Restaurant Growth Accelerator: More Profit, More Locations, And More Time With Your Family

3 Myths About Selling A Restaurant | With Joseph McKeown

A restaurant doing $1 million in sales can still be worth far less than the owner expects if the profit, team, and operations aren’t built correctly. In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast, Andrew Scott sits down with restaurant owner and business broker Joseph McKeown to share what really makes a restaurant valuable. Whether you're looking to increase restaurant profits, reduce food and labor costs, build a business that runs without you, or prepare your restaurant for a future sale - this episode reveals the financial and operational changes that create long-term success (and higher business valuations). In this episode, you'll learn: ✅How to increase restaurant profits without relying on more sales ✅The one thing that matters more than revenue when valuing a restaurant ✅The biggest mistakes restaurant owners make before selling ✅What buyers actually look for when purchasing a restaurant ✅How to lower food costs and labor costs through better systems ✅The truth about restaurant business valuations and EBITDA multiples ✅Why most restaurants struggle to sell…and how to avoid becoming one of them ✅How to prepare your restaurant for a profitable exit years before you sell Key moments: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:15 Meet Joseph 00:02:35 From $10K to $1.2M 00:04:15 The 15% profit swing 00:06:55 Death by thousand cuts 00:11:35 Summer is go time 00:14:21 Why he became a broker 00:16:15 Three selling myths 00:21:58 What buyers pay for 00:25:48 Multiples explained 00:34:46 Net profit is the scoreboard 00:41:00 Biggest seller mistakes 00:42:35 The staff mistake 00:50:50 Steps to sell now 00:51:57 Two things to fix - 👉Connect with Joseph https://minneapolisnorthwest.fcbb.com/meet-our-team [https://minneapolisnorthwest.fcbb.com/meet-our-team]https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephmckeownfcbb/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephmckeownfcbb/ ] - ✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅ Claim your FREE Restaurant Weekly Financial Tracker to uncover thousands in hidden profits and optimize your costs (in less time than it takes to finish your morning coffee): https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp?el=podcast [https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp?el=podcast] - ✅About Us✅ The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training. Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too. ✅For Restaurant Owners✅ Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call: 👉 Restaurant Assessment Call [https://meetings.hubspot.com/andrew2428/restaurant-assessment-e?el=podcast] ✅Connect With Us✅ https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ ] https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott [https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott] https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast [https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast] https://ownershifttraining.com/

Why Busy Restaurants Still Go Bankrupt | With Tim Halls

This restaurant owner was making $20,000 a week in sales - and still losing money. Bad debt, broken bookkeeping, and weak systems pushed his BBQ restaurant straight into bankruptcy. Then he turned it all around with real bookkeeping, smarter systems, and tighter cost control that helped him rebuild the business from the ground up. In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast, Andrew Scott sits down with Tim Halls of Burnt BBQ & Tacos. Together, they share the real story behind restaurant profit, money stress, and how to build a business that actually supports your life. This is a must-watch for restaurant owners, BBQ shop operators, food truck founders, and catering business owners who want to know why strong sales alone do not equal profit. Tune in to discover: ✅Why restaurants can have great sales and still lose money ✅How bad bookkeeping and unclear P&L reports hurt restaurant owners ✅The danger of merchant cash advances and taking loans to pay loans ✅Why food cost, labor cost, and P&L reports are key to restaurant profit ✅Simple systems, checklists, and employee manuals that create freedom ✅The underleveraged way to quickly grow restaurant revenue ✅How strong restaurant operations improve your home life, team, and future Tune in to learn how to fix a restaurant losing money, grow your catering sales, and finally build a profitable BBQ business that gives you your life back. Key moments: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:10 Meet Tim Halls 00:04:40 The Partner Who Wrecked Everything 00:09:00 The Bookkeeper Nightmare 00:18:10 Trapped In Cash Advances 00:21:40 From $250K To $60K 00:26:30 Life After Bankruptcy 00:34:10 Building The Catering Engine 00:39:10 Going Out And Hunting Orders 00:47:10 Whales vs Minnows 00:53:40 Why Service Wins - ✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅ Claim your FREE Restaurant Weekly Financial Tracker to uncover thousands in hidden profits and optimize your costs (in less time than it takes to finish your morning coffee): https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp?el=podcast [https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp?el=podcast] - ✅About Us✅ The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training. Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too. ✅For Restaurant Owners✅ Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call: 👉 Restaurant Assessment Call [https://meetings.hubspot.com/andrew2428/restaurant-assessment-e?el=podcast] ✅Connect With Us✅ https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ ] https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott [https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott] https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast [https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast] https://ownershifttraining.com/

The Hardest Lessons From 20 Years of Owning Restaurants Part 3

This is the third and final part of my journey as a multi-unit restaurant owner. I share the real cost of growing a restaurant business too fast. I lost the lease on my first shop after ten years of hard work (my landlord gave my space to the neighbor next door).  Then I opened a fifth location at the worst possible time and my sales were almost non-existent. I was overwhelmed with loan payments, I lost a key manager, and I worked 100-hour weeks (again). THANKFULLY I fixed everything… And in this episode, I’m sharing how - so you can learn how to scale a restaurant the right way. Tune in to discover: ✅Why opening more restaurant locations doesn’t automatically create more profit ✅How poor lease planning can cost restaurant owners years of work and tens of thousands of dollars ✅Why multi-unit restaurant ownership requires a completely different skill set ✅How I realized I’d scaled beyond my systems, team, and leadership capacity ✅The overlooked skills that are 100% foundational to a restaurant's success ✅The dangers of debt, short loan terms, and opening before your business is ready ✅How COVID tested restaurant systems, leadership, delivery, marketing, and cash flow ✅The BIG alternative to cost-cutting restaurant owners should be focusing on instead Key moments: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:54 Losing the lease 00:07:50 Lessons from location one 00:10:10 Hiring a business coach 00:16:40 Building real systems 00:23:10 Scaling talent and leadership 00:26:40 The fifth location mistake 00:33:10 The marketing breakthrough 00:40:50 COVID changes everything 00:47:50 Survival through subsidies 00:58:40 Selling the restaurants 01:02:40 The bigger mission - ✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅ Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:  👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb?el=podcast [https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb?el=podcast] - ✅About Us✅ The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training. Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too. ✅For Restaurant Owners✅ Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call: 👉 Restaurant Assessment Call [https://meetings.hubspot.com/andrew2428/restaurant-assessment-e?el=podcast] ✅Connect With Us✅ https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ ] https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott [https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott] https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast [https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast] https://ownershifttraining.com/

The Hardest Lessons From 20 Years of Owning Restaurants Part 2

A profitable restaurant is built before it’s scaled. This is part 2 of Andrew Scott sharing the biggest lessons and mistakes from scaling his own restaurants. You’ll hear how Andrew went from one struggling location to three locations - and back to barely surviving. And why he spent years chasing sales when his real problem was something that no amount of sales could ever fix. Tune in to hear about: ✅Why more restaurant sales do not always mean more restaurant profit ✅One thing that can destroy profitability even when revenue grows ✅How to review your P&L and bank account to cut expenses without cutting growth ✅When you should never ever cut marketing, even when things feel tight ✅How restaurant discounts can work when used strategically ✅The risks of opening a second or third restaurant location too soon ✅Why restaurant managers fail time and time again, no matter what you do Key moments: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:40 The cost control wake-up call 00:05:25 Watching staff waste food 00:07:05 The two-question P&L cleanup 00:09:15 Cutting marketing 00:12:00 Prime cost math 00:18:15 Mascot suit marketing 00:20:25 Adding delivery and catering 00:22:45 Smart discounting rules 00:31:35 Why second locations fail 00:36:45 Heir and spare hiring 00:43:45 Opening next to competitors 00:52:25 The ran-out-of-product lie - ✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅ Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:  👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb?el=podcast [https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb?el=podcast] - ✅About Us✅ The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training. Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too. ✅For Restaurant Owners✅ Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call: 👉 Restaurant Assessment Call [https://meetings.hubspot.com/andrew2428/restaurant-assessment-e?el=podcast] ✅Connect With Us✅ https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ ] https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott [https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott] https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast [https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast] https://ownershifttraining.com/

The Hardest Lessons From 20 Years of Owning Restaurants Part 1

Andrew Scott (founder of Owner Shift) didn't plan to buy a restaurant at 20. He just said yes when the owner offered it to him, and his dad co-signed a loan that put the family house on the line. What followed was seven years of 80-hour weeks, no days off, zero profit, and a 100-pound weight gain. In Part 1 of this raw series, Andrew sits down with his new Director of Marketing Joe DiRoma to crack open the early years of his restaurant journey. From getting fired by his own great-aunt at a fried chicken shop to losing every friend he had, this is the side of restaurant ownership nobody likes to share. You'll hear the birthday party story he's never told anyone, the Christmas party that taught him not to trust people, and the assistant manager whose resignation email broke him. Andrew also shares the moment everything shifted. In this episode, you’ll hear about: ✅The hidden personal cost of restaurant ownership and burnout ✅How doing everything yourself can keep your restaurant stuck ✅Why restaurant owners struggle to trust employees and delegate ✅The difference between single-unit leadership and multi-unit leadership ✅How limiting beliefs can cap your restaurant’s profitability ✅Why systems, SOPs, staffing, and leadership are essential for scaling ✅How to avoid the painful mistakes many restaurant owners learn too late ✅What it really takes to build a restaurant business that works without you being there every hour Key moments: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:00 Meet Joe DiRoma 00:04:33 Fired from fast food 00:18:43 Radio days and writing 00:21:40 Moving to Ottawa 00:24:30 Buying at twenty 00:27:40 A normal Tuesday 00:33:50 The birthday party 00:49:00 Losing trust completely 00:53:20 The resignation moment 00:56:15 Finding good people - ✅Get The Hiring Playbook✅ https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/managerhiringtoolkit?el=podcast [https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/managerhiringtoolkit?el=podcast] - ✅About Us✅ The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training. Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too. ✅For Restaurant Owners✅ Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call: 👉 Restaurant Assessment Call [https://meetings.hubspot.com/andrew2428/restaurant-assessment-e?el=podcast] ✅Connect With Us✅ https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ ] https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott [https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott] https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast [https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcast] https://ownershifttraining.com/