Rich Hutter, MBA

While working in the industrial field, Rich formed a group to purchase a Country Kitchen franchise in Northern Ohio. ;This group went on to purchase the franchise rights in Northern Ohio and grew from (1) restaurant to (19) restaurants. ;Four (4) of these were corporate owned by the formed company.

Rich's industrial background led to innovative techniques for the restaurant industry. ;We were able to schedule help in the restaurant based upon production functions as done in industry. ;Additionally, we turned the menu into a bill of material and was able to manage food costs, price increases, and labor accurately and profitably. It was also the first use of the simplified P&L which we will discuss in detail.;The net result of these (2) actions increased the profitability at each of the stores by approximately (9) points or $90,000 on the average store sales of $1 million. Rich's company then sold the Country Kitchen restaurants successfully in 1995.

At the same time, he bought out a manufacturer's representative company and grew their sales from $1,500,000/year to $15,000,000/year over a 10-year time period of time.

This has led to other consulting work with both commercial and industrial companies ranging in size up to $50,000,000 or higher.

Rich is presently serving as Vice Chair on the executive board for the Salvation Army in Sarasota county, and is also serving on finance committees for two nonprofits.