In this article:
- Best restaurant blogs to keep up with
- Great podcasts restaurant owners should listen to
- Free online courses and webinars for restaurant owners
Owning a business isn’t for the faint of heart, especially if that business is a restaurant. Taking your restaurant to the online world creates a new realm of challenges, from online reviews to managing a social media account for each of your locations. And this digital world is only getting busier with new technologies and methods that you’re being told you need to start using.
But in the midst of all the online ads being thrown at you and peers telling you just how you need to run your business online, how do you sort out what you should really be doing for your restaurant? Listen to the experts! With tons of free ways to grow your business, we’ve gathered a list of 10 free online resources that every restaurant owner should be using.
1. Restaurant Engine blog
Restaurant Engine is a company that has built their knowledge on creating phenomenal restaurant websites, but it’s their blog that we really want to direct your attention to. They are continuously learning and updating their knowledge base of how restaurant owners can market and grow their business. From how to market your bar to how to design the layout of your restaurant, they can offer any restaurant owner great insights.
3 must-reads from Restaurant Engine:
2. Constant Contact—a simple recipe for social media success
Social media is ever-growing, and frankly, it’s an important place for every business to be. Social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are awesome places to be to help enhance your brand and create awareness in your local community—especially if your business is new. Constant Contact put together this hour-long (free!) webinar on how to get started with social media, from what content to post and how to figure out the best social media channels to use for your business.
3. RestaurantOwner.com
RestaurantOwner.com is another blog site that is complete with hundreds of resources for restaurant owners to use in their businesses. Their resource library is full of webinars, online training courses, helpful articles, downloads, workshops, surveys, and much more.
3 must-reads from RestaurantOwner.com:
4. Alison
Alison.com has 1,000 free online courses, several of which are extremely beneficial to restaurant owners and their employees. From hospitality and food safety courses to marketing and social media, you can find hours of great training material for you and your staff members of all levels. This resource does require a user login, but it’s easy and free to set up.
Top 3 recommended courses:
- Diploma in Food Safety
- Social Media Strategy for Small Businesses
- Fundamentals of Marketing Your Business Online
5. Open For Business
Open For Business, created by Open Table, compiles hundreds of articles from top industry experts. This site covers restaurateurs, behind the scenes of successful restaurants, Q&A’s with famous chefs, and other insider information from Open Table’s own data collection. This comprehensive library has helpful resources for every restaurant owner.
3 must-reads on Open For Business:
6. Upserve’s Restaurant Insider
Upserve’s Restaurant Insider is a must-have in your list of free resources to keep up with industry news, marketing tips, and the latest insights into the world of the restaurateur. With case studies, media tips, and their own free online resource library, this is a site you won’t want to miss.
3 must-reads on Restaurant Insider:
7. Restaurant Unstoppable
Restaurant Unstoppable is a podcast produced by Eric Cacciatore, a devout student in the hospitality and management industry, and it is his mission to help and inspire restaurant owners around the globe. With over 600 podcasts surrounding the world of restaurants and interviews with the most successful restaurant owners around, you’ll quickly be hooked and learn something new every time you listen.
3 must-listen podcasts on Restaurant Unstoppable:
8. National Restaurant Association
The National Restaurant Association is always putting out new webinars and commenting on issues in the industry. They are continuously expanding their content and gathering new information to help restaurant owners everywhere.
3 must-reads from National Restaurant Association:
9. Modern Restaurant Management
Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) is an online magazine created to tell the stories of restaurant owners around the world, specifically so you can learn from others just like you! With everything you need to know from the ground up of starting up a restaurant, MRM posts new articles or videos every day.
3 must-reads on MRM:
10. TouchBistro blog
TouchBistro is a solution for POS systems for restaurants, and they offer a multitude of helpful insights on their blog. With customer stories about POS systems, a video library full of tips and tricks, and a continuous flow of new articles, you’ll want to add them to your list of restaurant owner reads.
3 must-reads on TouchBistro blog
There you go! 10 free online resources to help your restaurant be the best it can be.
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