Make Money with Sustainably Run Restaurants | Dan Simons
Dan Simons is the co-owner of Farmers Restaurant Group, a mission-driven hospitality company behind the award-winning Founding Farmers brand, in partnership with the North Dakota Farmers Union. The group operates eight sustainably run restaurants, a distillery, and a catering company, all with one goal: to drive profits back to American family farmers while redefining how restaurants can serve people, planet, and profit in equal measure.
On this episode we talk about:
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How Dan fell in love with teamwork and hospitality in college bar jobs
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His corporate climb from restaurant manager to VP and the turning point that pushed him into entrepreneurship
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Going broke—twice—before building a $100M restaurant business
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The three-year stretch living in his mother-in-law’s basement while starting over
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Lessons from failed ventures, debt, and the mindset shift that built a thriving farmer-owned enterprise
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Why creating a people-centric culture is not just good ethics—it’s good business
Top 3 Takeaways
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Success is built through failure; each failure is an ingredient in your eventual success recipe.
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Find your deeper “why.” Profit is what happens when your purpose solves real problems for people.
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There’s never a perfect time or enough money—start smart, stay lean, and play the long game.
Notable Quotes
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“You’ll never have enough money. So stop waiting and start building.”
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“We gave customers what we thought they needed—not what they wanted. That’s how we failed our first restaurant.”
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“Failure isn’t the opposite of success—it’s part of it.”
Connect with Dan Simons:
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https://www.dansimonssays.com/
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