Pizza Today - February 2017 - 62

understand what it means to know you have
others depending on you to succeed; that
redundant effort and misguided trust can
lead to $100,000 mistakes. I've made those
mistakes, and I know how close it can come
to taking down a business. Big mistakes
aren't an option for most of us, so knowing
how to avoid them is paramount to success.
That's where the "Knowledge is Profit
Concept Development Seminar" I'll help

give at International Pizza Expo in Las
Vegas next month comes in. I've teamed
up with my friend and colleague, Keith
Coffman of Lost River Pizza in Kentucky,
and we are going to put all of our cards on
the table for four solid information-fueled
hours. This seminar won't be filled with the
hypotheticals of what you could do; instead
it will be actual real-world info that Keith
and I use on a daily basis to enhance our
brands and develop them into what they
are today. In short, knowing what successful
pizzerias do on a daily basis to stay successful is what this seminar is all about.
Andolini's, my multi-unit pizzeria concept in Tulsa, Oklahoma, consistently ranks
as the No. 1 restaurant overall in Tulsa on
TripAdvisor.com. Not just No. 1 for Pizza,
but No. 1 restaurant overall! How did that
happen? I went from doing $13k a week in
a suburb of Tulsa to doing $30k a week in
that same suburban site through strong consistent development of my concept, menu,
and brand. That success then allowed me at
Year Five to start opening multiple locations
that bring in $60-70k per week in sites with
as few as 65 seats.
Knowing what you want to be versus
what you are perceived as versus what the
customer wants - but doesn't know they
want - is a tight-rope walk that takes a lot
of trial and error to navigate. Keith and I
will teach you about our successes and failures so you can avoid some of that trial and
error with your ideas of what might work
for your new restaurant.
This seminar is geared for both owners
who have been in business for years to the
upstarts who are years away from opening
(and for everyone in between). A concept
isn't just the name, or the food or what
color paint is on the wall. It is all those
things coming together in a non-clichéd,

6 2 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 7

unique way so the customers who spend
their money with you feel valued and you
are proud of the brand. It's not about doing
what you have seen done before and assuming that the path you've seen others take is
the only option.

See:
Mike Bausch
at Pizza Expo

Long term success is about real
knowledge. When and where should

counter service be used versus full service?
When should your location have pint night
versus family discounts, or is it both? So
many styles and factors come into play: do
you have college campus demographics or
families? Urban or rural? All play a factor in
deciding the most profitable path. Knowledge of these demos and how to capitalize
on them will help you avoid trying to build
a business by blindly mimicking what you
saw someone else do.
This seminar will be boots on the ground
with the audience. Bring your questions and
be prepared to work out your issues with
the group as we develop concepts with the
people in the room. You'll learn from others
facing the same issues you have, along with
the knowledge Keith and I bring to help
you work through them. You will see our
protocols and procedures to enhance daily
workflows and keep the concepts on point
and continually moving forward.
And, the actual forms we use on a daily
basis will be part of the seminar. Forms
and processes that took us years to develop
are yours for the taking. That alone will be
worth the price of admission. All of this
because the seminar we have created is
directed to what we wish we had known
going into this business. The lessons we are
teaching could have saved us thousands of
dollars and thousands of hours of effort.
I guarantee this will be worth your time
and money on a Sunday afternoon in Vegas.
It's the perfect way to kick off Pizza Expo to
seriously maximize the rest of the Expo for
you. Take this opportunity to set out on the
right mission and direction that will make
the rest of the Expo even more worthwhile
for you and your business. n

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's
Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a frequent
speaker at the International Pizza Expo family
of tradeshows.

W04 Concept
Development: From
Market Research to
a Long-Term Brand
Strategy (Fee: $250)
Sunday, March 26
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Room: N252
Speakers: Keith Coffman,
Mike Bausch
Be the Face of Your
Company and Inspire
Your Team to
Deliver on Your
Brand Promise
Tuesday, March 28
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Room: N259
Speaker: Mike Bausch
http://www.TripAdvisor.com http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - February 2017

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