GENERATION Z AND THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL ASPIRATIONS: NURTURING THE NEXT WAVE OF INNOVATORS

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Generation Z, born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, has emerged as a generation driven by entrepreneurial ambitions. Unlike their predecessors, Generation Z possesses unique characteristics, experiences, and attitudes that have shaped their desire to become entrepreneurs. This article delves into the factors contributing to Generation Z’s entrepreneurial aspirations and explores how society can nurture and support their potential. By examining their digital nativism, exposure to technology, changing work landscape, and desire for autonomy and purpose, we gain insights into the motivations driving Generation Z’s entrepreneurial spirit. Furthermore, this article highlights the importance of educational initiatives, mentorship, and inclusive opportunities for fostering Generation Z’s entrepreneurial growth.

Generation Z and Their Entrepreneurial Aspirations: Nurturing the Next Wave of Innovators
By Gary Occhiogrosso – Founder and Managing Partner – Franchise Growth Solutions

Introduction:
Generation Z, the youngest cohort in the workforce, is demonstrating a strong inclination toward entrepreneurship. Unlike previous generations, their mindset is shaped by an ever-evolving digital landscape, exposure to advanced technologies, and a desire for autonomy and purpose in their careers. This article explores the factors contributing to Generation Z’s entrepreneurial aspirations and discusses how society can support and nurture their potential. By understanding their unique characteristics and motivations, we can create an environment that fosters their entrepreneurial growth and enables them to impact the global economy positively.

Digital Nativism and Technology: Generation Z is often called “digital natives” due to their lifelong exposure to technology. Growing up with smartphones, social media, and instant access to information, they possess remarkable digital fluency. This inherent familiarity with technology provides them with the tools and resources to navigate the digital landscape, build online businesses, and leverage social media platforms for entrepreneurial endeavors. The ease with which they can create and market products and services online has fueled their aspirations to become entrepreneurs.

Changing Work Landscape: Generation Z is entering the workforce during a time of rapid change, where traditional career paths are no longer the only option. The rise of the gig economy, remote work, and the increasing demand for flexible work arrangements have opened up new avenues for entrepreneurial pursuits. This generation values freedom, flexibility, and the ability to work on their terms. Entrepreneurship allows them to create their ideal work-life balance, paving the way for their desire to be their own boss and control their professional destiny.

Autonomy and Purpose: Generation Z seeks more than financial success; they are driven by a deep desire for autonomy and purpose in their careers. They value work that aligns with their passions and allows them to make a meaningful impact on society. Entrepreneurship provides an avenue for them to pursue their interests, develop innovative solutions, and address societal challenges. By starting their own businesses, Generation Z can shape their work environment, prioritize their values, and contribute to causes they care about, fueling their entrepreneurial aspirations further.
Education and Mentorship:
To nurture Generation Z’s entrepreneurial spirit, it is crucial to provide them with relevant education and mentorship opportunities. Traditional education systems must adapt to the changing landscape and incorporate entrepreneurship programs that equip young individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindset to embark on entrepreneurial journeys. Mentorship programs and initiatives connecting experienced entrepreneurs with Generation Z can offer guidance, support, and valuable insights into the world of entrepreneurship, helping them overcome challenges and develop their ventures.

Inclusive Opportunities:
Creating an inclusive environment for Generation Z is vital for their entrepreneurial aspirations. Many young entrepreneurs need help with barriers such as limited access to capital, lack of networks, and biases. By providing equal opportunities, eliminating systemic barriers, and promoting diversity and inclusivity, society can ensure that socioeconomic factors, gender, or race do not hinder entrepreneurial ambitions. Inclusive programs, incubators, and support networks are crucial in leveling the playing field, fostering a diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Conclusion:
Generation Z’s desire to be entrepreneurs is driven by a unique combination of factors, including their digital nativism, exposure to technology, changing work landscape, autonomy, and purpose-driven mindset. Understanding and nurturing their entrepreneurial aspirations can contribute to the growth of a dynamic and innovative economy. By providing relevant education, mentorship, and inclusive opportunities, we can empower Generation Z to harness their creativity, overcome challenges, and make a lasting impact as the next wave of entrepreneurs.

Macro Methods To Control Food Costs In A Restaurant And Maximize Profits

Photo by Tim Toomey on Unsplash

One way to get better-quality products is by buying local ingredients or those grown locally (naturally). This helps reduce transportation costs, which can lower food cost due to fuel prices—and it also reduces waste since you wouldn’t be shipping food across country lines when there are local farms nearby!

Macro Methods To Control Food Costs In A Restaurant And Maximize Profits
By Gary Occhiogrosso – Managing Partner, Franchise Growth Solutions.

Restaurant owners, chefs, and managers know the value of controlling food costs. But understanding how to manage your restaurant’s food costs can be tricky. This is because so many factors determine what goes on your menu and how much it should cost, from food and labor costs to waste management. Here ais a quick overview on how you can manage your restaurant’s food cost:

Food Cost Percentage
Food cost percentage is the amount of money spent on food divided by total sales. It’s a measure of how much of your sales are going toward the cost of goods, which is used to calculate your profitability.
In addition to being an overall measure of profit margin, food cost percentage also allows you to track discrepancies between weeks and months regarding budgeting. For example, if one month shows a high percentage while another shows a low one, some shifts in staffing or inventory may need addressing before they become problems later on down the line.

Keep Track of Inventory
You must keep track of your inventory. This is the first and most crucial step in controlling food cost. You must know your inventory, its location, and how much has been used or sold. There are several ways to keep track of your supply inventory: a spreadsheet (like Microsoft Excel) or a software program (like QuickBooks or Restaurant 365). You could also use cloud-based inventory management systems such as Restaurant Manager Pro or Inventory Doctor that automatically sync with your POS system.
The benefits of using an automated system include: tracking a cost per item; recording sales by SKU; producing purchase orders based on demand; monitoring stock levels; receiving alerts when stock gets low; comparing product costs against competitors’ prices via price comparison reports; sending out notifications when ordering needs to be done soon because inventory will quickly run out (or vice versa—notifying suppliers that there is excess capacity).

Quality Products
Regarding food costs, the quality of your products is one of the most critical factors. You may be able to save money by buying less expensive ingredients and products, but if they’re not good quality, then you will have wasted your time and money because they won’t taste as good. One way to get better-quality products is by buying local ingredients or those grown locally (naturally). This helps reduce transportation costs, which can lower food cost due to fuel prices—and it also reduces waste since you wouldn’t be shipping food across country lines when there are local farms nearby! Also, local farms tend to use safer pesticides than big corporations because they want their customers happy; nothing makes people mad like finding out that pesticides are used on their food without them knowing about it!

Avoid Waste
Reduce food waste, Recycle food waste.
Recycling programs allow you to turn your leftover food into an asset by turning it into compost or animal feed or donating it to those in need. You can also use recyclable materials and packaging for other items in the restaurant or kitchen, such as cutting boards, aprons, and dish towels. Donate food waste to charity organizations such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries, where it will be used as an ingredient for meals served to those who need them most in our communities. This is helpful from a cost-saving point of view and helps promote community values through charitable giving while helping reduce hunger in America overall! The key is to find a system that meets your needs. For example, if you are a small business owner without an IT department, then a cloud-based solution might be the best choice for you. However, if you have an IT team and can afford software like QuickBooks or Sage 50 US Accounts Plus, then, by all means, use that instead. In addition, you should consider buying local ingredients and products to save money on food costs. They tend to be of better quality because they are grown in the area where people live. This also helps reduce waste since there is no need for shipping across country lines when local farms are nearby!

Use Technology to Manage Inventory and Recipes
The second key to controlling food costs in your restaurant is using technology to manage your inventory and recipes. You can use technology to manage inventory by using a POS system. A POS system tracks sales, manages orders, records customer information, and orders supplies. If you don’t already have one in place at your restaurant, consider getting one before the end of summer because they are beneficial when it comes time for peak season in October (Halloween), November (Thanksgiving), and December (Christmas). Use technology as well when it comes to managing recipes at your restaurant. Recipe management systems allow you to access each recipe anytime via an app or web browser. These programs work on any device with internet access, such as tablets or laptops located in the kitchen area where WiFi connects all these devices. They work together seamlessly even if multiple users operate them simultaneously without slowing down their performance, which means efficiency ratings go up. In contrast, labor costs go down since they no longer need any additional cooks hired just for this task alone since now everyone knows exactly what needs to be cooked next, so no more wasted time spent looking things up!
To restate the top ways to manage the Cost of Goods.

Know your food cost percentage: This should be considered the most important. The food cost percentage is a measurement of how much it costs to make and sell your food (expressed as a percentage). It includes all direct ingredients, packaging materials, labor, overhead, and other expenses associated with preparing ingredients for sale at retail. If your food costs exceed 30 percent of sales, you’re probably losing money on every dollar of revenue generated by your business.

Keep track of supply inventory: Make sure you have accurate records of what you have on hand at any given time to avoid running out unexpectedly and losing customers because they can’t get what they want when they want it! You also don’t want to overstock supplies or make more than necessary if demand is low; that’ll waste money! Please ensure everyone in the kitchen or warehouse knows their responsibilities regarding stocking shelves with new products. In addition, make sure there’s always someone available who understands inventory management software programs (like this one!) so that even if someone leaves unexpectedly due to not knowing how these programs work, there will still be an easy way.

Use compostable materials: Compostable materials are made from organic material that can be decomposed by microorganisms and turned into compost, which can then be used as fertilizer for gardens and farms. Using compostable utensils, plates, and cups at your restaurant or event venue will reduce landfill waste each year to get things done.

Conclusion
As I mentioned up tpo, this is a overview. There are numerous resources on the internet as well as restaurant consultants that assess and recommend a variety of ways to save on food cost and increase profits. While it is difficult to control food cost in a restaurant these simple ways that have proven successful.

The first step is to determine the percentage of your total sales that should go toward food costs. This will give you an idea of how much money you need every month or year to operate at a given profit level.

Next, keep track of supply inventory to keep up with demand and avoid waste by ordering more when needed.

Quality products are also crucial because they will save time (and money) during preparation while providing better flavor profiles at lower prices than similar items sold elsewhere!

Finally, use technology like software platforms to manage recipes and inventory levels without overspending on supplies like employees who take care too long between tasks like chopping vegetables or preparing meatballs.

Modern Tech Can Give Restaurants An Edge

It is much more likely that franchisors, with resources already on hand, will be able to promote system-wide improvements for all franchisees in their systems.

Modern Tech Can Give Restaurant Businesses An Edge
By Jeremy Einbinder

Restaurants are continuing to use newer technologies that have the potential to optimize the experience both for the consumer and the business. Anything that improve customer experience and reduce labor costs- which is very important in a tight market- is a win-win.

Franchised Restaurants Set Themselves Apart

All of these innovations are especially important for franchised restaurants and allows them to set themselves apart from other restaurants. For entrepreneurs looking to open restaurant locations, it can be difficult to gather all the technological resources available to improve operations. It is much more likely that franchisors, with resources already on hand, will be able to promote system-wide improvements for all franchisees in their systems. These technological enhancements are wide-ranging and could set off a franchise restaurant boom.

For instance, instead of third-party delivery apps, many customers report a preference for ordering directly from the restaurant itself. It would be beneficial, if possible, for a company to have their own internal delivery app. In addition to building brand recognition, this also helps businesses avoid paying exorbitant fees.

Fred Kirvan, Founder and CEO of Kirvan Consulting, a New Jersey based restaurant optimization and consulting firm said: “At this year’s National Restaurant Show, we observed some notable improvements in tech-driven kitchen equipment aimed at providing a more consistent product to its end-user but much of the new tech seemed to be aimed at employee retention.”

Look But Don’t Touch

Payment technologies which allow for no-contact money transfer can also prove to be crucial, especially since the pandemic. In keeping with no-touch technology, it is becoming commonplace for customers to also access only menus and order without contact, allowing for a much safer environment for everybody. The cost reduction for restaurants can be substantial.

There are also tech payment options for employee payroll. Kirvan noted: “Companies offering early pay options and incentives were the noticeable standouts for me. Employee retention is key when you can consider all the software available for taking orders, you’re going to need people to prepare those orders.

Reservation applications like Eat App, Tablein, or OpenTable allow customers to see available time slots, and book their times at their convenience. In such apps, users simply view the time slots available with the number of seats needed and select one. This takes away any awkward interaction with staff of someone calling the restaurant and asking for a specific time for a reservation, only to realize it’s not available. For the business, it allows much greater flexibility in managing waitlists as well as customer loyalty.

Reducing Friction for the Front and Back of House

For streamlining customer orders, Kitchen Display Systems are very efficient, allowing both customers and kitchen staff to seamlessly log orders, instantly displaying them on screen according to priority. This also makes accommodating dietary restrictions much easier.

Radwan Masri, a 30 year veteran in the hospitality industry and a leading international culinary consultant and franchise expert with Ayy Karamba Hospitality added “The other side of food service tech driven business is FOH & BOH automation. Labor shortage in the service business combined with an increase demand for delivered food has impacted how food orders is being processed from start to end. Self-Serve ordering stations, QR codes scanning procedures. Your order nowadays through a drive through window is not the same as it used to be. i.e. I order in Chicago via a drive through window while my order is being processed by a mom sitting at home in Atlanta GA!”

This type of innovation is incredibly valuable and can easily cut down on unnecessary laborious tasks for employees. In addition, artificial intelligence technologies like Winnow reduce food waste. Using a camera, Winnow “learns” to recognize different foods being thrown away. It then calculates the financial and environmental cost of this discarded food to commercial kitchens. This in turn saves company’s money.

In Conclusion

If franchisees and independent restauranteurs expect to stay relevant and competitive they need to take advantage of these burgeoning technologies. The guest expectation has risen as a result of the pandemic and most guests will give a restaurant one, perhaps two chances to meet or exceed their exceptions. When it comes to the the overall guest experience, using these technologies gives operators a better chance to succeed.

Using Technology To Build Your Brand

It’s essential that you develop a strong marketing strategy, which should include goals, tactics, and measurements. Having a plan can maintain you on a set course with an established style, and it can help you track your development

Using Technology To Build Your Brand
By Veronica Lopez Siverio
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

It’s widely known that technology and social media can basically “make or break” a brand. Every business owner has to think about ways to adapt the media to their company or restaurant.

A successful company does not see technology as only a way to brand itself or reach more audiences, but also to discover new ways of doing business.

How Digital Marketing Can Grow Your Audience
When a company is starting, usually, it doesn’t have a big marketing budget. Consequently, you have to be very wise about how you are going to spend it.

Communication is essential in the business world, therefore having an active social media presence can help your business, explains the Forbes Agency Council. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are the best tools a company can use to track their audience, engagement, and growth.

Using platforms like Hootsuite, Google Analytics, and SEM Rush, marketing teams can strategize on content for social media and measure audiences, social media progress, engagement, and traffic.

It’s essential that you develop a strong marketing strategy, which should include goals, tactics, and measurements. Having a plan can maintain you on a set course with an established style, and it can help you track your development.

Now, the audience can be very visual. For that matter, it’s crucial that the content you portray on social media or your website be visually compelling. Meaning it should be thought out, planned, edited, it has to have a pattern, and it should always represent your brand and its identity.

Also, creating an outstanding website will contribute to your online presence. For a website to be successful, it should be user-friendly, optimized for search engines, updated every few months, and it has to be mobile responsive.

A platform that has an excellent performance is Google Ads. You can track conversions regarding how many people visited your page, from which outlets they were referred, and if they filled out an email subscription form.

Using Technology to Increase Productivity
For starters, using technology can increase productivity. Applying different software to specific departments of your company can help you see where you spent your time. It can help develop a productive filing system, and it makes communicating much simpler.

For example, cloud-based applications like DropBox can accelerate productivity by being accessible from different devices and locations at the same time.

Another critical element of a successful business is handing an excellent customer service experience. Soft ware like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can contribute to data analysis to benefit the company’s interaction with current and potential customers.

There are many applications that great companies have adjusted to their needs and help them boost both productivity and efficiency.

Also, the use of mobile technologies has increased over the last few years. Using this technology can as well improve productivity and efficiency. For starters, these mobile devices can contribute to a happier staff. As many experts say, happy employees can be more productive, and this can minimize staff retention percentage.

This technology helps employees complete a wide range of tasks because they can do them from any location. The technology achieves more things, getting done, creating more significant opportunities for companies to grow and be even more successful.
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