Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

Watching other small business owners in action and learning from their strengths and mistakes is very instructive.

Our March sub theme looks at the food industry.

Last week my husband and I went to a favorite pizza and pasta cafe.  It's nothing flash decor wise with just a few tables and chairs outside and no seating inside.

What they have is good food, freshly made and reasonably priced. They also have staff who are always friendly and efficient.

The cafe consistently wins awards for their pizzas and makes sure they spread the word about this.

This cafe is a good half hour drive from our home, but we visit regularly and bypass other pizza places closer by. There's even an upmarket pizza place across the street, but this "little pizza cafe that could" just chugs on doing what they do best.

I think I've come to appreciate this little cafe even more since seeing Kitchen Nightmares on TV.

Their strengths and approach could be applied to any small business, food related or not

• good product knowledge
• know their target market
• location just outside a busy shopping complex
• plenty of parking and ease of access
• excellent customer service
  
• clear focus on their strengths
• consistency
• proactive
  
• interesting menu choices
• reasonable prices
• value for money
• fresh quality ingredients
• friendly efficient staff
• proud of their products
• keep an eye on profit margins
• enter products for awards
• seek free publicity opportunities e.g. newspaper articles

• What ideas have you been reminded of for your own small business after dining out?

© Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com