Lessons from a Decade of Restaurant Ownership with Paul Miller | FTE Episode 061

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Today’s guest Paul Miller, probably doesn’t get much sleep. With everything Miller’s got going on, I don’t know how he finds the time. Miller owns numerous franchise restaurant locations, operates the Roaming Rotisserie food truck, and has an authority website that helps connect food truck entrepreneurs with products, services, and information they need to operate a better business.

In today’s main course, Miller shares his experience going from franchise restaurant owner to food truck owner. Miller also provides advice from running his own food truck, including how the ability to accept online payments can provide a competitive advantage to vendors and the opportunity that exists with fundraisers. All this along with the latest news from around the food truck industry is available in this week’s episode.

Quote from The Show

It wasn’t the easiest rejection to take, but I was very focused on starting my restaurant. I loved the brand. They were coming into my geographic territory at the time and I knew that if I could get a chance to get in there and work and show them what I had that they would accept me. – Paul Miller about the process of starting his first franchise restaurant. 

 If you can put a stick on it and spin it on an oven, we’ll cook it. – Paul Miller on the Roaming Rotisserie food truck. 

Mouth-watering Chicken from Roaming Rotisserie.

What You’ll Learn

• Learn about Paul Miller’s background and his eleven-year military career as a combat photographer prior to getting started in the restaurant industry.
• How Miller was initially rejected by a restaurant franchise due to lack of restaurant experience. Miller also explains how he gained that real-life restaurant operations experience to ultimately become a franchisee of that company.
• Lessons and advice from about a decade of restaurant ownership
• Some reasons Miller started to look into owning a food truck, including the ability to be more creative with the operations of the vehicle.
• The advantages of starting a mobile food unit for existing restaurant owners, including marketing opportunities and existing resources such as a commissary that make getting started a lot easier.
• The process Miller took to come up with the Roaming Rotisserie concept.
• Some of the information advantages that franchise owners have. For example, franchisee’s can discuss and compare food cost and operations prices with other owners that have the exact same suppliers and close costs to determine if there are areas of their business that need improvement.
• Why controlling food costs and labor are critical to being successful with food trucks or restaurants.
• The advantages of using online ordering for a mobile food vehicle, especially in cold climates.
• Why fundraisers are such an incredible revenue opportunity for vendors.
• Learn about Miller’s future plans and ventures.

Mentioned During the Show

FoodTruckCentral.net – This is Paul Miller’s online resource for food truck entrepreneurs. The website connects vendors with folks that serve the industry, including food truck builders, insurance providers, and other resources. You can register for a free profile at the website. 

Roaming Rotisserie – This is the food truck Paul Miller owns and operates. Visit his Facebook page to view photos of his truck and the awesome food he’s serving up.

How to Build a Food Truck – That’s right! FoodTruckEmpire.com now has a book available for sale on Amazon.com. Shout out to JPM Publishing for making it all happen!

Revel Systems – This is the POS software Paul Miller uses on his food truck. As Miller describes in the interview, the ability to make mobile sales gives him an edge over competitors, especially during cold winter months when customers don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting in line.

OpenDining.net – This is the system Miller uses to accept online orders through his website. You can test out this ordering system on your own website for free. See how Miller is using this technology at the website: http://www.roaming-roti.com/fundraisers/.

KOI Fusion PDX Contest – KOI Fusion is providing their creative fans the opportunity to help shape the brand of their business by helping to design a food truck wrap for their next vehicle. While the time to participate in this contest has ended. There’s still time to cast your vote for the submission with the best design on Twitter and Facebook. Check out the KOI Fusion PDX website for details.