I had no idea I would be in the restaurant business.
After arriving in NYC with no contacts, only $40 to my name and absolutely no English skills, my first job in the restaurant business was as a bartender in one of Brooklyn’s busiest restaurants in 2002. I’d like to say I had a vision for my future back then, but I wouldn’t be truthful. It was more out of necessity that I applied for that job..
A few short months later, I was heading up the operations of another NYC restaurant. This is when I realized I had the skills and the spirit to do it on my own. Two years later, I owned my own restaurant.
After finding out the hard way that knowing how to work in the restaurant does not make you a successful restaurateur, I shut the place down for good. I remember asking myself, “What am I doing wrong? I am running a tight ship, we are always busy, why aren’t we making money?”
The reason was, I was too wrapped up in the day to day operations..
I knew how to work IN my business, I knew very little about how to work ON my business.
Though it hurt to lose ALL of my hard earned money, somehow I was able to remain light hearted. Deep down I knew this experience would go down as a big lesson that would serve me in the future.
In 2004 I moved to South Florida, and started reading and learning about the business of successful restaurants. Months later, I was running a multi million dollar operation for a nationwide restaurant group, and also advising and mentoring other restaurant owners on how to grow their businesses. Nine years later I resigned from this full time job and focused on my own coaching practice of helping independent restaurants take their businesses to the next level.
Currently I live in the Magic City of Miami and my clients span the globe. Nothing makes me more proud and excited as when I see a client have a breakthrough, share a success story that changed their life, or multiplied their profits in ways they could only have imagined.
The idea of helping other restaurants with the knowledge I’ve collected from being on ALL sides of the restaurant industry has turned out a win-win. I understand the dynamics and the pressure that comes with being a restaurant owner, and also understand the challenges and opportunities that come with being a restaurant employee. The owners trust my methods with ease knowing that I’ve gone from bartender to board rooms, and my warm hearted approach is a big draw. Their employees relate to me knowing I’ve been in their shoes, and believe in my guidance to take them where they want to go.
I like to say I am in the miracle business: People spend time with me, we talk, and miracles happen.