Kitchen Nightmares

First, I love the TV show Kitchen Nightmares.  Second, I love Tom Kane's Legal Marketing Blog.  Third, I live and really love the concept of the niche practice of law as something that is inherently enjoyable to practice and at which to make money.  And, I appreciate the fact that Tom Kane has brought all of these concepts and programs together for his latest post.

As Tom rightfully points out, Scottish Chef Gordon Ramsey on his TV show Kitchen Nightmares works at turning around failing restaurants based upon “two key issues”.  First, there are too many items on the menu.  Second, the restaurant is not known as the best place to go for a particular dish.  And, that concept relates to law firm's as well.  It is a concept of reorganization he applies over and over again at one failing restaurant after another in this TV show.  And, it works.

You need to build niche practices in which you substantially reduce your menu of services down to something that is exquisitely manageable, knowable and marketable.  In doing so you will become known for being the law firm or lawyer to whom everyone should turn for a particular problem.  It is that narrowing and doing one particular thing very, very well that will get you known, that will help you market, and that will drive business to you.  But, just like the failing restaurants fight this concept tooth and nail, so do most lawyers and law firms.

Comments

[Carolyn Elefant]

I love the show also, but I hate the beginning when they show how dirty the kitchens are, with rotting produce and cockroaches. Makes me squeamish about eating in many restaurants now (and makes me realize that I'm not as poor a housekeeper as I thought!)

[Karyn]

It's funny that you should do a post on this as I have been thinking about how what you've been saying on this blog relates in some way to what Gordon Ramsey tries to do on Kitchen Nightmares. I'm a big fan of the show as well and it always reminds me of you when I watch it. I especially liked the episodes about Mama Cherri's restaurant in Brighton, England. Gordon went in and pared down the menu and got everything in order based on the number of customers she really needed each week to do well (Third Wave). However, in a follow-up episode, Gordon went back to find that the owner had received a lot of good press and that now she was trying to do everything on a grand scale -- a bigger, three-story location, more staff, and a huge menu (Second Wave). This ultimately turned the restaurant into a huge fast food operation with poor service and complaining customers instead of that down home, cozy and intimate atmosphere which was the owner's original concept for the restaurant, I believe. Great post!