Running a restaurant is hard. Keeping it profitable is even harder.

In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast, Andrew Scott (Founder of OwnerShift) shares the four financial rules every restaurant owner needs to live by - if they want to keep their money once the profits start rolling in.

After almost 20 years as a restaurant owner and helping hundreds of clients grow their businesses, Andrew breaks down real-life scenarios.

Tune in if you want practical advice for avoiding the biggest money mistakes restaurant owners make.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅Why profit is unnatural… and why most restaurant owners lose it

✅The biggest cash flow mistakes restaurant owners make after success

✅How much a restaurant owner should actually pay themselves

✅Why your bank account balance lies to you

✅The correct way to take owner’s draws without hurting your business

✅How to avoid sales tax and debt mistakes that shut restaurants down

✅How to set up financial guardrails so your restaurant survives long-term

Tune in now to discover the financial rules used to build sustainable, scalable restaurant businesses.

Key moments:

00:01:10 - Client Success to Crisis
00:03:30 - Why Profit Is “Unnatural”
00:04:30 - Buy High Sell Low?
00:07:10 - Letting Go of Basics
00:12:30 - The Four Financial Rules
00:14:10 - Taxes
00:18:10 - The Buffer Rule
00:22:30 - Emergency Fund Setup
00:29:50 - Owner's Draw System
00:31:30 - Bank Account Bonus

If you've got money coming in and you want to keep it there, this is your blueprint.

-

✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

✅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/

In this FAQ episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator, Andrew Scott answers real questions submitted by restaurant owners.

Including questions about navigating POS systems, tech stacks, AI tools, marketing decisions, and third-party delivery (while staying profitable and protecting the guest experience).

You’ll also hear about what restaurant technology is actually worth paying for, what’s not, and how to make smarter decisions.

Tune in to discover:

✅ The real pros & cons of POS systems and add-ons
✅ When restaurant software is worth the cost (and when it’s not)
✅ How restaurant owners should use AI the right way
✅ In-house vs outsourced restaurant marketing strategy
✅ How to create restaurant social media content efficiently
✅ Systems to manage DoorDash, Uber Eats, and third-party delivery
✅ How to protect the dine-in experience while scaling delivery

Key moments:

00:01:00 Tech Stacks Actually Worth the Investment
00:03:20 The Best Software Rule
00:05:20 Integrating Systems That Work
00:07:20 Using AI in Your Restaurant
00:10:40 Marketing In-House vs Outsourcing
00:14:00 Creating Content Easily
00:17:00 Evaluating Agency ROI
00:18:20 Third-Party Delivery Balance
00:21:40 Staffing for Actual Volume
00:24:20 Third-Party Pricing Strategy

Listen now to get straight answers to the questions restaurant owners are actually asking.

-

✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

-

✅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/

Is your mindset the real reason your restaurant isn’t growing?

If you're constantly blaming food costs, labor shortages, or the economy, this episode will challenge everything you think you know about restaurant success.

In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast, multi-unit restaurant owner Andrew Scott dives deep into the mindset shifts every restaurant owner must make - to unlock increased profits, freedom, and long-term success.

Too many restaurant owners believe it’s impossible to run a profitable restaurant and have a great life. This is simply not true.

Tune in to discover:

✅The real cost of believing your restaurant can’t be profitable

✅Why “no one good to hire” is just a belief keeping you broke

✅The weird psychological phenomenon shaping your results… and how to change them

✅The mindset shift that helped Andrew grow by 30% in one year

✅Why venting with other struggling owners keeps you stuck

✅The key question to ask when you're not hitting your goals

Whether you’re struggling to increase profitability, lower food and labor costs, or just feeling burned out from 80-hour weeks, this episode offers a serious mindset reset.

Key moments:

00:01:00 The Belief Ceiling
00:03:40 Hiring Belief Trap
00:05:20 The $5 Beer That Changed Everything
00:07:20 The True Cost of Not Knowing
00:09:00 Why You Need a Bigger Room
00:10:40 Pity Parties Kill Progress
00:13:00 Stories We Tell Ourselves
00:16:40 Finding Someone Who Tells Hard Truths
00:18:20 Short-Term Comfort Costs

Listen now and discover the belief shifts that separate restaurant owners who thrive from those who just survive.

-

✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

✅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/

Restaurant sales crash every January... here’s how to stop the bleeding before it starts.

Welcome to the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast with your host, Andrew Scott.

Today, we're diving deep into how to plan for and survive the winter sales slump that hits many restaurants in January and February.

Listen now and build your winter-proof restaurant strategy before the slow season hits!

Tune in to discover:

✅How to compare January vs January (not December) for real performance insights

✅Why cutting marketing during slow months is the wrong move

✅The best types of promotions to run in cold weather months

✅Why planning winter marketing in November is crucial

✅How past financial patterns can predict future pain

✅Quick-win ideas to increase foot traffic and repeat visits

If your restaurant sales drop after Christmas, you’re not alone. This episode is packed with actionable strategies to help you.

Key moments:

00:01:25 Understanding your seasonal patterns
00:04:45 The January cash crunch
00:07:45 Emotional reactions vs. staying the course
00:09:25 Should you cut marketing?
00:11:45 Planning your marketing
00:15:05 The stubborn new location story
00:19:45 Why your reality can change
00:23:25 The power of value offers
00:26:45 Holiday promotions
00:31:25 The thousand golden BBs principle
00:33:45 Compare year over year

The restaurant cash crunch that hits in January can become a pattern you can predict, plan for, and beat.

Tune in to hear how.

-

✅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

-

✅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/

This episode will completely change how you think about restaurant growth, profitability, and freedom - straight from a multi-unit owner who scaled back and made more money.

Welcome to the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast.

In this episode, Andrew Scott sits down with restaurant powerhouse Kim Shapiro, uncovering exactly how she scaled, simplified, and systemized her multi-location restaurant business.

Kim shares her 40+ years of experience in the restaurant industry…

Including growing up in a family-run restaurant to managing 7 successful concepts and more.

She also reveals how she went from burnout and survival mode to building a profitable business that runs without her.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

✅ How to stop working in your restaurant and start working on it

✅ The exact moment Kim realized more sales don’t mean more profit

✅ How to hit a 55-60% prime cost (and what it means for your bottom line)

✅ The planning secret used by the world's top-performing restaurants

✅ How creative event marketing can explode your traffic

✅ The #1 mindset shift that will unlock time freedom and bigger profits

✅ The metrics you MUST track if you want to be profitable (hint: stop relying on your P&L)

If you're a restaurant owner struggling with profitability, stuck in the day-to-day grind, or unsure how to grow your sales without discounting - this episode is packed with real, actionable insights you can implement right now.

Key moments:

00:02:20 Growing up in the restaurant industry
00:05:40 Rent-to-sales ratio reality check
00:08:00 The "I can't" to "I don't know how yet" shift
00:12:40 Reactive vs proactive restaurant management
00:17:40 Planning three months ahead minimum
00:19:00 Creating viral experiences without discounts
00:22:20 Marketing is the tax for being unremarkable
00:27:00 Using vendors as intelligence sources
00:31:00 Time blocking for restaurant owners
00:39:40 The weekly tracker that saves months of guessing

Hit play now and learn the planning framework that took Kim from barely-surviving multi-unit owner to the profitable, freedom-filled restaurant life she has today.

-

✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

✅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/

If you're planning to scale your restaurant business, this is the blueprint for buying existing restaurants the smart way - straight from a 20-year restaurant industry veteran.

In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast, Andrew Scott shares what every restaurant owner needs to know before purchasing an existing business or expanding to new locations.

From costly mistakes made on his first restaurant acquisition to insider tips on evaluating financials, negotiating leases, and spotting red flags...

This episode is packed with real-world advice to help you scale your restaurant empire (without going broke).

Tune in to hear about:

✅ How to assess if you’re actually ready to scale to a second location

✅ The exact financial documents you need before buying a restaurant

✅ What EBITDA multiple to use for restaurant valuation

✅ Negotiation tactics with sellers and landlords

✅ The pros and cons of buying vs. building from scratch

✅ Lease agreement tips that can save you thousands

Listen to this episode before you sign another lease or make an offer on that available restaurant.

Key Moments:

00:01:40 Are You Really Ready for Location Two?
00:03:20 Avoid Scaling to Bankruptcy
00:06:00 Purchasing an Existing Business
00:09:00 Equipment Assessment
00:12:00 Negotiating the Best Deal
00:18:00 Location Selection
00:22:20 Competition Research
00:25:00 Contractors & Timelines

Buying a restaurant can grow your empire -or bankrupt it.

The strategies Andrew shares could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of regret.

-

✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

✅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/

Tired of restaurant managers who don’t take initiative, don’t know their numbers, and always need hand-holding?

Welcome back to the Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast with your host Andrew Scott, a multi-unit restaurant owner with nearly 20 years of experience helping restaurant leaders grow sales, improve profits, and reclaim their time.

In this episode, Andrew is tackling one of the biggest challenges in hospitality:

"How do I get my restaurant managers to take ownership and accountability?"

If you're constantly pulling your managers across the finish line instead of coaching them to lead, this episode is for you.

Tune in to hear about:

✅ Why most accountability issues are rooted in selection or training

✅ How to shift from spoonfeeding managers to developing true leadership

✅ The power of scoreboards and measurable KPIs in driving performance

✅ How to structure weekly one-on-ones so managers come prepared

✅ The reporting secret that’s key to winning the week, month, and quarter

✅ How to identify if a manager has real initiative (or if they’re just holding a title)

This episode is packed with real-world examples, coaching approaches, and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to improve your restaurant management.

Key moments:

00:01:11 The Spoonfeeding Problem
00:02:48 Setting Clear Expectations
00:06:09 Making Unprepared Painful
00:12:08 The Scoreboard Principle
00:16:30 Leading vs Pulling
00:20:48 Training or Selection
00:23:46 The Two-Factor Test

Stop doing everything yourself.

Click play and learn how to build a team that actually takes ownership.

-

✅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

-

✅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/

Data is the secret weapon of today’s most profitable restaurants.

Join Andrew Scott and Russ Hawkins as they break down how to use numbers and data to scale your restaurant, cut costs, and increase your revenue.

If you're a restaurant owner, multi-unit operator, or manager looking to improve your profits, reduce staff turnover, or optimize operations, this episode is packed with actionable insights you can use today.

Tune in to discover

✅ How to use POS data to drive smarter decisions

✅ Why most restaurant owners are losing money… without realizing it

✅ Hidden margin leaks every operator should be tracking immediately

✅ The surprising way you can use data to reduce employee churn

✅ Real-world strategies to upsell and boost average check size

✅ Simple data points that reveal massive profit potential

By the end of this episode, you’ll know all the hidden profit leaks costing you thousands - that simple data tracking reveals instantly.

Key Moments:

00:03:00 Transaction Data
00:07:20 Seasonal Patterns
00:15:00 Upselling Performance Metrics
00:22:00 Promotion Effectiveness Analysis
00:27:40 Emotional Vs Logical Decisions
00:33:00 Labor Optimization Strategies
00:39:20 Internal Theft Detection
00:44:00 Data-Driven Growth Strategy

Ready to stop flying blind and start making data-driven decisions that actually grow your bottom line?

Listen now to discover the systems that transform overwhelmed operators into profitable business owners who work less and earn more.

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✅About Russ Hawkins✅

Russ Hawkins has spent over 35 years in the technology industry and is the president and CEO of the leading data technology and SASS Analytics company, Agilence.

Agilence, helps retailers, grocers, and restaurants improve their operational effectiveness and uncover preventable losses using the data already in their hands.

-

✅Connect With Russ Hawkins✅

https://www.agilenceinc.com/

Email: rhawkins@agilenceinc.com

-

✅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

-

✅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/