How much of the next dollar will you actually KEEP?

4 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this short promotional video, Donald Burns warns restaurant owners that chasing higher sales figures can be misleading if they do not understand how much profit actually remains after accounting for food costs, labor, overtime, waste, discounts, and third‑party fees. He explains that many owners focus on revenue and guest counts while ignoring the contribution margin, which can lead to cash crises despite a busy dining room. Burns emphasizes that growth without true contribution dollars is merely expensive activity and urges owners to examine their numbers before spending more on traffic. He offers a "Profit Leak Check" call, asking owners to bring their financial data for a solution‑focused discussion, and stresses that without numbers, no call will be scheduled.

Chapters

Before you chase another $100,000 in sales, answer one question. How much of the next dollar will you actually keep? You see, most restaurant owners can't answer that. They know revenue, they know guest counts, and they know the dining room feels busy, but they do not know what survives after food, labor, overtime, waste, discounts, and third-party fees take their share. That's how restaurants grow themselves into a cash crisis. More orders hit the kitchen, more pressure hits the team, More problems hit your phone, but almost nothing reaches your bank account. Growth without contribution dollars is just expensive activity. So before you spend another dollar chasing traffic, determine whether your current sales are actually producing profit. And the answer is already inside your numbers. You just need to stop avoiding it. Here's what I need you to do. Book your Profit Leak Check with me. Bring your numbers and get ready to get some real answers. No numbers, no calls. This is a solution-focused call, not a therapy session.