Remember to never stop assessing, enhancing, and learning all you can about your creations.  My grandfather used to say, “You learn, and you learn, and you learn, and then you die…and when you stop learning, you die.

My friend Mitch Modell of Modell’s Sporting Goods is a great example of a businessman who never stops learning and improving.  He oversees the nation’s oldest family-owned and operated retailer of sports goods, sports apparel and athletic footwear, a near 150 store chain.

Even after he recently spent a fortune revamping his flagship store in Times Square, Manhattan, New York, he asked me what changes I would make. Putting his ego aside, he not only listened to my recommendations but immediately implemented them.  He has been rewarded with a major improvement in sales.

View the Stores article about the improvements to Modell Sporting Goods and also a letter from Mitch Modell about the results.

Steven Schussler: ‘I’m not one who gives up’

Creative stunts helped Steven Schussler launch his career and later get Rainforest Cafe off the ground.

The Business of Shopping [Centers] by Steven Schussler

The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes (Maple Grove) and Woodbury Lakes are among the more forward-thinking Twin Cities shopping destinations.  Dan Lowe is managing partner and one of the founding partners of the developer behind both:  RED Development, LLC, which develops, leases and manages a total of 30 shopping centers nationwide.  The company primarily focuses on open-air lifestyle centers and destination retail and entertainment developments.  Lowe’s development responsibilities include project coordination, financing, budgeting, equity structure, due diligence, governmental relations, lease review and legal aspects for each project. 

Visit Schussler Creative Website to read the full article

Franchise Times – 20 to Watch 2011 Who’s Who of franchising’s elite.  Every year Franchise Times consults our Ouija Board to predict who will be the industry’s top movers, shakers and money makers.  Some will have a banner year, while others–not so much.  We don’t have time or space to do justice to these 20 notables, but we expect their stories will unfold on our pages over the next several months.  And by year-end, you’ll have a complete picture.

Number (7) on Top 20 List to Watch

Betty & Joe’s™ Baker & Coffee Baker™ You Can’t Have One Without the Other™

Hot Dog Hall of Fame™ Frankly the Best Hot Dogs, Sausages, Dumplings and French Fries in the World!™

Schussler Creative Inc.

The people who brought us elaborately themed restaurants like Rainforest Cafe^® and T-Rex Cafe^® (life-size mechanical dinosaurs) are plotting their foray into franchising with their smaller, but equally quirky, concepts.  Betty & Joe’s Baker & Coffee Maker™ and Hot Dog Hall of Fame™.  One unit of each has been opened for around two years, Jeff Bornmann, CFO, said.  Betty & Joe’s will pair traditional coffee offerings with better food, while the hot dogs are painted with gourmet mustards.  Steven Schussler’s  Creativity should spice up the franchise front.  So coffee franchises and dogs beware.  Franchise Times January 2011

If you pick Steven Schussler’s brain, the entrepreneur, founder of Rainforest Cafe, and author says it’s a jungle in there.

“Everyone told me ‘great idea!, call us when you’re open’. You could see eyes rolling behind their head.”

He grew used to skeptics when describing his themed restaurant, thick with tropical birds and featuring endangered species.

“It becomes easier to tell other people about it,” says Schussler. “Then you need to create a business plan, that you use as a guide. Anybody that wants to own a business that doesn’t have a business plan is making a huge mistake.”

As part of Schussler’s plan he decided investors needed to see to believe in his vision. He transformed his home into his idea of the Rainforest Cafe, by holding a dinner party one evening.

“They would call me two to three hours after leaving my home and asked me if I actually live there. They couldn’t believe that I would immerse myself into a concept and I put that much into it.”

He says his display of personality and persistence is what eventually hooked investors. Schussler adds, there are also two must-have characteristics of new entrepreneurs.

“You need to bring concept to fruition. Disney likes to say imagination is king, so it’s really important to embrace what you want to create then learn as much as you can about it. You need to become the expert in your field.”

His nugget of an idea developed into 45 restaurants. Now he’s helping inspire other entrepreneurs to paddle through those early rough waters, to reach smooth sailing ahead.

http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/content/money/matters/story/Money-Matters-Rainforest-cafe/A70DLoICREWH1RwfhIK4wQ.cspx

An Innovative and award-winning company specializing in restaurants and premium sports and entertainment dining, including concessions at the Xcel Energy Center. Andy Lansing is a guy who understands partnership and leadership. Link here to read full interview…http://www.schusslercreative.com/press_articles.html

Listen to BusinessCast #177 and you will get a flavour for Steve‘s secrets of success.

Originally from Rockaway Beach, New York, Steven Schussler is no stranger to PR stunts, and his book, It’s a Jungle in There, encourages anyone with a dream to “learn to become a creative genius, and take your ideas as far as you can to make them come true.” In order to attract investors for his idea of Rainforest Cafe, he transformed his home into the Rainforest Cafe® prototype. After four years of showing the concept to potential investors, Schussler opened the first Rainforest Cafe® at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota in October 1994. He and his public company built and operated 45 Rainforest Cafe® restaurants in seven years, on three continents and sold the chain to Landry’s Restaurants Inc. in 2000. Before selling to Landry’s, Rainforest Cafe® received over 40 awards in 6 years including: Fortune Magazine’s “Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S.A.” (named to the list two consecutive years); Nation’s Restaurant News’ “Hot Concept Award,” and Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 100 Entreprenuers.”

Steven Schussler says, “What better way to kick-off Thanksgiving than by giving thanks for what you have. At the end of the day, it’s not about how much you can acquire in your life, but how much you can help others. In Chapter 28 of my book, It’s a Jungle in There, I talk about the importance of philanthropy and how entrepreneurs must embrace social responsibility. My motive for creating the Ice Palace on the Fox Plaza is to raise awareness for Smile Network International, and to share the message that anyone can overcome obstacles and get ahead in business if they put their mind to it.”

The Ice Palace, which is also a prototype for Steven Schussler’s concept restaurant called, “Water, Fire & Ice™ The Ultra Polar Lounge™,” will be carved by Minneapolis-based Ice Occasions™ owner, Chris Swarbrick. His team also created sculptures for the Vancouver Olympics, and the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. “It will take (100) 300-pound blocks of ice to construct the 15-ton Ice Palace on the Fox Plaza, and upon completion will house an ice bar stocked with Aquadeco Water in beautiful designer bottles, a circular ice couch, a fire and ice table (with real fire), an ice carving of a penguin, and a full size gorilla!,” said Swarbrick.