Restaurant Consultant / Vice President Bartenders Guide of Nigeria.
Emmanuel Oyira is an indigene of Cross River state, Nigeria. He has been in hospitality for over 17 yrs. He obtained BSc. In chemistry education at the University of Lagos and has advance diploma in system engineering. His journey in the hospitality industry started back in the days of Atlantic Bar as a waiter. He worked in Atlantic bar for about 7 yrs from there he went to ‘Black Pearl’ where he started his bartender career. He worked for numerous other restaurants and lounges before he got his first managerial placement at B-hive in Lekki phase I in 2012.
Podcast Show Note
Beginning days as a Consultant:
Over the years I have evolved from being a manager of over 4 restaurants and have consulted for other lounges. My first consultation was at ‘Delta Pot’ in Lekki where I was totally involved in the general development process and hiring of staff; training them and setting up of their POS system. Recently, I consulted for Soho, Nameless, 3.0, etc and I’m presently the Vice President of Bartenders Guild of Nigeria.
From your experiences what do you think are mistakes of restaurant owners?
- For one, people go into this business without the passion
- People go into the business because they think others are making money in it without them knowing and understanding the industry
- For not being properly informed and not doing adequate researches
- Staff also poses a major challenge for restaurant owners (listen for more)
What are the pros of hiring a consultant?
Consultants are hired because you need a positive change in your business. But you have to define exactly where you need the change to occur so you need put the consultant in the right direction be it staffing, operations, customers service and or business expansion. When a consultant understands where it hurts most, then he/she can do the needed to fix things.
What do you think is the biggest pit hole for running restaurant in Lagos?
I would say on the outside, it is government agencies. There are hardly clear cut of what registrations and licenses any restaurant style should get or pay for.
Focus areas for food entrepreneurs:
- Focus on your staff – train your staff; spend money so they can add to what they already know.
- Focus on customer service
What is the usual impact time frame for consultants?
It is usually 3 months. You should see result in 3 months
Books and Recommendation:
The Mafia Manager https://www.amazon.com/Mafia-Manager-Guide-Corporate…/dp/0312155743
Key Points:
- Have a niche that is different from what others are doing.
- You need to put an efficient team together and structure to operate smoothly
- Focus on your staff training; spend money so they can add to what they already know
- Focus on customer services
- Go into this business with passion
- People go into the business because they think others are making money in it without them knowing and understanding the industry
- Business owners fail for not being properly informed and not doing adequate researches
