jan-2018

142 143 withawide rangeof skill sets intermsofmenus they’ve developed,kitchendesigncapabilities,anentirebranding department,anda financial department.Andeverything is basedonfinancial profitability.Ifyou’renot ahundredper- cent focusedonhoweverydecisionyoumake factors into theprofitabilityof theoperation,you’regoingtobebehind theeightball fromtheget-go.Andthat’sanapproachthat we’ve takenfromdayone.Weencompassbrand,opera- tions,propertydevelopment,andfinancial profitability– all thesedifferent elements factor intoeverythingwedo. And,I thinkitmakesusprettyunique.” Goingforward,Hopkinsbelieves thatTheFifteen Group’s20percent annual growthrateover the last severalyearspositions thecompanyfor expansion.“We knowthatour continuedgrowth isgoingtoeventuallybe somewhat limited inCanada,”headmits.“So,wewould like tobecomeaNorthAmericancompany,rather than just aCanadiancompany.Eightornineyearsago,wemay havebeensmall comparedtosomeU.S.companiesof similarnature,butwe’renowdefinitelyof asizeandscope thatwecancompeteonthat stage.Andwe’vehadsome inquiries fromIndia,fromtheMiddleEast,fromEngland, andwehaven’t takenthemonbecausewe’re far too busywithourownprojects inCanada,but that continued growthwouldbewellwithinwhatwe’re lookingfor inthe future.” EventhoughTheFifteenGroupbeganasaone-man operation,Hopkinsbelieves that itscurrent achievements are largelydue tothepeoplehehashiredover theyears. “Thebiggest thingthat I’ve learned,andwhywe’resuc- cessful,ishavinggoodpeople,”hedeclares.“So,westrive constantlytoget thebestpeople.I’vegot a lotofgreat peopleonour teamthathaveallowedus tobe thebest consultingcompanyforour clients,andalsoallowedus, asacompany,togrowbetter andfaster than Iwouldhave, otherwise.” So,whenfailure isnot anoption,TheFifteenGroup stands readytohelp. eralmanager,or thechef,reports tousandwe runthat client’sbusinessas if it’sourown.Theyrealizedthatwe couldmakea lotmoreprofit;wecoulddoabetter jobof ensuringcustomer experience-all the things that are im- portant.So,itbecamea reallygreatopportunitywherewe couldgoruntheirbusinessand,generally,the increased profit fromus runningthebusinesswouldcompletely offsetour fee.At theendof theday,theyweregettingtheir restaurant runfor free,andtheycouldgoanddosome- thingelse.So,thatbecameour fourthrevenuestreamand that’sgoneverywell.We runsevenor eight restaurants acrossCanada,now,onbehalf of owners.” In itsearlyyears,Hopkinssays that thecompanyworked hardtryingto findclients.“But,we’re fortunateenough, now,thatmostpeoplecome tous,”hestates.“We’restill proactive inthemarketplace intermsof socialmedia and,sometimes,wedoseminars that leadtobusiness; sometimes,we’ll dotradeshows.But,rightnow,mostof our clients findusand it’susuallyreferral-based.We’re fairlywell-known,especiallyintheTorontoandVancouver marketplace.Andwedoget a lotof internet traffic,aswell. Certainly,if someone is lookingtoopenanewrestaurant andneedsaconsultant tohelp,wegenerallyarecoming upontopof the list.” Another competitiveadvantage thatHopkinspoints to isTheFifteenGroup’swideportfolioof offerings.“There areother restaurant consultingcompaniesout there,but weareunique inCanada intermsofbeingaconsulting companythatoffers thewholegamutof services,”hesays. “We’vegot a teamof42people,which isamongthebest incapabilitiesandamongthebroadest inscope.Wehave a teamof eight consultants,threedifferent chefsonstaff THE FIFTEEN GROUP PREFERRED VENDOR n SilverWare POS www.silverwarepos.com SilverWare POS is a leading developer of end-to- end solutions for the hospitality industry. The com- pany’s customer-focused solutions are installed in thousands of table and quick service restaurants, bars, private clubs, assisted living communities, corporate/institutional cafeterias, hotels, stadiums, and casinos, throughout North America, Europe, and Australia.