OUR VISION

At The Ball Group our vision is clear:

  • To share our experience gained over 25 years of growing profitable businesses, and to help other businesses achieve outstanding performance through:
    1. People development and HR processes
    2. Product and pricing optimisation
    3. Customer acquisition and retention strategies
    4. Operational & environmental systems development
    5. Profit maximisation strategies
  • We offer a fully integrated consultancy for start ups and small – medium enterprises, specializing in the hospitality industry, and can provide one-on-one coaching and mentoring.

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT & HR STRATEGIES

Recruitment Procedures

  • attracting the right staff
  • creating appealing ads
  • advertising channels for recruiting
  • utilisation of recruitment companies
  • interviewing techniques & questionnaire development
  • referral programs & incentive structures

Hiring of staff

  • starter pack – tax form, super choice, personal details, WorkCover requirements
  • contracts – FairWork Australia & Restaurant Award approved
  • apprenticeship schemes & company recommendations
  • detailed job descriptions & key performance indicators
  • in-house policies & procedures
  • product notes / training notes / entry level test development
  • wage negotiations & award responsibilities

Management of staff

  • organisational charts & line managers
  • one-one-one meeting/coaching sessions
  • staff/management meeting templates
  • performance management processes
  • performance review template/wage review discussions
  • incident reports/warning notices
  • creating routines/schedules
  • documented training manuals
  • succession planning & career paths (tests for success)

PRODUCT & PRICING OPTIMISATION

Product

  • menu design, creation & vision complementing overall vision
  • product mix complementary to customer needs
  • allergy/intolerance strategy & training
  • delivery times/docket times/ execution times
  • supplier management & supplier terms/contracts/personal guarantors
  • ordering processes
  • quality checks/rotation/labelling/ waste tracking
  • food permits/council requirements
  • PAR charts/prep charts
  • recipes with pics/cheat sheets for bar/kitchen
  • feature/special days – daily/weekly additions & specials
  • transfer sheets BOH v FOH

Pricing

  • creating pricing strategy based on market position
  • pricing product matrix – cost leaders v losses
  • competitive analysis
  • cost of sales & budgets – food, liquor, wine, non-alcoholic, coffee
  • promotional offerings – loyalty club, staff discounts, friends/family discount
  • seasonal pricing adjustments
  • supplier costs, mark ups, tax (WET, GST)

MARKETING – CUSTOMER ACQUISITION & RETENTION STRATEGIES

Acquisition

  • SWOT analysis
  • defining target market based on demographic profiling
  • customer gap analysis
  • how and where to advertise for new customers – best communication channels
  • increasing transaction strategies
  • website purpose and management of
  • building a social profile – Urbanspoon, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Instagram
  • in-house ‘first timer’ policy

Retention

  • database management & communication channels
  • increasing ‘frequency of purchase’ strategies
  • increasing ‘dollars spent’ strategies
  • feedback cards and management of
  • complaints policy & handling procedures
  • managing a social profile –  scheduling postings (frequency, nature of message)

Loyalty

  • loyalty club and offering
  • points based schemes tied into POS systems
  • recognising anniversaries, birthdays
  • email marketing, 1:1 marketing
  • customer table management program (reservations, VIPs)

OPERATIONAL & ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

  • point of sale systems software
  • customer booking program & software, table management programs
  • equipment needs- dishwasher, glasswasher, cool rooms, freezers, ovens, fryers, chargrills, burners
  • council requirements (i.e. pizza ovens & flues)
  • building inspections and permits required
  • power & gas supply requirements & restrictions – phase v gas line
  • grease trap requirements, sinks positioned within council regs, pluming needs (drains etc)
  • overall design & functionality flow v form
  • footpath restrictions, licenses, red-line requirements, outdoor dining restrictions
  • wifi cabling (pre-build), office set-up & software requirements (ie. MYOB for accounting)
  • stereo, speakers, cameras – suppliers & recommended approach
  • garbage rotation, recycling, composting, laundry requirements
  • storage for FOH & BOH, on-site v off-site, dry-goods v perishables
  • disabled access, council requirements & lavatory mandatories (ramps, railings)
  • supplier delivery points, out of hours access
  • security system, personalised codes for each staff member
  • set up of food safety program
  • Test & tag program on all electrical equipment
  • pest control, insect management, sanitary requirements
  • expansion opportunities – setting up key requirements now for future expansion

PROFIT MAXIMISATION STRATEGIES

The Set-Up

  • P&L statements – setting budgets
  • forecast cash flows & sales projections
  • rent negotiations, lease terms & conditions, CPI indexing
  • choosing accountant/bookkeeper
  • gearing for BAS, PAYG & GST
  • due diligence and PPSR searches (previous owners)
  • labour system, roster system templates
  • wages analysis, FOH v BOH
  • setting COS targets for staff & bonus structures

The Ongoing Management

  • stocktakes to monitor stock and costs on hand
  • actual v theoretical forecasts
  • discounts, deletes & variance report analysis
  • occupancy cost reviews
  • operating cost reviews
  • payroll tax strategies
  • writing off obsolete stock tactics
  • deferring income strategies
  • pre-paying expenses where possible
  • taking advantage of the $20k small business immediate tax write off
  • selecting when to pay staff bonuses
  • making additional superannuation contributions as business owners

THE OWNERS

Joshua Ball
Joshua BallOwner
• Holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Entrepreneurial Management (Royal Roads University, Canada)
• Holds a Diploma in Life Coaching (The Life Coaching College of Australia)
• Holds a Diploma in Business Coaching (The Business Coaching College of Australia)
• Is an advanced NLP practitioner (neuro linguistic programming)
• Has over 25 years experience in the hospitality industry
• Has over 15 years experience in restaurant consultancy
• Is a Certified Sommelier (Holmesglen Victoria)
• Started up successful multi-chain restaurant in Canada (MedGrill)
• Was the Regional Manager for multi-chain restaurant in Canada (Moxies)
• Worked in high-end restaurants in Australia for Neil Perry (Rockpool, WOKpool)
• Built & opened & ran restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula for 12 years – that won ‘Best Café/Restaurant in Australia’(Two Buoys)
• Currently owns a restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula (Steam)
• Founder and co-owner of The Ball Group
• Loves cooking for friends and family, and tasting great wine
Jodi Cutler
Jodi CutlerCo-Owner
• Currently VP, Global Marketing at Linius Technologies
• Bachelor of Business/Marketing (Monash University)
• Master of Marketing (Monash University)
• Has over 10 years experience in Advertising Agencies (Reality Group, Grey Global Group, M&C Saatchi)
• More than 10 years experience in the corporate banking sector (ANZ Bank)
• Diploma in Life Coaching (The Life Coaching College of Australia)
• Diploma in Business Coaching (The Business Coaching College of Australia)
• Studied Business Leadership/Leadership of Self & HBDI (Hay Group)
• Is an advanced NLP practitioner (Neuro Linguistic Programming)
• Previously owned and ran two restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula (The Pier, The Diner)
• Co-founder and co-owner of The Ball Group
• Has a beautiful partner, two kelpies & lives on the beach

Contact Josh on 0409 999 715 or email him here…

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