Businessfeverng's podcast

somethings are no longer Rocket Science. This passion of yours must be a viable business and must cover cost, plus growth plus jollof money. As reluctant as you may be and as hard as it is already, you need to increase your prices NOW otherwise you will be out of business. Listen to the podcast to get insights on my thought process running my own restaurant.

energy swings, hustlers mind and finding my mojo.. sometimes we forget the WHY we do things, and other times we just need mental breaks to chase dragons or slay dragons. This is my first recording in months, and I seem to have either found my voice back or a strong desire to share my stories as a restauranteur. 

This was recorded in feb - so much has happened since then which i am yet to document. My hopes with this episode is to let you know although the journey may seem lonely. You are not alone, there are countless resources out there to help you keep all in check, from mental to physical to aspirations.

Stay the journey the rewards are beautiful

It ain't rocket science , but it is rocket science. In the end execution is all that matters and really thats where the struggle is. I learnt very early that my menu isn't really the strength of the brand. Focus must be placed on other levers to push growth. I share my areas of focus in this podcast

So here are my 11 things to learn from Chef Eros of Ile Eros. Full disclaimer "I wasn't able to speak with him" not that i didnt try, but i decided there are enough articles, interviews and information out there to have an idea of what makes his personal and business branding magical.

wise men have said pay on to caesar or to the wolves or else you will be collateral damage and oh yeah this will make you a man. On the day I turned 40 my restaurant was sealed by at the least over zealous govt officials.

In the process of saving the world and building a great company, my manager quit, i may have triggered it, it may have been stars aligned. The discomfort ensued it created growth opportunities for me. I went thru the basic emotions of betrayal and anger but in the end it turned out to be a blessing.  

Growth always comes from discomfort and there are always lessons waiting to be learned. listen to the podcast

From Unique selling proposition to customer service to the management team, there are endless problems that will always pop up. In this podcast I discuss some of the usual suspects and how to tackle them. It is never one size fits all, but there are useful nuggets in this podcast that should help you in your business.

The new game changers disrupting the restaurant industry are lean, they are tech savvy, they are focused and they are taking your customers. There is a lot to learn from them, as the industry is swiftly morphing into a new phase, adaptation is key to staying in business and being relevant. listen to the podcast to learn more

Break throughs from getting kidnapped to catering to weddings to following your passion. This story might read like a Nollywood movie, but in the darkest of experiences, his conviction was born. With passion for food, Chef Khudu has found a way to bridge the gap btw being a Pitmaster and a culinary Chef. He is very talented and hardworking. On this episode he talks about his experiences coming up, the breaks he has had and how he is building his business.  A must listen to 

Competition , Competition, Competition, they can make you better or completely take away food from your plate. This is an inevitable threat we all must deal with running our business. Can anything be done about them? how can you fight them off?  how can you win the attention of customers and stave off competition? In this podcast i share some tips

Taiwo Kamson - She is a wife, a mother of 2, ex Investment Banker, now Venture Capitalist and the founder of Foodieinlagos. Foodieinlagos offers unbiased reviews of Restaurants and they also curate unique group Dining Experiences for guests to experience Restaurants around lagos. On this episode we talk about building her brand, the challenges faced, pushing content out and ways to make money being a food blogger

Find a niche market, offer them unique products, price your items right and leverage on relationships. Ore founder of Legacy Grill formerly Legacy kitchen talks about his experience building his brand and what he plans for the future.

Selecting your prices, finding the right market, building your brand and adapting your business strategies are all challenges we will and we are facing. On this episode I speak to Ruka Founder of Sub-Delight – a freshly made sub sandwich shop. Ruka is a trained Brand Manager with a degree in Economics. This was an engaging conversation for me and the back and forth helped me polish my ideas and showed me areas I still need work on. 

2020 was a year full of Stops, Pauses and New beginnings. The business owners that had a thorough understanding of their business adapted and made the necessary changes. A year full of lessons, constraints, and opportunities .

We all came out with our battle scars, and lot of business lessons and life lessons, I am sharing some 15 lessons I learnt running my restaurant in 2020. 

You can say i went back to school in this podcast-  We touched on so many topics from  Food costing to Catering  to playing the long term game in your food business. This was an engaging conversation for me. Amenze is an amazing teacher, with the gift to break down complex ideas into bite size knowledge that can be easily understood.  listen to the podcast to learn more.

There are no cheat codes or cheat steps, you will have to discover or even adapt your own strategies. In my years of running BBQ and Cravings , I have picked up a lot of useful tools, business hacks and better business practices. On this episode I share 7 strategies that have worked for me. Listen to the podcast  to get the strategies

The odds are already against you starting and running a business in Nigeria. Now you have chosen an industry notorious for high failure rates. The harsh truth is only a few will thrive. I have listed areas you need to focus on to make sure you give your brand the best chance of survival.

From the passion of eating out and exploring various culinary experiences, the seed was planted. A successful lawyer, with a growing family, frustrated with some policies and limitations impeding her litigation career. She decided to follow her bliss, in addition to other businesses she runs, she is a restauranteur. She brings a fresh approach to running and operating a restaurant and to anyone just about to start,  this a must listen to

Chef Ette may be one of the most popular Grill Masters in Nigeria, he understands the power of brand associations and media leveraging. From catering to celebrities, to Big Brother Naija, to Governors, to judging shows, you can say he has done it all. When Covid hit as with most entrepreneurs in this space his business took a major hit. Covid became a catalyst for him to build his bigger dream. He has successfully transitioned into a brick and mortar Restaurant and he shares his experience on how he did it.

With so much knowledge of the Food Industry Bukola of Guava Hospitality brought her A game on this podcast. I was especially impressed with how she broke complex ideas down into simple to understand nuggets, i found myself agreeing and taking notes. This is a must listen to podcast. One of my favorite episodes.

“Just the same way you want to grow you also have to manage your growth. You don’t want to grow faster than the company is ready to grow or can grow".  I speak to a very inspiring and  enterprising entrepreneur Olamidun Majekodunmi founder of Sooyah Bistro with currently 5 locations in lagos.

Before you get mesmerized by the potentials in your business and all the potential Zeroes will be hitting the account after you have raised X amount. STOP  and listen to this podcast. There are some lessons time can only teach you before you burn wholes in your dreams and pocket

If you can pick one podcast to listen to. this has to be it. Kept it simple and straight to the point. Are you sabotaging your own business? you probably are. listen to the Podcast and learn from some of my own hard knock lessons

This is a show of Discipline, Resilience and Pivoting. Chef Nylah runs a catering business with a flagship Restaurant and a Bakery. A U.S Veteran and a happy mother whose passion for cooking and entertaining knows no bounds. She moved to Nigeria 10 years ago to start her catering business and now she supplies Shoprite Nation wide. 

There are a lot of things that we have been trained to focus on but all it does is strokes our EGO. In the social world we are all playing, the amount of followers, the repost, the caliber of clients and many more ways that your brand is measured by let's not forget the basics. what are the basics. Listen to the podcast for more

Tola is an extraordinary entrepreneur with multiple successful businesses in different industries. From Pharmaceutical, to Defense Security, to Hospitality with Restaurants and a Hotel. He is driven, he is resourceful and he is a leader.  He sees business as a 12 rounds of a boxing match- Do you have what it takes. Listen to the podcast

Keep your eyes open for opportunities, listen to the market, create services, transition into manufacturing. Seems like chess moves but Aderonke has steadily built her businesses from Bubbletee, to Smoothies, to Business Coaching, to Equipment Supplier to Manufacturing. Each of the pivot was a natural transition to the next opportunity. Listen to the podcast as she really shares from her wealth of experience.

She is first a Strong African Woman, then a builder then an entrepreneur, She has worked as Economist, Investment Banker. She has worked with the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and also with the African Development Bank. She has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. She is someone who is goal driven- knows what she wants and how to get it. Ada is an award-winning food entrepreneur and Founder of The Nuli Juice Company.

The fact that we exist as businesses, is because we capitalized on changes in the market. We were able to see where the changes were going  and we created products and services to match the changes.

We took the risk as entrepreneurs. It is arrogant to think that there wouldn't be constant changes in the market. The similar wave we rode on will bring a whole new set of opportunities . How are YOU preparing yourself

Our guest today is Mr. Edache Obe. He runs a PR & Branding Agency and community of foodies called "The Lagos Foodie Association.

Business owners need to understand that they can't serve everyone. Whatever product people have, there is a market for it. When your business gets customers to buy your product, you  need to convert them into loyal customers and build your customer base. Here is how...

This was more of a Q & A session. Most times you will find, you really have all the answers, the fear the self doubt might creep in but believe in yourself and Just Do It.

This was a conversation we have all had, and i am glad i was able to give her some clarity and hopefully encouragement.

This was recorded a couple of months ago

Creating a new menu, switching menus can really be easy and even be the first solution that comes to mind when dealing with challenges of running a food business. Before you take this step you need to listen to this podcast. The problem may not be your menu after all.  In the quest for creating a perfect menu for market fit, you may just have skipped over the hit Menu you dumped too quickly, or worse leveled the playing field with your competition.

Chef Tanq's initial plan was to open a pizza by the slice Restaurant, a contractors huge disappointment created a pivot. He has now successfully built his Chicken Wings brand to a full grill house but it wasn't without the Headaches. Shortly after major renovations, his restaurant was destroyed by the government and he had to think fast to keep his business going. Now he is better for it. Listen to the podcast  

Think ahead and align yourself with trends and technology. From baking from childhood, to opening a Bakery to creating an Online School with over 3500 students trained globally. This is a must listen conversation if you plan on expanding your business beyond your 4 walls.

This was a conversation recorded Feb 2019 . Listening to it again i am so impressed with her foresight.

You can call it a brain storming session, but this Industry needs a lot of Supporting Services and this may just be the opportunity for you to start a business. We have a lot of Pain points  and distractions that takes us away from running our business the way we want. These Pain Points can be opportunities for you. Being in the hospitality industry can also be Business to Business Services.

I have listed a few services I believe the Industry needs and this can be a great opportunity for you without dealing with the stress of running business to consumer model

On todays show we speak to Ebosetale Jenna Oriarewo about  her "Medium Article" on 5 Free ways to engage customers during this pandemic. It is a very short conversation but very informative. As business owners we sometimes focus too much on our operations and products and this article reminds me about the need to engage my customers in a non transactional way as well. listen to the podcast then head over to medium to read the article

A very refreshing conversation with a rising food critic. No success is overnight, but there are natural skills Opeyemi  exhibits that one can almost think his success is overnight. He has unique skills that makes him engaging, authentic and he has been able to carve his name in the food influencer scene and become and authentic brand with a very engaged audience.

On a lighter note, I dig into a never published episode on when my Staff stole my generator and threatened the entire team with Cult Violence. 

There are so much we deal with as business owners but a bad employee is like cancer. They are more destructive and can shut your business down. Listen to the podcast to here how I addressed this.

In time we can all become Dinosaurs in this industry. The rate at which change happens and the rate at which this new change has happened can easily make our businesses go extinct. As with all entrepreneurs, some are innovative and really redefining this Industry and how to serve our customers better. I spoke to one such entrepreneur and  I learnt a lot from her.  Listen to the podcast  as i share my takeaways

Switching gears and trying to think beyond this human speed bump. While most are thinking of the immediate impact and feeding into fears and all possible scenarios I am thinking beyond.

In this episode i talk about running your restaurant after Covid, and how to position yourself for the next wave of success

My response to a 60+ Industry Stakeholders Zoom Call with a Special Guest and it got me wired. Listen to the podcast

This is time for tough love.

Mental health is something we should not take for granted. I have thrown the word "trauma" around more than a few times,  I strongly believe in this time in our lives, we are all collectively going through a level of uncertainty and anxiety and this is across the board. As an entrepreneur in the Food space i am having to tackle a whole new set of problems that don't yet have a clear cut solution. This is  the new reality

They say change is constant, as unexpected as this is, we are now the ones to write into history how we navigated our businesses through this unprecedented times. I touched on areas I am working on and listed areas I strongly believe any restaurant owner must improve on to stay in business

This is a motivational episode, everything you have felt is real the loss, the fear, the anxiety they are all real. Go through the emotions, it has happened, feel all the pain and now work your way back to bouncing back and reinventing yourself. You have the strength to do this

Some more lessons I am learning on the impact on our Industry and what we can do better in our businesses going forward.

Good food is easy to fix, making your restaurant social is a hard problem to tackle. This was recorded over a month ago. In this era of uncertainty and the Corona Virus, there might be some key takeaways from this podcast.

So this is a new podcast I am working on with an amazing friend called "Revealing the Man". This wasn't suppose to be the first podcast but as this issue is current and heavy on my mind, i decided to put this out

I went into more details and touched on how this virus will affect our business and some steps to take to limit the impact.

We are here, you are there, somethings will change, but we will remain, and you will remain.

This was the message we put up on our instagram post. listen to the short podcast on how I feel this will affect businesses.

While doing your business, you are going to have  issues where your customers will leave your brand not because they hate your brand but because they want to try something different. The challenge now becomes how to regain lost customers, maintain existing customers  and attract new customers. I share with you some strategies I am executing with my brand.. listen to the podcast for details

 i have learnt so much from these books, from building a brand to marketing, to surviving competition, to being innovative and sticking things out.  These book at different stages have helped me out and I have been able to build on them.  I highly recommend them. Pls listen to the podcast as I give examples of how these books inspired me and how I made changes to my business.

This is something I’ve learnt after the fact and I don’t know if there is any other way to learn this if not from experience- listen to this podcast as i touch on some areas to curb staff turnover.

"Connect on a deeper level with your customers as well as your vendors"  you will be surprised how impactful it is to your business. On todays episode we speak to a chef and also a founder of  Food Acceleration Hub a consultancy company. Chef Ivie dropped a lot of knowledge and you should listen and take notes

Streamlining your menu gives you less headache, fewer vendors to deal with, less supply chain challenges, less storage issues, less loss of items, less overhead to manage the raw materials. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

The most important question you should ask yourself is Why are you in business ? Grant it, you want to make money but also as an entrepreneur, your success depends on the problems you are solving within your community and how receptive the market is. listen to understand more

I have always joked that partnership is a worse case bad marriage but its far worse than that, or at least it can be if you do not tackle the hard questions upfront. When you borrow money as an entrepreneur you become an employee again and you have bosses you may grow to dislike.

To stay in the game, you have to play by the Social Media Rules; but  it doesn’t mean the rules are good for us. I think the rules ultimately might be bad but we still have to play the game. listen to the podcast to know more

we spoke to co-founder of HillsBridge Consulting " Emmanuella". She touched on a lot of topics, recommended books and gave tips on how to build strategies for your business and when to look for a consultant. Listen to the podcast for more insights.

Long Hours, No Weekends Off, Difficult customers, High & Intense periods of Stress,  Bad reviews, Ego Check &  Self Esteem Check Employees Quitting, Government wahala

Chef Tiyan Alile is the chef instructor and creative director of culinary academy. She is chef, adviser, teacher, golfer, experimentalist, renaissance woman. She is the founder of culinary academy and Tarragon Lagos. ( As seen on her instagram handle)

Your cash coming in - Your cash going out.This in a nutshell is the most important thing to know in your business. It does not get easier but it for sure is very important

My hope is to have you think through this and hopefully do a lot more research, as this topic is very very important for you not to be on top of your CASH FLOW

                             STOP THAT RIGHT NOW......

Q & A Session with a future Food Entrepreneur, we touched on a bunch of topics like , how to start, the need to market, challenges with operating a food business, the legal requirements and tax obligations.  Listen now

They say customers are kings/Queens is partially right they are kings but I think the RIGHT customer is King – not all customers are equal- Find out how you can color code your customers for better service and Treat the Kings as True Kings

She’s at work early everyday, he’s the last person to leave, she holds the key and he runs everything – Front of House, Back of House operations, purchases/market; everything and he never complains; he never took time off, she almost missed her brothers wedding

Chef Anselyn is a culinary expert, a consultant and a trainer in restaurant and food business industry. He started his chef career as a kitchen assistant 11 years ago and worked his way to stardom by saving some of his salary to attend a culinary school in the US. His story is very inspiring and insightful.

…He is an engineer and foodpreneur. His quest for owning and managing his own food business lead him to redefining the small chops business in Nigeria as he started right after college starting a business with just 50k.Learn how he did it.

Mr. Pat McMichael hails from Australia and he is an International QSR CEO, Public Speaker and QSR Consultant with over 29 years experience in the food service industry. He is the CEO Eat ‘n’ Go company Nigeria, the company that owns the Domino’s Pizza, Cold stone and Pink Berry brands in Nigeria. He is an epitome of experience in the industry having worked with Domino’s Pizza across many countries in Europe, Asia & Australia. He has impacted the Nigerian dining experience with their brands in and they have become well known family brand in Nigeria. Listen to him speak about the company.

Abimbola is a lawyer and an HR consultant whose passion lies in bringing out the best in people. She in partnership with her husband decided some years back to bring convenient shopping for fruits and vegetable as they did growing up in Kwara State.  The business has since  grown to 6 outlets 5 in lagos 1 in abuja and they now offer  finished products and meals like - Juices and salads.

Mrs Veronica started from her home with her house-help and driver. No fancy equipments, no staff, no structure. It all started as a passion project for her love for cooking and taking care of people.Today, Veritas brand has gained many customers and corporate clients across the city.

Mr. Abayomi is a seasoned restaurant expert having bagged two culinary certificates from England and US and has worked  in various restaurant establishment as manager and consultant. His wealth of knowledge in the industry is noteworthy as he has a distinctive approach to managing the restaurant industry you will learn from ... Listen to what he says.

 Ehime is a seasoned entrepreneur whose quest for ‘True Frozen Yoghurt’ pioneered the brand Sweet Kiwi.  She carried out series of researches and travelled around the world to master her craft. She started by doing small events and today Sweet Kiwi frozen yoghurt has strategically  become the go-to place for frozen yoghurt in Lagos, Nigeria.

Meet Chef Bien, a passionate Chef. His passion lies in his job, he thrives in exciting and ever moving environments where creativity can be expressed through food and passed along to guests and colleagues. Position is not paramount for him, however a challenging, creative and continuing developing environment is.

Listen to this inspiring journey of a young man who wanted to study Mass Communication, but admittance issue and a persuasive family member helped him find his passion in not just baking but in jaw dropping cake decorations

Trained as an  Italian chef,  and having  lived in Italy most of his life , for the love of his native country- Nigeria,  Chef Ben moved back to nigeria , with his signature pasta dishes and to die for sauces, Chef is carving out his Brand as one the the top Chefs in Nigeria

Up in the Sky is a creative agency that finds the most ingenious and unconventional ways to boost your brand , tell a coherent brand story ,and grow brand market share.

Healthy options are becoming a necessity and people are making a conscious shift to healthier choices. The Simply Green company has taken up the challenge to see that they serve the growing market by Farming, Processing and Packaging fresh produce and juices. Meet Mr. Shola, the founder who packed his bag and left Lagos to live in a farm in Oyo state for 4 years 

She has  dabbled in  photography, fashion,  People tell you to stick to what you know or studied, but she believes that the knowledge from whatever uni degree you have will help you on your journey as an entrepreneur. She tells us how happy she is, knowing her experiences in other backgrounds have helped her in building the Samantha’s brand.

She started by providing services that were not available at that time like supplying fresh produce and livestock to her neighborhood but that vision later evolved into a solid brand due to her unique value  and credible services.  Presently, Owanbe has 2 restaurant locations,  and they offer outdoor catering services as well.

Chef shine is a Hospitality Consultant, Trainer and a Gourmet Chef. He has helped establish many food businesses in Nigeria and he believes that some of the challenges bedeviling food business in Nigeria are partly due to the knowledge gap, inadequate and insufficient training and not enough career chefs.

Morin started as an ice cream store, she invested heavily in a location she thought was fantastic and soon realized was poor for business, she focused and re strategized now she runs a premier bakery company with 2 locations and a world class Red Velvet recipe.

He has worked in the food service industry for 17 years, running and managing other people’s businesses. He realized it was time he built his own business, he took some strategic jobs to polish up on some skills then he made the decision to quit working for other people and open his own business…

The African Cake Maestro Mr. Tosan;  began his pastry journey almost 2 decades ago. He was not just ahead of his time, but he solely helped define the cake industry in nigeria by setting high professional standards and immense creative process to his work. He has inspired a lot of entrepreneurs and also personally trained them as well.