Chef Tim McDiarmid was raised on a farm in rural Canada. After a decade working in some of the most visionary whole foods restaurants in New York City, Tim chose to settle down in sunny, laid back San Antonio. As a single mother, she wanted a flexible profession that would allow her to be with her son as well as focus on the wholesome, playful diet she'd always enjoyed. Tim the Girl Catering was born in 2011. Since then, Tim has won numerous awards and accolades, and opened a second business, The Good Kind Café.

Show notes… Favorite success quote or mantra:

"Ultimately, nothing is so important that it is worth losing your cool, if things go wrong."

In this episode with Tim Mcdiarmid, we discuss:

• How Mcdiarmids childhood help influence who she is today.
• What it was like moving to NYC after growing up in rural Canada.
• How mentors don't necessarily have to be older individual; they can be peers.
• The power of keeping a cool, calm, and collected persona.
• Finding a unique selling proposition.
• Not being gimmicky.
• Going from working in the business to working on the business.
• Just believing that when you hire people they will help you make more money so that you can afford them.
• Build a network, and learn to ask for help.
• How to get the right people around you. Hire slowly. Fire quickly.
• Being very clear about your vision so you can attract onto yourself the right people.
• How having an established brand helps with the hiring process.
• Knowing when to bring on partners vs hiring for help.
• How if you think a good business lawyers and consultant is too expensive, just wait until you see how expensive hiring a cheap one could be.
• Being transparent with your intentions and who you are to attract onto yourself like minded individuals.
• When things go wrong, taking the time to find out why and to create systems to correct for it.
• While systems are good, it is possible to have too many systems.

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Knowledge bombs

1. Which "it factor" habit, trait, or characteristic you believe most contributes to your success?
   • Building an emotional connection with guest and network.
2. What is your biggest weakness?
   • Having too much compassion.
3. What's one question you ask or thing you look for during an interview?
   • Ask, "What is your worst job? How long did you last?"
4. What's a current challenge? How are you dealing with it?
   • Keeping her eye on the big picture while scaling
5. Share one code of conduct or behavior you teach your team.
   • building an emotional connection with their guests.
6. What is one uncommon standard of service you teach your staff?
   • Educate and teach guest.
7. What's one book we must read to become a better person or restaurant owner? GET THIS BOOK FOR FREE AT AUDIBLE.COM
   • The E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It
   • The Second Circle: Using Positive Energy for Success in Every Situation.
8. What's the one thing you feel restaurateurs don't know well enough or do often enough?
   • Make good food.
9. What's one piece of technology you've adopted within your four walls restaurant and how has it influence operations?
   • Slack.
10. If you got the news that you'd be leaving this world tomorrow and all memories of you, your work, and your restaurants would be lost with your departure with the exception of 3 pieces of wisdom you could leave behind for the good of humanity, what would they be?
    1. Don't let the hard lessons in life harden your heart.
    2. Do something you love.
    3. Take the time to appreciate the good parts of life.

Contact info:

TimTheGirl.com

TheGoodKind.com

Thanks for listening!

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Huge thanks to Tim McDiarmid for joining me for another awesome episode. Until next time!

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