Reality Check- Reality TV vs Reality Coaching/Consulting

For me personally, 2020 was really rough. I had been recruited by restaurants my entire career and never really had to seek employment. And up until the pandemic, if I did apply, I always had a new gig really fast. But this time, no one in Nashville was hiring because our industry was hit really hard by bad city policy. I not only couldn’t find a job for the first time in my career, but my wife was now a stay-at-home mom with our 1-year-old son. For this reason, I started my coaching company.?

So, let me explain why I initially chose to coach rather than consult, and why everyone should have a coach. I will also discuss the dismal success rate of Reality TV Consultants.

A consultant is a professional who has a certain area or areas of skillset and has chosen to go out and share that skill for a price. They deliver a work for hire. For example, if you need a wine list, they will deliver a completed wine list and you will pay a price for that product. If you need someone to troubleshoot your food cost, a consultant will come in and analyze the systems you have in place and come up with a solution to get your food cost in line.?I do some consulting on occasion if it's the right opportunity and I feel like the client doesn't need ongoing help.

A coach?is also a professional who has a certain area or areas of skillset and have chosen to help others as well. The difference is, instead of delivering a work for hire where the consultant does all of the work, the coach comes along side of you for a period of time and coaches you through the process.?There is more coaching and collaborating with the client and less of the work for hire only.

When I decided to start a company to help restaurateurs not only survive but thrive way past COVID, I chose to be a coach for many reasons. The first reason is because I watched many episodes of shows like Bar Rescue. While I enjoyed the shows and believe that TV consultants have incredible knowledge and legitimate talent, the restaurants they helped still closed down within a short period of time. In fact, I read that over 75 percent of these restaurants didn’t make it. To give credit to these consultants, it is extremely difficult to come into a restaurant for only a couple of days and expect lasting change. New mindsets and habits needed to come into play. Writing a wine list for someone is very different and easier than changing pre-conceived and failed habits and mindsets. These changes take time.

Almost everyone in the U.S. knows that eating right and exercising will get them in shape and when their bodies are in shape they look, feel, and produce at higher level. However, the U.S. is one of the most overweight nations in the world. Why is that? They know what to do but they don’t do it. Likewise, many restaurateurs know what to do but, it’s hard for them to prioritize those success strategies when people are calling out sick, deliveries are shorted, the plumbing is backed up, etc. A coach can help you maintain focus and teach you how to work ON your restaurant instead of just IN your restaurant. The coach can be an extra set of eyes that isn’t caught up in the craziness of the day to day. They can give honest and insightful feedback.

In the Physical Fitness model, a consultant gives you a workout plan and a diet plan and you have to do all of the hard work of executing and maintaining. A coach works more like a personal trainer. The coach comes along side of you for an extended period of time and helps you work through the process and change mindsets and habits. The coach spots you when you are lifting more than you have in the past and encourages you to keep going.

Every human being should have a coach. Whether you call them a mentor or coach, whether you pay them or not, everyone needs a coach. And I DON'T MEAN SOMEONE WHO YELLS AT YOU AND INSULTS YOU IN FRONT OF YOUR SPOUSE like you see on TV. I mean someone who cares and who can provide ongoing assistance and guidance. I'm excited to be interviewing two good friends of mine, Michael Tipps and chef Brian Duffy on my Restaurant Success Linked In Live event this Thursday at 2pm EST. Michael and Brian were consultants on the set of Bar Rescue. Join us as we pull back the curtain to see what it's really like to work on the set of the show and how different that is than what they do in their new company Maverick Theory.