Matthew Mabel 101: How to Make Your Restaurants Unstoppable

In this episode, Matthew Mabel shares insights from his second appearance on Eric Cacciatore's "Restaurant Unstoppable" podcast, delivering a comprehensive guide to restaurant success and entrepreneurship. This deep-dive conversation covers Matthew's proven three-phase restaurant growth model, the critical business metrics that don't appear on your P&L, and why vulnerability is essential for both personal and restaurant company improvement. Matthew discusses how successful restaurant entrepreneurs can achieve ownership freedom while building profitable, scalable businesses. The episode explores current industry challenges including employee retention strategies, the potential impact of "No Tax on Tips" policies, and why the debunked 10,000-hour rule doesn't apply to restaurant business mastery. Perfect for independent restaurant owners seeking sustainable growth, improved profitability, and the freedom to scale their operations without being tied to daily operations.

Key Topics Covered

• The Three Phases of Restaurant Growth: "Adrenaline Espresso Years" (1-3 units), "Chill Out and Reflect" (4-9 units), and "Should I Stay or Should I Go" (10-20 units)
• Critical restaurant metrics that don't appear on your P&L statement
• How the restaurant industry has conquered employee retention issues
• Why "No Tax on Tips" policies will create challenges for the restaurant industry
• The importance of vulnerability in restaurant leadership and business growth
• Achieving ownership freedom and flexibility while maintaining profitable operations
• Why the 10,000-hour rule has been debunked and what really drives restaurant success

Links Mentioned

• The Myth of the 10,000 Hour Rule
• Watch Restaurant Unstoppable Here
• Listen to Restaurant Unstoppable Here

Resources Mentioned

• Website: www.surrender.biz
• Free initial consultation available

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

Transcript

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 I want to share something exciting with you. I recently made my second appearance on Eric Cacciatore's "Restaurant Unstoppable" podcast, and this was a deep conversation that really gets to the heart of what I do with my clients. We covered everything from my famous three phases of restaurant growth to why being vulnerable is the key to improving both your life and your restaurant company.

Yes - The ten thousand hour rule has been debunked.

Thankfully - I mean, who has that much time?

But there's another rule that still rings true: If you publish almost twelve hundred episodes of your podcast and people continue to listen, that nails your credibility.

I'm talking about Eric Cacciatore and "Restaurant Unstoppable," where I recently made my second appearance, in episode eleven ninety-four. I'd previously appeared on episode five eighteen.

If you love my newsletter and its five-minute sister podcast for delivering a weekly dose of strategies and tactics I use with clients now, then you'll love my latest "Restaurant Unstoppable" appearance even more.

This ninety-minute episode is really worth your time, because Eric has become an expert in asking the right questions about our business. Together, we really got into what I call Matthew one-oh-one.

Don't worry, I've got links to both the video and the audio in our show notes. But first, let me walk you through what we talked about.

First, we covered my famous three phases of restaurant growth: "adrenaline espresso years" where you have one to three units, "chill out and reflect" for four to nine units, and "should I stay or should I go" when you reach ten to twenty units. Knowing what they mean and where you're at on that scale dictates your activity.

We also explored why the most important numbers for today's restaurants do not appear on your P&L. And how to make these numbers as top of mind as cost of goods sold, labor, prime cost, and everything else you have drilled into your people over the years.

Another topic we covered was how the industry has conquered employee retention issues. All of my clients have reported better retention in the past few years. Some of that reflects economic conditions, but more reflects the culture my clients create and their communications to employees and guests.

We discussed why "No Tax on Tips" will mean tough going for the industry, contrary to what you hear from our seldom-united politicians. Like a lot of shiny objects, this policy looks good on first glance, but the more you focus on it the more you see the flaws. Our political system fails repeatedly at separating the flaws from the shine.

Finally, we talked about how being vulnerable remains the key to improving your life and your restaurant company.

If you know me well, you know that my core belief underlines that you can have your restaurants, and eat there, too!

I have spent my whole career showing successful people how to enjoy freedom and make their restaurants work without being overly dependent on their actual physical presence.

Typically, someone doesn't ask me to lay out the whole landscape of what I know about restaurants and how I work with clients. And you won't hear it unless you eavesdrop.

So, here's your chance.

If you're not a regular listener or viewer of "Restaurant Unstoppable" then you can find the link in the show notes. And, do you have any questions or want to challenge my beliefs? You can schedule a free call, and that link is in the show notes as well.

Lastly, I want to mention an article that connects to today's episode. I mentioned how the ten thousand hour rule has been debunked and there's a fascinating piece that explores this myth in depth, showing how Malcolm Gladwell's interpretation was oversimplified.

The key insight is that you don't get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.

There's also a link to that article in today's show notes.

Thanks for listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter, please do so, and rate and review the show.

Thanks again and see you next time.