When South Florida catering legend Bill Hansen was asked about his approach to such a tough year for the catering business, Bill responded with this simple adage:
“When the times get tough, the tough get going.”
It’s been a rough year for many in the hospitality industry, yet Bill and his team have used this opportunity to grow from within. The year ultimately won’t be the best in terms of revenue, but they’ve grown in other ways by focusing on relationships, reinvesting in the core principles of the business, and continuing to create and innovate.
We've recapped the conversation Bill had with Instawork's General Manager of Hospitality, Christian Crynes below.
Invest in relationships
With so many events delayed due to COVID, Bill has used his time to reinvest in relationships and partnerships. First, Bill and his event planning team embraced a new means of communication, making it a habit to have regular Zoom calls with wedding and event planners. This helped them keep in touch, provide each other support, and share future opportunities. For Bill, developing these strong relationships is already providing a steady stream of business. Weddings are now fully booked through mid-2022.
Additionally, with so much demand for weddings in the back half of the year, Bill has been on the hunt for new venues. He has both forged new partnerships with venues and gotten more creative with new types of venues he had not focused on in the past, including religious venues. These venue partnerships will be crucial to expanding the capacity of his business, especially on the very busy wedding weekends that they expect in the fall of this year.
Making your team better
Investing back in his team was a huge focus for Bill in 2020. In an effort to strengthen the company’s sales and marketing, he invested in upleveling the core skills required to execute his business at a higher level. For the sales team, he invested in Grant Cardone’s sales training, which he highly recommends for anyone looking to supercharge their sales process. These fundamentals will create a foundation for success in 2021 and beyond.
Many businesses have gone through tough times this year. Those that used this time as an opportunity to look inward and reflect on how they can be better, starting with the team and business fundamentals, will have a clearer path to future growth.
Continue to create
Bill has been in the catering business for 41 years. He wasn’t going to let a pandemic slow down his creative motor. In fact, he expanded his brand, launching two new lines of business during the pandemic to further serve the South Florida community. The first is full-service event planning under the Bill Hansen brand, which will provide a concierge-type service for anyone looking to plan an event. Additionally, he has created Bill Hansen Miami Venues, a resource that provides a complete list of every venue for any location in the South Florida area.
Bill’s relentless focus on genuine relationship building, team improvement, and constant creation are things that have only accelerated during the pandemic. It’s an inspiration and also a great reminder that, despite very tough external circumstances, there is always room to look internally for improvement as an investment for the future.
Instawork is the leading flexible staffing solution for hospitality businesses. We're located in over 20 metro cities, including Florida (Miami, Tampa Bay, Orlando), California (SF Bay Area, LA, San Diego), Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston), Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas,NJ/NYC Metro, Phoenix, and more.
Need to better way to hire hospitality FOH or BOH staff and grow your business? Visit instawork.com to learn more. Or, book a demo below.
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