The document provides an overview of Warren Dietel's presentation on developing and implementing a strategic plan for business growth and profitability. The presentation covers defining the company mission, vision, and values, assessing infrastructure needs, streamlining operations through consolidation, transitioning the team to support growth goals, strengthening the brand and marketing strategy, and giving daily best efforts. The goal is to transform the business from a family-owned catering company limited by outdated systems, to a professionally-run organization recognized as the premier event caterer through strategic planning.

1. The Business Road Map:
Developing and Implementing a Sound
Strategic Plan for Profitability and Growth
Presented by:
Warren Dietel, President & Owner
Orlando, FL

2. Table of Contents & Housekeeping
• My story • Give it Your Best Every Day
• The Puff Story • Presentation will be available online:
• Mission, Vision & Values – http://www.slideshare.net/
• Defining the Culture WarrenDietel
• The Financials • Twitter: @pscatering, #catersource
• Quality • Facebook.com/puffnstuffcatering
• Product Development
• The Tipping Point
• Infrastructure
• Streamlining & Consolidation
• Team Transition
• Sales
• Opening the Door
• Branding
• Marketing the New You

3. My Story
• Entrepreneurial from the start
• Professional Experience
– Car Detailing, Puff n Stuff
Catering, Disney Weddings,
Disney Institute, Scott Kay, back
Home!
• Industry Involvement
– ICA Board Member, Regular
Speaker for Catersource, The
Special Event, American Rental
Association, and NACE

4. The Puff Story
• Opened in Central Florida in
1980 as a family-owned
business
• Purchased in 2003, annual sales
of $1.8 million, at operational
limit
• Antiquated infrastructure with
inefficient space & poor
equipment
• Tremendous potential +
aggressive growth plan = 267%
growth in 3 years
• Opened new commissary in
2006

5. Strategic Planning: See a future
• Why bother?
– What are you going to sell?
– Who are you going to sell to?
– How can you beat or avoid your
competition?
• Alone in an ocean a boat drifts
with the wind and currents
• CHANGE is inevitable
– adapt or loose
• Yesterday is GONE!
• Getting People on Board
– Strategic vision comes from people
– Craft and nurture it and it will become
reality
– Turn dreams into reality

6. Mission, Vision, and Values
• Develop a picture of today, tomorrow, and what governs decisions
• Put the foundation in place to support excellence and growth
• Use an outside source to help develop
• Create a plan that includes assessment of and future planning for
– Management
– Staff
– Customer Base
– Research and Development
– Human Resources
– Operations
– Sales and Marketing
– Financial
– Technology

7. The Mission
• A mission statement is a brief written statement of the purpose of a company or
organization. Ideally, a mission statement guides the actions of the organization,
spells out its overall goal, provides a sense of direction, and guides decision
making for all levels of management.
Passionately Perfecting Life’s Celebrations

8. Vision
• A Vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be. It concentrates on
the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria.
Puff ‘n Stuff will possess the systems and procedures necessary to provide the
foundation for excellence and profitable growth. We will be recognized as the
event/catering organization of choice by our team members and clients.

9. Core Values
• A list of core values reflects what is truly important to us as an organization.
These are not values that change from time to time, situation to situation or
person to person, but rather they are the underpinning of our company culture.
Professional – In behaviors and appearance
Respect – For self, team members and clients
Own – Accountable for each others’ success and safety
Anticipate – Serving team member and clients needs
Communicate – Timely, accurately and honestly

10. Defining the Culture
• Changing communicating old to new
• Ever changing – client communication
• Happy employees = happy customers
• Open, fun, professional, passionate,
creative
Culture defines who you are and aids in making hiring
decisions. Many believe people are a company’s greatest asset
but I believe the culture created by the people working for you
is your greatest asset.

11. Quality
• Impossible to grow without improvement
• SWOT
– Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
& Threats
• Competitive analysis
• The Pasta Station Evolution - Innovation
• Get everyone pulling together
• Make everyone accountable
• COMMUNICATION IS KEY!
• Develop a Service Culture
• Exceeding expectations….always!

12. Product Development
• Don’t break what is not broken
• Test, test, and re-test!
– Pineapple baked Alaska for 450….right
• Where is opportunity in your community?
– Think about it from a business segment
– Get your ego in check
• Be innovative and tell everyone
• Leverage donation requests for sponsorship

13. Infrastructure
• Improve infrastructure to support
growth
• Consolidation of Operations
• Find a building
– Raw land – ground up construction
– Similar use facilities
– Purchase or Lease
• Our location
– Good bones
– Could easily see offices, kitchen, and
warehouse

14. Streamlining & Consolidation
• Create an Infrastructure to support growth and quality
• Diversifying segment base
– When one market is down the other is usually up
• Segment sales team to cover different markets
– Experts in their field
– Venue segmentation
• Development of different departments
– Keep teams focused on their specific focus
– Cross train teams
• Be present & relevant in your market
– Host events at your facility
– Cherry pick events in your community
– Select a few charities to support

15. Streamlining & Consolidation
• Standard operating procedure for everything!
• Team Building
• Procurement
• Strategic Partnerships
• Technology
– Caterease
– Remote connection
– Informative Website
– Pre-packaged menus
– Back-up generator
– In-house fuel

16. Team Transition
• Adaptation
– Needed stronger thinkers and problem solvers on the front end
– “Fire Fighters” needed to convert to “Smokey the Bears”
– Business built on fixing problems, NOT preventing them
• Recruiting
– Who do we hire and when? HR Mgr, Director of Sales, Director of Ops, Sales Team,
Marketing
– Sales Team – sales trained or catering trained?
– Service Personnel – went from “a pulse and black slacks” to fine-dining experienced
– Develop an organizational plan on what the business looks like at different periods of
growth

17. Team Transition
• New Facility
– Thought there would be excitement, but there was
discomfort
– More formal announcement/transition process
– Planning for tomorrow
– They didn’t see why we needed new facility to
support growth
• Rewarding the right behavior
– Job Descriptions and Performance Evaluations
– Developing an ownership mentality through the
ranks
– Incentive and Profit Sharing programs
• Engaging Employees
– A puff of thought
– Employee of the month
– The State of the Puff
– Internal newsletter
– Our blog – engages internal and external
– Lunch together everyday

18. Sales
• Segmented sales plan
• Establish goals so you know how to plan
• Sales Director…at the right time
• Sales compensation plan rewards desired behaviors
• Using video and new-media to tell our story

20. Opening the Door
• Emergency relief contracts
• Test kitchen
• To-go/Retail
• Manufacturing
• Sublease
• Client confidence
• TriLargo Hospitality

21. Branding
• Had to make “Puff ‘n Stuff” sophisticated, but not out of reach
• History in the city
• Overcoming previous negative experiences
• Equipment & event experiences

22. Branding

23. Branding

24. Branding

25. Interactive Website

26. Branding
elegant. creative. inspired.
full-service wedding & event planning
ose three words are the key to making any event a success. With many years of experience
bar or bat mitzvahs
in the catering and event planning industry, I specialize in Jewish simchas. Whether
friday night shabbat dinners
planning a bar or bat mitzvah, Sunday brunch, or a quiet Friday night Shabbat dinner, you
meat & dairy menus
can trust that I will handle all your affairs with extraordinary care and creativity.
oneg & kiddish menus
e only finger you’ll have to lift is the one you use to call me.
unique venues
Shira Smith table settings, linens décor & more
407.478.5820
shira@puffnstuff.com
Puff ‘n Stuff Catering
Passionately Perfecting Life’s Celebrations

27. Marketing the New You!
• Segmented advertising campaign
• Press releases
• Expert in your field
• Speaking – locally and nationally
• Giving back to local and national
organizations
• Articles in local and national
publications
• Website & blog

28. Marketing the New You!
“ ”
55

29. Social Media!

30. Meet Puff ‘n Stuff Catering

31. Give it Your Best Everyday!
Champions look at
what we are going to
do – losers look at
what they are going
through!
~ Simon T. Bailey

32. ICA Membership Benefits
Come learn more at the Inspiration Zone/Attendee
Lounge or Tradeshow Booth #1918
• Professional Recognition
• Education: Culinary Learning Journeys, Regional Education Days, CaterArts
& Monthly Free Webinars
• Amazing Networking
• Your chef enjoys membership in the Culinary Council
• Work & Learn Program
• Membership Show Special: ONLY for Catersource Conference 2011
• New Members: $250 vs. $290 (must be paid in full)
• First 250 new members get Inspiration CD FREE!

33. Thank You!
To download a copy of today s presentation, go to:
http://www.slideshare.net/WarrenDietel
For Videos: http://vimeo.com/channels/puffnstuff
Warren G. Dietel | warren@puffnstuff.com | 407.398.6306