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 \- **✅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 **✅Connect With Us✅** https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott https://ownershifttraining.com/?el=podcasthttps://ownershifttraining.com/