The Restaurant Success Podcast

Afraid You Don’t Know Enough? Hey, Join the Club!

• Matthew Mabel • Season 1 • Episode 24

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In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant advisor Matthew Mabel addresses a common challenge facing multi-unit independent restaurant owners: the isolating nature of entrepreneurship and the feeling that you don't know enough to take your business to the next level. Matthew explores how joining peer groups and connecting with fellow restaurant entrepreneurs can serve as powerful accelerators for restaurant success and business growth. He shares his personal transformation from being a self-described "loner" to discovering the incredible value of peer connections through his Restaurant Owner's Success Club, which has been helping restaurant entrepreneurs overcome business challenges for over five years. The episode focuses on how restaurant owners can break out of their business bubble, leverage collective industry knowledge, and access proven strategies from other successful restaurant entrepreneurs to drive profit growth, improve operations, and achieve the freedom and flexibility they've earned through their hard work.

Key Topics Covered

  • The isolation that comes with restaurant entrepreneurship and business ownership success
  • How the Restaurant Owner's Success Club provides peer support and shared knowledge for multi-unit independent restaurant owners
  • The challenges of being "home grown" restaurant entrepreneurs with limited outside business experience
  • Cost management strategies and practical methods for reducing food costs by 1-2%
  • The power of peer connections in accelerating restaurant business growth and problem-solving
  • Breaking out of the business owner bubble to access industry best practices and proven solutions

Links Mentioned

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Matthew Mabel

Matthew works with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to improve:

  • Profit growth
  • Sales optimization
  • Guest count increase
  • Unit expansion
  • Employee engagement
  • Brand loyalty

How to Support the Show

  • Subscribe to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter
  • Rate and review the show
  • Visit www.surrender.biz for additional resources

Hello, and welcome to the Restaurant Success Podcast. I'm Matthew Mabel, veteran restaurant advisor, coach, consultant, and speaker devoted to multi-unit independent restaurant unit, profit and revenue growth, internal harmony and ownership freedom and flexibility.

This is your weekly entree of the advice, strategy and tactics that I currently provide to my best clients.

Today we're going to talk about something that might hit close to home for many of you listening - that nagging feeling that you don't know enough to take your restaurant business to the next level. Maybe you've been running your operation for years, you know it inside and out, but you still feel like you're missing something. Well, here's the thing - you're not alone in feeling that way, and more importantly, there's a solution that might surprise you.

We'll explore how joining the right groups and connecting with your peers can be one of the most powerful accelerators for your restaurant's success. I'll share my own journey from being what you might call a loner to discovering the incredible value of peer connections, and I'll tell you about the Restaurant Owner's Success Club that I started over five years ago and how it's transforming businesses just like yours.


In the past, I never thought of myself as a group person. Sure, you could have even called me a loner.

So I never expected that the groups I belong to would be some of the most significant contributors to my success.


Now, I know better.

One of the clubs I started - called the Restaurant Owner's Success Club - has now been active for over five years. Members have unlimited access to me between meetings, but our core communication vehicle is our monthly Zoom meeting. This helps multi-unit restaurant owners - who tend to know their company and their brands inside out, but can be completely unfamiliar with other companies and concepts - capitalize on the insight and solutions their peers have already figured out.

As one of the original members says, "I like the camaraderie and trust - it's very comfortable. I go back to my team with three or four bullet points to follow up every meeting. It packs a lot of value."

In last week's meeting, I gave an update on what I'm seeing in the industry - not just what I'm working on now with my clients, but also a big, heaping helping of what to focus on now.

Then, after members compared notes about what they're seeing in their own restaurants, we talked about our major topic: cost management, with a special guest who showed the operators a method of reducing their food cost by one to two percent!

Now, it's not just about the club I started. I have joined a few groups of my own. There's an international group of elite consultants - not restaurant-specific, but a full range of people who share stories, methodologies, and case studies. Then there are local professional groups of helpful, like-minded restaurant professionals, one in Dallas and another in Houston who work serving restaurant owners like I do. And I'm part of a peer group of consultants serving industries outside of restaurants. We recently met in Dallas and also enjoyed two fantastic meals at Georgie and Sanjh.

Okay. I'm up to five groups and I'm still only talking about work.

Here's something I've observed over the years - success can be isolating. Life becomes a whole lot easier when you don't try and do everything yourself, which, for those who pay attention, summarizes the spirit of my company, Surrender.

Many of my clients identify as "home grown," and their only senior-level business experience is from their own company. That leaves them without the experience they need to enter the express lane to unhooking issues that have plagued them for years - and in some cases decades.

That's exactly what the Restaurant Owners Success Club offers: a rocket fuel of shared knowledge and support to propel you forward.

If you're interested in learning more about the Restaurant Owner's Success Club, check out the club's dedicated website and enroll! You can find a link to this in the show notes. Or, there's a link to set up a time for us to talk about how you can become a member.

Now, if what I talked about today resonates with you - especially that idea about being home grown and only having experience from your own company - I've written more extensively about this challenge.

Lastly, there's an article I wrote back in 2019 called "How Restaurateurs Avoid the Perils of Owning the Only Company They've Ever Known". It really breaks down the hidden costs of this situation and the magical transformation that happens when successful operators add new pieces to their already-working restaurant companies. It's a perfect complement to today's discussion about the power of peer connections.

I've dropped a link to that article in today's show notes. 

Let me tell you about how we might work together. I work with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to grow their profit, sales, guest count, and unit count. My unique approach bonds employees and guests to restaurant brands and allows owners to enjoy the freedom and flexibility they have earned.

To schedule a call with me to discuss how to achieve your biggest goals, follow the link in the show notes. The initial consultation is complimentary, and we can discuss which big moves might be right for your operation.

Thanks for listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter podcast, please do so, and rate and review the show. Find more information in the show notes at Restaurant Success Podcast dot com.

Also find tons of information you can use in print, audio and video form at my website, www dot surrender dot biz. Thanks again and see you next time.