We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Monique Hayward a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Monique, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Would you say you are more focused on growing revenue or cutting costs? We’d love to hear how you think about these two critical drivers

I’m the Co-Founder & CEO of DRISCOLL Cuisine & Cocktail Concepts, a personal chef company based in the Phoenix metro area. My business partner Brian Driscoll and I talk all the time about how we only have two “levers” that we can pull to make a difference in our business operations — generating more revenue or decreasing costs.

What matters more to me is generating revenue, and I spend a lot of time thinking creatively about how best to do that. Whether it’s pursuing new market segments in interesting niches for a personal chef service or creating more value for our existing clients and encouraging them to book repeat business with us, I get jazzed and excited about the possibilities for growth for this business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I co-founded DRISCOLL Cuisine & Cocktail Concepts with Brian Driscoll in 2019 after a chance meeting with him at a restaurant where he was working in Scottsdale, AZ. Being a former restaurant owner, I know good service when I see it, and I commended Brian on the incredible job he was doing for his customers, even though he actually wasn’t my server.

After striking up a conversation with him, Brian shared with me a story from 20 years ago about a special evening he arranged to prepare and cook dinner for a wife who wanted to surprise her military husband coming home from an overseas deployment. After witnessing their reunion, Brian knew he wanted to create more moments just like that one. He told me, “I knew the minute the husband walked through the door and he locked eyes with his wife that I could build a business one day to serve clients looking for a unique, personalized experience at home.”

And that’s exactly what we did: I built Brian’s inspirational moment into a 25-page business plan, and within a few months, we had launched a premium personal chef service. We’re proud of our 100-percent five-star ratings on Google and Yelp, and that’s what motivates us to pursue our passion about this business and to deliver the experience we want our clients to enjoy when they work with us.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

We’re diligent about maintaining our online presence via our website and social media channels and staying in touch with our followers via email marketing campaigns. Also, we’ve been fortunate to be covered in local and national media.

However, most entrepreneurs will tell you there’s nothing like word of mouth. A client who shares his or her amazing experience with one of our personal chefs with a friend, family member, or colleague is our best source of new clients for our business.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

DRISCOLL Cuisine & Cocktail Concepts has set out to redefine in-home dining as classy, contemporary, and creative affairs with highly personalized, memorable, and engaging experiences. The company is relentless when it comes to hospitality. My business partner Brian Driscoll is trained in the Japanese hospitality tradition of “omotenashi,” which places a unique emphasis on anticipating guests’ needs and being selfless in service delivery. That has been the key to building our reputation as a premium personal chef company in the Phoenix metro area.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.driscollcuisine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DriscollCuisinecocktail/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/driscollcuisine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/driscoll-cuisine-cocktail-concepts
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DriscollCuisine
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPAghEFvaUtcjKeeRfsuQBw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/driscoll-cuisine-and-cocktail-concepts-glendale

Image Credits
Christine Hyatt