes time, determination, and a will to succeed. Although that may sound a bit cliché, its true. Over the past year I have accumulated what I believe to be a few secrets to a successful franchisee and I want to share the wealth. Here we go!

1. Set Goals. Life is not life without some goals. Think about it, if you are planning a trip from Seattle, Washington to see a friend in Virginia Beach, VA a bit of planning must take place. Sure you could just say “ Im gonna head east to where the sun rises” but that wont work. Reason being, there’s a lot of east coast and “VaBeach” is a small speck on the coast. So, best bet is to look at a map (Paper, Internet, etc..) and chart your coarse. Although you may take a few scenic routes along the way, you ultimately know your final destination. Well guess what, our live’s are no different! Question is: how do I get started? Yearly I make a list of 10 goals. I then take each and work backwards. That’s right, backwards. The idea here is to determine what things must be set in place in order to get as close to that goal as possible. Take for instance; I want to add $10,000 per week to my FiltaFry business. WOW! That’s a lot! But if you break it down its not so bad. 10k divided into 52 wks is about $192 per week. If your average weekly account is $75 that tells you that you would need to add 2.5 new accounts per week. Right now you may be saying, “JJ, there is no way I can do that”. Well, if that is so, then change your end number to 5k or 3k or whatever you think you can obtain. Remember, be creative. That’s your job, you’re a business owner now.
2.  Just do it!. Yeah, that’s Nike’s, not mine, but is absolutely true. If you have to go do sales calls; Just do it! If you need to email a customer; Just do it! Don’t wait til some day, do it today!!!!! Its easy to get wrapped around the axle doing things that provide no true benefit to your business. Benefits to your business include, but are not limited too: sales calls to net-new clients, current customer interaction (referrals), reviewing technicians service, and Im sure you could add a few more. Bottom-line: If you have a goal know that the only way you will obtain it is by doing the things that are necessary to make it a reality. Just do it!
3. Let go. One of the hardest things I had to learn quickly was that I can’t do it alone. A close friend and very successful businessman told me when I was getting started “JJ, a time will come when you are going to have to lay down the MFU, vacuum, and oil and become a business owner”. At first that didn’t make sense, but it sure does now! In order to have a successful growing business I need a team. As the owner (Leader) my job is not about being in charge and doing the work. It’s about proper training and then letting go of that service and watching my employees run it for me. I know to some that may sound ludicrous, but its true. Let me give you a tidbit of info. Statistics show that upwards of 60% of Americans hate their job. Why’s that? Not enough money? No. Its about lack of growth opportunity and mostly about having meaning and purpose. If you try to do it all, your employees find that you just don’t need them. There is no reason for them to stick around, no purpose. If you let go your techs become your greatest asset. Its because of them that you will have the freedom to sell, meet with customers, and grow your business. Train them on what you know, empower them, and then let your employees play a vital part in the growth of your business, they won’t let you down.

I think that’s a good enough start. Too much and you might pop!
Take a deep breath……….. now dive in. The water is fine! ?

Some of these tips may really put a light bulb on for many. Most restaurant management isn’t considering the small details that can make a huge dent in your profit margin- instead, and understandably focused on the bigger details. However, the problem with this is that it can be causing a big issue when it comes to many different costs that you may not consider- if you don’t pay attention to protecting that profit, you’re going to find that the market, bouncing back and forth as it does, eroding  margins, rising food cost, huge credit card fees, and growing utility rates really chip away at how much money your business is really making. Here are a few small changes that any restaurant manager can make to help offset many of the rising costs and turn a better profit in the end.

Make sure that you’re really working on the way that improving the way that your wait staff implements your product delivery. If you find that your servers end up tossing away product at the end of their shifts, rethink the way you do things. Portion control is the very essence of cutting food related loss- and it is important to note that in putting into practice less wasteful measures, not only are you cutting your cost, you’re probably also ensuring fresher, better tasting foods are served. Another area of loss in this area is automatically giving customers water glasses. Many people gasp at the suggestion, but how many times have you seen customers who order drinks actually drink the water they’re served? Conversely, those who do, are they ordering drinks? Make water a by request only affair.

Another area, if you have control over it- your menu. If it does not adequately reflect the current economic conditions, you need to change it. Make sure that the more profitable items on your menu are promoted and marketed well, these should be your upsellers, and your staff should be trained to do so.

One of the biggest mistakes a restaurant manager can make that will cause the most loss, however, doesn’t happen at the front of the house. This happens when ordering food from your vendors. Make sure that you are only ordering what you need for your menu- don’t over purchase anything, and certainly make sure that you’re not spending too much on a product where it doesn’t matter so much about the quality. A perfect example of something you would want to spend a little more on, steaks and other meats- where as, does it really matter if you have the top quality mashed potato mix?

On the whole, there are many small things just like this throughout your restaurant that you could be doing to decrease your costs and better promote a more profitable way of doing business. If you have a walk through your restaurant, you are sure to find areas of waste. Each and every one of these needs to be seen as a dollar out of your business’ pocket, and so, a dollar out of yours.

Filta Group is pleased to announce that it will be providing its environmental impact reduction service known as FiltaFry to two of the main venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics in the Vancouver area.

BC Place, the location of the Opening ceremonies, as well as GM Place will both be employing Filta’s micro-cooking oil filtration service known as FiltaFry. FiltaFry’s service focuses on purification and reduction of wasted cooking oil in commercial fryers. It allows venues such as BC Place and GM Place to drastically reduce their environmental impact due to disposal of used fryer oil while simultaneously improving the food quality in the venues.

Steven Hughes, the owner of the Vancouver FiltaFry franchise estimates that “FiltaFry will filter over 300,000 gallons of cooking oil during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics between the two venues. That is enough cooking oil to fill roughly half an olympic swimming pool.”

Mr. Hughes also provides the green service for GM Place and the Vancouver Canucks during the NHL season. When interviewed, Mr. Hughes was honored that he was able to do his part in making the 2010 Winter Olympics as environmentally responsible as possible. Mr. Hughes is not the only FiltaFry franchisee to reside on non-American soil. Come February 12th, Filta Group will have franchisee representatives in 27 countries rooting for their prospective national hero’s in their race for the Gold.

Filta’s success in 2009 leading up the Vancouver games has caused the unique company attract an ever increasing client roster of high profile venues like those of the Olympic Games, Mile High Stadium, and a list of other professional sports venues. Filta Group is poised to expand on its success in 2009 By offering even more eco-friendly services in 2010. With its soft launch of FiltaCool already a success, it aims on expanding its offerings to include FiltaBIO, and FiltaTAB. Similar to how the Olympics include a variety of sports with an overlying theme of competition and sportsmanship, Filta’s entire line of services all aim to achieve the same core accomplishments. Filta aims to help companies reduce their environmental impact while helping them become more efficient and profitable.

You’re well aware of how saving money with your cooking oil can be a bit of a balancing act with being able to make sure that you’re still putting out good tasting food, with each serving. However, you probably did not realize that maintaining the quality of that oil is a little bit more complicated than scraping down the sides, and closing up the fryer at night. There are actually a number of things that you can do to keep it frying better, longer, and tasting great, as well.

Firstly, don’t fill baskets over the fryer vat. You’d be surprised, but this actually causes deterioration by putting ice bits in your oil. There’s already a lot of moisture in everything that you cook, but if you’re filling your basket right there, you’re making it worse.  This is also highly beneficial in keeping food particulate out of your oil, which causes something known as polymerization. Fill your basket away from the vat, shake it a bit to get the particles falling away, and then put your food into the oil.
This will help you a great deal in keeping oil fresh and tasting better for a longer amount of time.

Another big problem with oil is that it oxidizes. Fast. In order to prevent this, you have to really be able to cut the amount of contact with air that the oil itself has- most people do this by making sure that the vat is covered when it isn’t being used, however, there is another way. Make sure that your oil is never exceeding three hundred and sixty degrees. Reduce the heat of the oil when you’re having slow business to about two hundred and eighty, and you’ll see less oxidation and longer lasting oil.

Keeping an effective maintenance system for your fryer is another big key- no matter what measures you take, you’re going to end up with food in your oil, it’s going to get air exposure. Keeping it filtered well and making sure that you’re addressing your filtration needs. If you serve a great deal of breaded foods, you’re going to have to be filtering a great deal more than if it is only being used for something like french fries.

Many people do not take into account the sheer volume of oil that you can save by simply having a great filter schedule in place. The more your filter your oil, the longer you can make it last, and this is a key thing to not only prolonging the life of the oil itself, but keeping you serving food that tastes, smells and looks great.

Another thing is keeping your staff on task about the cleaning of the fryer. If you change out the oil, make sure that fryer is deeply cleaned before it is filled back up. There are certain areas of the fryer where the particles tend to accumulate more, and unfortunately, these are frequently the most difficult to reach and get cleaned effectively- but it has to be done. Getting the soap residue off of your fryer can help, too, and this is one area where cost effectiveness is definitely easy to maintain. A simple solution of water and vinegar will remove any left over detergents or soaps you’ve got left behind.

A new marketing campaign to restaurants is being launched in Q1 2010.  The slogan “Want to see our Weapon of Mass Reduction” is being used for both direct mail and email.

I recently came across an interesting discussion in one of the social networking groups that I found quite intriguing, and downright enjoyable to read. It wasn’t about franchising. Nothing about social media. There was no mention of business. Money or finances weren’t a major part of the equation. And, surprisingly, just a few mentions about the poor economy.

The discussion was actually about the concept of dreams and goals. It was enlightening that there were over one hundred responses in a relatively short period of time. Definitely a considerable amount when compared to other discussions within the same group. Often, the responses were being posted one right after the other. It seemed like people wanted to talk about their dreams and goals, almost as if they had been prohibited from doing so before.

In light of the economic troubles surrounding us today, it seems the subject of dreams and goals has hibernated like bears for winter. During good times, dreams and goals are out in the open, shared by many. Actually bragged about by some, and the end results, often materialistic, flaunted by others. It’s ironic that we’re taught that in order to achieve a goal, a key element in doing so is to enlist the assistance of people that can help us achieve the goal. Yet, in the current economic climate, discussions about dreams and goals have subsided, and almost disappeared. It’s almost like we feel guilty to have such discussions at this time. Or, that we should just be thankful for what we have and dismiss our dreams and goals as frivolous. What about the dreams and goals that are not financially driven or rewarding? Why have they been put on the back burner? Well, to all of this, I say “enough is enough.” Yes, enough of the poor me attitudes. Enough of the pity parties. And, enough of the social “rubbernecking.” (Social rubbernecking is when people excitedly talk about other people’s miseries – i.e. neighbor lost his job, their house was foreclosed on, he was having an affair – it’s just like slowing down to look at the horrific car wreck!)

NOW is definitely the time to put all the negatives aside and re-ignite the passion behind our dreams. It’s the perfect time to pull out those lists of goals and remember why we wrote them down in the first place. Why they’re important. How they’re important to people close to us? And, how our lives would be positively affected upon achieving our goals and making our dreams come true. Certainly, it’s time to face the realization that it’s up to us to make our dreams and goals a reality. They’re ours. We own them. No one can take them from us. To paraphrase a quote I’ve seen many times (in many different forms) in discussions about success, “There are people that make things happen, some that watch things happen, and others that wonder what the hell happened?” Could you tell which group of people are most successful at achieving their goals and making their dreams come true?

May all your dreams and goals come true in 2010!

Do you know how to tell if your vegetable or cooking oil’s gone bad?
Been really pondering the vast mysteries of how to store and keep your restaurant’s oil, or even if it is advisable to do so?

Perhaps you have wondered just which oil is the most healthy for you to be cooking your food in. Well, wonder no more. Even if you never thought about these things, there are some interesting facts about just what that liquid gold in your fryer does, and how that impacts your business’ bottom line.

If you have worked in food service for quite some time, you are probably well aware of what happens to your cooking oil as it deteriorates. It starts to smell a little off, there are all these little bits of food in it, and it begins to sort of taint the foods you fry in it. Fries begin to smell and taste a little fishy, chicken starts to have a frylike taste, and so on and so forth. Everyone’s gotten the french fries with the odd bit of “something” in them. Have you ever thought about what’s really going on with the oil as it deteriorates and what you can do to slow that process?

Filtering out those little bits of particulate on a regular basis is a very good start, but there is more to it than that. The whole process begins with that first batch of food fried in new oil. It starts to darken from the very first few batches, and by around the tenth or so, it becomes more noticeable. This is due to both the food particles and the oil burning for a prolonged amount of time. The more it gets used, the slower it seems to pour, and cooking oil, much like the oil you use in your car will undergo changes in viscosity. This happens both due to the changes in its molecular structure and because as you use it, food particles begin to accumulate. When it does start making foods taste like one another, or it begins to smoke before it reaches full heat- it is just past time to throw it out.

The best methods for storage of cooking oils, if you are running routine maintenance on your fryer and the oil has not gone bad is to keep them anywhere that is cool and dark. One of the best methods of prolonging the life of cooking oil is actually to remove it from the fryer, place in the refrigeration unit when you close up the restaurant. This is not actually the most practical method, but if you’re looking to cut costs when it comes to storing your oil, it’s one way of doing that. This is because oils are actually pretty sensitive to heat and light and the longer they remain exposed to either, they deteriorate that much faster.

As to which oil is the most healthy, the honest answer is, there really isn’t one. You can, of course, go into all of the ramifications of which oils carry what fat composition, but when it all boils down- healthy is no more than 25 to 30 percent of calories of fat in everyone’s daily dietary intake. Period. Of course, there are “healthier” fats, but the bottom line is, in food service it is usually best to choose the oil that best suits your budget.

Shock redundancy hit former bindary technician Dean Martin (pictured above) when Norwich’s New Jarrold Printing closed in September 2006. However, turning lemons into lemonade, he used his new-found freedom to commit to a FiltaFry franchise.

“I was disappointed being made redundant, but I miss the people more than the work,” says Dean. “Working for myself is absolutely fantastic. The main benefit is being your own boss, choosing what hours you want to work and when. I just like being in control. I am dealing with the same customers on the same days each week and I like going out to look for more work to get more income. I’ve got a good rapport with the customers and I have got no one to answer to. It has turned out being made redundant was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

FiltaFry franchisees provide a cooking oil filtration service to restaurants and hotels. The national shortage of cooking oil and massive price increases mean that FiltaFry’s environmentally friendly service, which prolongs the life of cooking oil, is in high demand. “I have built the business up from basically nothing to working Monday to Friday, with around 30 clients,” says Dean. “I could get more if I wanted too, if I started earlier in the mornings or worked later at night. The major bonus of this business is that there is no competition or any other business coming close to what I do in East Anglia. There are no other businesses doing what I do in East Anglia.”