Ops Nerd Podcast - Building Independent Spirits and Hospiality Brands

24 | What you really do

Ready to go from chaos to control in your empire? Call/Text Jason now at +19179832150 Get the Ops Nerd Newsletter for insider tips and tricks for hospitality operators in three minutes a week or less. https://opsnerd.com Jason Littrell is a Hospitality Management Consultant serving ambitious hospitality brands with high impact systems since 2009. *** Join Jason Littrell as he delves into the intricate world of hospitality management, focusing on solutions for independent bars and restaurants. Learn how to transform your business with the power of AI, effective HR practices, and targeted marketing strategies. - Understanding the main challenges faced by independent bars and restaurants - The crucial role of HR in the hospitality business - The pitfalls of being a great craftsman but a poor business operator - Leveraging AI and automation to streamline operations - Effective marketing strategies to convert social media followers to loyal customers 00:00 Jason Littrell on building HR systems for hospitality. 04:57 Being good at making drinks ≠ running bars 07:17 Train and develop staff for high returns. **The Importance of Understanding the Industry:** "I should kind of spend more time learning and understanding what the problems are, and then this will will inform the products that I build, for systems and operations that I can just install into bars and restaurants, and help the ones that really need the help." — Jason Littrell [00:00:46 → 00:00:59] The Corporate Edge: "They have national deals for purchasing, and they have a a massive economy of scale, and they do marketing. And, they can do all the stuff that independent bars and restaurants can't do." — Jason Littrell [00:01:18 → 00:01:27] The Struggle of Independent Restaurants: "The vast majority of bars and restaurants are at risk of going out of business at all times, pretty much at all times." — Jason Littrell [00:01:43 → 00:02:22] **The Reality of Bars and Restaurants**: "People think bars and restaurants are food businesses where you sell food." — Jason Littrell [00:03:17 → 00:03:22] **Brilliant Craftspeople Often Struggle to Run Businesses**: "And, and a lot of times, people, they are brilliant craftspeople. This is straight out of the E Myth, by the way, the book called The E Myth. But, a lot of people are brilliant, brilliant craftspeople. They are excellent at making their thing, their widget, their their drink, their their food, whatever it is. But that does not translate into what is required to run a business." — Jason Littrell [00:04:09 → 00:04:33] How to Avoid High Turnover in Bars and Restaurants: "If everybody understands that, you don't have to manage them because they know what to do already. Because they they're they're working in service of that why, of that mission." — Jason Littrell [00:05:31 → 00:05:40] Viral Topic: The Power of Authentic Marketing "But if they know what they're doing, then they attract the the right people, with their marketing or with just with their social media or whatever. And and that brings in the customers that also align with those mission, with that mission, with those values." — Jason Littrell [00:05:53 → 00:06:08] The Reality of Instagram Engagement: "Instagram has a 4% engagement rate organically. So that means for every 100 people that you, have as followers, then 4 of them are gonna see your message." — Jason Littrell [00:06:28 → 00:06:36] HR management, hospitality systems, bars, restaurants, business failures, independent bars, AI solutions, automation, storytelling, GoPro, people business, craftspeople, E Myth, bartending, profitability, training, staff development, customer engagement, marketing, social media, email subscribers, brand sales solutions, management consultant, Kinetic Management Systems, New York City.

23 | Snooze

Join Jason Littrell as he delves into his journey of building an HR and management system for hospitality brands. Get insights into his focused approach and challenges in the development process. - Transitioning from multiple opportunities to single project focus. - Building and selling a minimally viable product (MVP). - Partnering with beta clients for feedback and improvement. - Creating a comprehensive, gamified management system. - The importance of lifetime customer value in business. 00:00 Building technology platform for restaurant management systems. 03:44 Creating long-term, adaptable management system for businesses. Quitting Caffeine: "And my god, is it hard to stop drinking caffeine?" — Jason Littrell [00:00:20 → 00:00:24] The Power of Focus: "I've decided to focus on only a single thing, on just one thing." — Jason Littrell [00:00:49 → 00:00:53] Momentum is Key: "I would never have generated any momentum." — Jason Littrell [00:01:12 → 00:01:15] The Future of Startups: "Every time I tell somebody about this project, they say I want it." — Jason Littrell [00:01:54 → 00:01:58] **Belief in Your Product:** "They say you can't sell something you don't really believe in. Well, I really believe in this and I think that, and I and I'm only encouraged every time I talk to people about it." — Jason Littrell [00:02:12 → 00:02:21] "Revolutionizing Restaurant Management": "I basically have just systematized his system into a technology platform that just gives Management something to report, owners something to track, and staff something to, like a roadmap for staff to go down." — Jason Littrell [00:02:59 → 00:03:08] **The Secret to Business Longevity**: "The real value of the system will be in how long it's being adopted. And I'm building a product that should be adopted forever, right, as in it becomes part of the natural operating system of the bar just like a POS would be, and, and just like, you know, having Google versus Outlook, for instance." — Jason Littrell [00:03:44 → 00:04:44] Balancing Business Values and Personal Challenges: "I don't wanna sell something to somebody that they can use once and that they don't need anymore. I wanna sell them something that, like, markedly improves their business, over time." — Jason Littrell [00:04:44 → 00:05:26] Stepping Up Against All Odds: "So if I had fucking cancer right now, I would get out of bed and I would, and I would do what I needed to do to, to hustle this this system because, I just believe in it that much." — Jason Littrell [00:05:40 → 00:05:51] Jason Littrell, hospitality management, HR system, New York City, caffeine withdrawal, focus, beta client, product development, MVP, sales challenges, restaurant attorney, bar consultant, kinetic management system, shift report, secret shopper, employee onboarding, gamification, lifetime customer value, business adoption, product innovation, management consulting, fractional CMO, beverage brand sales, marketing solutions.

22 | Addition By Subtraction

Ready to go from chaos to control in your empire? Call/Text Jason now at +19179832150 Get the Ops Nerd Newsletter for insider tips and tricks for hospitality operators in three minutes a week or less. https://opsnerd.com Jason Littrell is a Hospitality Management Consultant serving ambitious hospitality brands with high impact systems since 2009. *** 00:00 Struggling with focus, finding motivation in automation. 03:54 Interested in simple, healthy, meaningful life experiences. 07:09 Busy day with calls, pitch, and energy. "Finding Gratitude in Unexpected Situations": "I'm kind of, I'm actually really grateful that I got let go." — Jason Littrell [00:00:28 → 00:00:32] "Cutting Back on Coffee": "I started to realize that caffeine was kind of starting to be a kind of a pain in the ass and that, I I wasn't really getting as much out of it as, I wasn't receiving much from it." — Jason Littrell [00:01:26 → 00:01:37] Caffeine Hangover Struggles: "Like, it was it's like a hang I feel like I'm hungover. Like, I'm I have this, like, caffeine hangover. Like, it's, like, mild 1% of a headache." — Jason Littrell [00:01:57 → 00:02:04] **The Impact of Automation**: "Thank goodness for all the automations running in the background because, I have a bunch of stuff that's running and and a bunch of AIs that are that are chatting and and doing work for people and stuff." — Jason Littrell [00:02:09 → 00:02:19] The Age of Humanity: "And we're roughly 2 to 300000 years old. That's what our modern body is." — Jason Littrell [00:03:14 → 00:03:20] Minimalism and Healthy Living: "So I'm not adding really anything. In fact, I'm reducing quite a bit. I don't like stuff. I'm literally sitting on the ground right now, and, and I don't and, you know, I like a very simple existence because I prefer experiences and I prefer to make things rather than accumulate things." — Jason Littrell [00:04:12 → 00:04:29] "The History of Our Diet and Fire": "For most of our history, we didn't rely on carbohydrates at all." — Jason Littrell [00:05:11 → 00:05:15] Back to Basics: "I'm trying to do things that, like, we did them before, before modern technology, before Monsanto, before sugar was in everything, and I mean everything." — Jason Littrell [00:05:42 → 00:05:55] The Philosophy of Addition by Subtraction: "In order to gain more energy, to gain more cognitive ability, to gain more, energy, I have to eliminate certain things." — Jason Littrell [00:06:48 → 00:06:57] Turning It Around: "But I have a bunch of onboarding calls and I'm and those are, like, those give me a lot of energy, so I'm hoping that'll kinda turn it around for me." — Jason Littrell [00:07:09 → 00:07:15] Jason Littrell, hospitality management consultant, NYC, layoff, caffeine, quitting coffee, lifestyle changes, health, energy, liminal thinking, self-improvement, book recommendations, "Sapiens", modern history, physiology, carbohydrates, modern diseases, healthy living, diet, sugar, starch, wheat, alcohol, tobacco, AI automations, client work, family, experiences over possessions, addition by subtraction, cognitive ability, onboarding calls, pitch. 1. How to reduce reliance on caffeine effectively 2. How to implement a healthier lifestyle as a busy professional 3. How to identify excessive caffeine consumption 4. How to manage irritability and withdrawal symptoms after quitting caffeine 5. How to cultivate a philosophy of liminal thinking 6. How to enhance cognitive function by eliminating certain habits 7. How to navigate transitioning away from sugar and other dietary staples 8. How to organize life around healthier eating choices 9. How to balance personal health goals with family dietary needs 10. How to stay productive and manage brain fog during lifestyle transitions Music: Mint Leaves Musician: Jeff Kaale https://enjoymusic.ai

21 | Dog Food

Ready to go from chaos to control in your empire? Call/Text Jason now at +19179832150 Get the Ops Nerd Newsletter for insider tips and tricks for hospitality operators in three minutes a week or less. https://opsnerd.com Jason Littrell is a Hospitality Management Consultant serving ambitious hospitality brands with high impact systems since 2009. *** In this video, watch Jason Littrell, expert in beverage brand sales and management consulting, share insights on his marketing strategies and client engagement techniques. Discover how he uses AI, automation, and newsletters to nurture client relationships and stay top of mind. - Importance of Ops Nerd newsletter in client engagement - Utilizing SEO to drive traffic and establish expertise - Value of email deliverability in client services - Breakthrough in data visualization for HR Systems - Soft pitching strategies for client acquisition Discovering the Joy of Unscheduled Work Time: "I really like this unscheduled work time." — Jason Littrell [00:00:07 → 00:00:34] The Power of Consistency: "What I do every single day is I put a little marker on the world's 2nd largest search engine, which is YouTube." — Jason Littrell [00:01:09 → 00:01:13] **The Power of SEO in Video Content**: "This is a very very long game. But every time I make a video, I run it through my, AI, which will read, and I've trained it to do to give me a certain several things, like, as in, like, a summary, brief biography of me, time stamping, quotes and and, notable quotes and and things that I said." — Jason Littrell [00:01:47 → 00:02:06] Engaging with Your Audience: "The newsletter is a way to, if people want to if they don't wanna be, you know, on YouTube every day looking for what I might say next, then I send in a newsletter that says, here are the 3 things that I thought were important this week." — Jason Littrell [00:03:01 → 00:03:14] **The Big Promise of the Ops Nerd Newsletter**: "It's only takes 3 minutes a week, and it's gonna tell you all the AI and nerdery that that you can apply to your business today." — Jason Littrell [00:03:42 → 00:03:48] Creating Value without Expecting a Lot in Return: "And so I I'm just trying to, you know, provide value without anybody having to provide a lot in return. And and all I'm really asking for is is their, email address, not even their name and their phone number." — Jason Littrell [00:03:57 → 00:04:08] AI and Automation Expert Reveals Weekly Routine: "And then on Thursdays, I have, AI and automation sorcery. So 3 things in the newsletter, 3 events in the week. You know, it's not hard to find one thing from each of those things." — Jason Littrell [00:05:15 → 00:05:28] Viral Email Insights: "But it only takes 3 minutes to read. Very easy, very snackable, very consumable." — Jason Littrell [00:05:37 → 00:05:41] "Mastering Your Craft": "And, and if I'm gonna be providing these kind of services and automations and systems for my clients, I should probably have a pretty good mastery of them myself. And so I'm eating my own dog food, I'm doing I'm practicing what I preach, and, and I'm playing the long game, and this is how it goes." — Jason Littrell [00:05:51 → 00:06:07] Jason Littrell, hospitality management consultant, New York City, automations, marketing, sales, operations, sorcery, Ops Nerd newsletter, customer engagement, AI, SEO, automation sorcery, email deliverability, systems implementation, data visualization, bar marketing, brand sales solutions, staff engagement, client support sessions, brand sales mastermind, AI and automation sorcery, Kinetic Management Systems, independent spirits, fractional cmo, fractional cto.

20 | P°3

Ready to go from chaos to control in your empire? Call/Text Jason now at +19179832150 Get the Ops Nerd Newsletter for insider tips and tricks for hospitality operators in three minutes a week or less. https://opsnerd.com Jason Littrell is a Hospitality Management Consultant serving ambitious hospitality brands with high impact systems since 2009. *** In this video, seasoned hospitality management consultant Jason Littrell shares insights on building a dynamic HR system for bars and restaurants. Covering topics like the importance of staff recruitment, engagement strategies, and the value of ongoing training. Stay tuned for expert advice on automating processes, fostering a positive company culture, and ensuring long-term employee success. 00:00 Talent acquisition and culture are critical. 03:15 Developing job application process to attract top talent. 06:48 Systematize, document, and record staff interactions transparently. Viral Marketing Insight: "The product of the product is like the way you feel when you buy it. And then the product of the product or the product is the person that you become or the identity that you adopt by purchasing that product." — Jason Littrell [00:00:07 → 00:00:48] **Solving the Root of Problems in Business**: "What I'm building today is the solution to the problem of the problem of the problem." — Jason Littrell [00:01:01 → 00:01:04] The Flywheel Effect in Recruitment: "You don't have to recruit as hard anymore. There are not going to churn out. They're not gonna piss off Systems. And they're they're gonna tell their friends what a great place to work it is. So you don't have to look for people so hard. So it creates this kind of flywheel effect." — Jason Littrell [00:01:41 → 00:01:54] **The Importance of Workplace Culture**: "Culture matters. And, and if you are not, big enough to have an a full time HR person that that, that manages this stuff for you then, to do it manually, then you need processes and automations." — Jason Littrell [00:02:25 → 00:02:38] **Finding Top Talent in Today's Job Market:** "So, like, somebody comes into the bar restaurant and says says they're looking for a job, which is becoming rarer and rarer, by the way, then what do you do at that point?" — Jason Littrell [00:03:15 → 00:03:22] **Successful Employee Onboarding:** "And so then there's the actual event where you kind of reinforce the values that you've portrayed in the, in the in the onboarding sequence or in the, in the, nurture sequence leading up to the to the recruiting event." — Jason Littrell [00:04:50 → 00:05:02] **The Importance of Rigorous Pre-Management Training**: "Because if you invest early into this kind of training, the dividends pay off for years." — Jason Littrell [00:06:26 → 00:06:31] Success is a Process, Not an Event: "Success, winning, profitability. It's not an event. It's a process." — Jason Littrell [00:07:31 → 00:07:35] Jason Littrell, hospitality consultant, NYC, Kinetic Management Systems, bar marketing, staff engagement, brand sales, advisor, fractional cmo, fractional cto, management expert, innovative solutions, independent spirits, hospitality brands, dynamic solutions. How to improve staff retention in my restaurant? How to create a successful recruiting event for my hospitality business? How to engage and train potential employees effectively? How to automate processes in staff management for a bar or restaurant? How to build a strong company culture in the hospitality industry? How to implement a rigorous pre-management process for employees? How to document interactions and automate tasks in staff management? How to create a successful onboarding program for new staff members? How to ensure compliance with legal HR requirements in hiring processes? How to scale staff management systems for multiple restaurants effectively?