The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap: Move from Ordinary to Extraordinary

In "The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap," Christin Marvin, a seasoned hospitality professional, shares her inspiring journey from a line cook at 15 to managing partner by 30. With over twenty years of industry experience, Christin provides a candid and insightful memoir filled with leadership lessons and personal growth stories.

In this book, you will:
Discover the characteristics of a great leader.
Learn the importance of hiring people smarter than you.
Understand how to create systems for success.
Explore effective methods for developing managers.
Gain insights into achieving mental fitness.

"The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap" offers an inside look into the highs and lows of the restaurant industry, providing practical wisdom for aspiring and seasoned professionals
This book serves as a beacon of hope and a guide for navigating the demanding yet rewarding path of the hospitality world, addressing the critical issues of burnout and the unhealthy influences of alcohol. Embark on a transformative journey to becoming an extraordinary hospitality leader. 

Grab your copy now at christinmarvin.com/book

Author

Restaurant Leadership Podcast

The Restaurant Leadership Podcast : The show that teaches restaurant owners and operators how to be world-class leaders without wasting time and energy.

Podcast Host

CHOW - Culinary Hospitality Outreach & Wellness

CHOW’s mission is to support wellness within the hospitality industry and to improve the lives of our community through shared stories, skills, and resources.

Board Member

Solutions by Christin

My company, Solutions by Christin offers one on one coaching, group coaching, leadership workshops and consulting for local restaurant leaders who are looking to be in the top 1% of the industry.

Hospitality Catalyst

Denver, Colorado

Area Manager

I had the pleasure of developing leaders, opening new locations, connecting with the community and making our restaurants more sustainable in the Colorado market. My passion lies with developing people, building culture and operations excellence.

Regional Manager

I had an active role in helping the company expand from 2-7 locations that spanned a variety of concepts. I also implemented a wellness program, hired and developed leaders and implemented systems to drive sales.

Managing Partner

Christin Marvin is a distinguished restaurant coach, author, speaker and host of the restaurant leadership podcast, No Hesitations. With over twenty years of experience, Christin has established herself as a preeminent authority in the field, having spent time in both fine dining and high-volume growth concepts. 

As the founder of Solutions by Christin, she partners with independent restaurant owners to address their most pressing leadership and business challenges, enabling them to focus their time and energy where it matters most. Christin excels in personalized one-on-one coaching and facilitating impactful leadership workshops. 

When you embark on a coaching journey with Christin, it's not merely about coaching; it becomes a transformative adventure, breaking down barriers and propelling you to levels of success you may have never imagined possible.

Christin Marvin

The restaurants that survive the next 5 years won't be the ones with the best food.


They'll be the ones with the best systems.

Great food keeps people coming back.

But systems are what keep your doors open.

Systems for:
✅ Hiring and training people who don't need you to babysit them
✅ Managing food costs without sacrificing quality
✅ Creating consistent guest experiences across every shift
✅ Building leaders who can run the business without you

Good food gets you noticed.

Strong systems keep you profitable.

#RestaurantBusiness #RestaurantSystems #HospitalityLeadership

We coach multi-unit restaurant operators to build systems that drive profitability and reclaim time—so they can scale with confidence and spend their time and energy where they want to, not where they have to.

If your managers are working 70-hour weeks during the holidays, you have a systems problem.


Not a dedication problem.

I get it (December is insane in restaurants).

But if your leadership team is burning out just to keep things running, something's broken.

The Process pillar in the IRF is designed to prevent this.

When you have strong processes:
✓ Your managers aren't the only ones who know how to solve problems
✓ Your team can execute without constant supervision
✓ Systems reduce the chaos instead of adding to it

Your managers should be leading, not just surviving.

And if they're barely hanging on, it's time to build better systems.

Watching your managers burn out trying to hold everything together? Comment "SYSTEMS" and I'll show you which processes are breaking them.

#ProcessPillar #ManagerBurnout #RestaurantSystems

Curious about how restaurants can effectively implement NA beverage programs?                         

Join us for a transformative conversation as Dana Bonelli , a veteran in the wine and spirits industry, unveils the evolution of inclusivity in the non-alcoholic (NA) beverage space. Discover how the hospitality sector has shifted from exclusive, patriarchal beginnings to a more welcoming and inclusive environment. Dana reflects on her journey starting in the mid-90s and provides a comprehensive look at the industry's progress in response to technological advancements, cultural changes, and increasing consumer demand for wellness-oriented options. 

#nonalcholicdrinks #hospitality #leadershippodcast

Know a restaurant leader who's burned out, questioning their path, or ready for a transformation?


Give them The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap.

This isn't a tactics book.

It's my story of going from line cook at 15 to managing partner by 30, navigating burnout, struggling with alcohol, and finding a better way to lead.

Inside, you'll find:
✓ Raw, honest stories about the reality of restaurant life
✓ Lessons on resilience, mental fitness, and sustainable leadership
✓ Practical wisdom for leaders who want to thrive, not just survive

This book is for anyone in hospitality who's ever felt like they're giving everything and getting nothing back.

It's a reminder that you're not alone, that burnout isn't a badge of honor, and that there's a better way forward.

If you know someone who needs this message, this is the gift that could change their life.

Grab your copy at the link in the comments. Sometimes the best gift is knowing someone else gets it.

#HospitalityLeadership #BurnoutRecovery #RestaurantLife

Things I know at 44 I wish I knew at 30:


Burnout isn't a badge of honor (it's a warning sign).

You can't lead effectively when you're exhausted.

Your team will rise to the expectations you set (if you actually set them).

Saying no is a superpower.

The best leaders aren't the ones who do everything (they're the ones who build people who can).

If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, it would be this:
Working harder isn't the answer.

Leading better is.

What's one lesson you wish you'd learned earlier in your career?

#LeadershipLessons #RestaurantOwner #CareerWisdom

Short and sweet today because it's the weekend before Thanksgiving:


Take 10 minutes today to thank your team.

Not a generic "good job."

A specific "I see what you do and it matters."

Name the thing they did well.

Tell them why it made a difference.

Mean it.

Your team is about to bust their asses this week.

Let them know you see them.

#RestaurantLeadership #TeamAppreciation #Thanksgiving

Most restaurant owners confuse being busy with being productive.


They're not the same thing.

Busy is working 70-hour weeks putting out fires.

Productive is building systems so fires don't start in the first place.

Busy is doing everything yourself because "it's faster."

Productive is training someone else so you don't have to do it anymore.

Busy is reacting to whatever crisis pops up.

Productive is planning so crises become rare.

You didn't open a restaurant to be busy forever.

You opened it to build something sustainable.

What's one thing you're doing this week that's busy work vs. productive work?

 #RestaurantLeadership #ProductivityTips #WorkSmarter

How to lead your restaurant through market saturation without burning out.                          

Kevin Morrison explains how knowing your numbers and leading with clarity helps your brand stand out, even in crowded cities like Denver.

Learn more on The Restaurant Leadership Podcast.

#restaurant #leadership #innovation

Your team doesn't need more training.


They need better systems.

Training without systems is just setting people up to fail.

You can train someone on your service standards all day long, but if:
⁉️ You don't have a clear onboarding process
⁉️ Your managers aren't reinforcing those standards
⁉️ There's no accountability when standards slip
...that training doesn't matter.

Systems create consistency.

Training teaches people how to work within those systems.

You need both.

But systems come first.

What system is missing in your restaurant right now?

#RestaurantSystems #RestaurantTraining #OperationalExcellence

Molly Stovold

Founder

Turning overwhelmed, underpaid coaches and online service providers into fully booked entrepreneurs who serve 💵 The 6-Figure Club starts January 2024

Picture this…

The business you started is making thousands every week.

You wake up to passive income notifications.

Dream clients reach out to you

Brands pitch you.

You have f*ck you money… the kind that makes every problem go away. 

And you finally feel like your work actually means something.

I know this is possible for you because I was you.

I’ve been the corporate girlie.
The underpaid yogi.
The burnt-out remote employee.

Today I’m the founder of a multi six figure online business, living in Bali in a villa I paid for in cash.

My campaigns have generated millions for global coaches and tech companies.

My own clients have scaled to £34k cash months and £20k weeks without ads or cold outreach.

When I first started I had no following, no brand, no website.

I built from scratch with one advantage → 
expertise.

I applied the same inbound strategies I used in corporate, layered in premium positioning, and paired it with wealth energetics so the mindset matched the strategy.

That’s what I teach today:
	•	How to build a business that actually pays you.
	•	How to sell at a premium level.
	•	How to scale with inbound systems and passive income.

Because making money while you sleep isn’t luck. 

It’s a system.

If you’re brilliant at what you do but can’t crack consistent premium sales, let’s change that.

💌 DM me FREEDOM to get started
📩 Partnerships: support@mollystovold.com

I help coaches, consultants, and service providers monetise their LinkedIn.

By working 1-1 with me online entrepreneurs: 

➡️ Optimise their LinkedIn profile (gone are the days of third-person bios)

➡️ Devise a personalised content strategy, situating them as a leader within their field 

➡️ Create a LinkedIn Lead Gen System focused on permission-based marketing (no spammy Inmails)

➡️ Build a network of supportive, engaged professionals

➡️ Develop a clear social-selling strategy

And SO much more. 

Sounds too good to be true, I know. So, here are some of the average results from my clients:

📈 3X organic leads in 90 days 

📈 1000% more profile views in the first 2 weeks

📈 4x calls booked per week 

If you're an online entrepreneur who struggles to find a lead gen strategy that works. Send me a message.

I spent years building a ‘dream career’ that barely covered my rent.

And $60k on a degree just to qualify for it.

But walking away from the safety net was still the hardest decision I’ve ever made.

Not because I didn’t know what I wanted.

But because I’d been taught that the safest thing I could do was stay.

1. Get the degree

2. Work for exposure

3. Get the job

4. Hustle to prove myself

5. Retire at 60 and then 'relax'

I bought it.

All of it.

Until the return on investment was anxiety, burnout and another Sunday ruined by the dread of Monday. 

I’ve watched so many women go through the same thing.

Six-figure careers, 
more accomplishments that you can count, 
and lives that look great on paper but feel quietly suffocating.

If you are like me. 

You won’t leave corporate because you’re flaky.

You’ll leave because the cost of staying is too high.

You’ll realise that it was never about safety. 

But about power.

And whether you’re willing to take it back.

Today is the final day to join The Five Figure Club with the Black Friday offer of 73% off. 

You’ll learn everything you need to make your first £10k online. 

All for £297.

Closes at midnight.

https://lnkd.in/ge_bFj8w

You deserve to live by the beach, make hella money, help a tonne of people, and be free. I help with that 🥇 Ranked #1 Female Creator on LinkedIn for Online Business | Top 1% Voice

I’m a big believer in throwing money at the problem.

(with the exception of one thing)

Ads.

LinkedIn’s new boost post feature is great.

But it’s not a fix.

If your content isn’t already converting, 

boosting it just makes the problem more expensive.

Ads are for scale.

They’re not for testing.

They won’t fix weak messaging, 

confused positioning, 

or posts that don’t lead anywhere.

If you’re not making sales, or getting leads from your organic content,

You don’t need ads.

You need to find out why your content isn’t landing.


P.S: If you have tried boosting your posts let me know how it went.

No alternative text description for this image

If you’re not a tiny bit mortified

(you’re probably not doing it right).

The first time I posted a video, I deleted it four times because I was so nervous.

Telling my family I was not going to take that promotion and was starting an online business instead felt like walking into school n@ked.

Even though every single offer I release flies off the shelves I still feel like I want to vomit on launch day.

Why on earth do I keep doing it then?

Putting myself through the utter turmoil that is building a successful personal brand.

Because every move that has paid off started with a healthy dose of 

“oh my gosh, what am I doing?”

Whether you like it or not, the stuff that scares you is usually the stuff that grows you.

So I urge you to sit with the cringe.

Then do it scared.

Nothing iconic ever started with “I felt totally chill about it.”

You are literally the only one who is bored.

Not your audience.

Not your clients.

Not the strangers bingeing your content.

Just you.

You’re the one second-guessing whether you should post about that same offer again.

The one wondering if your brand colours are still “you”.

The one debating if maybe it’s time to switch things up…again.

I get it.

Because I’ve been doing it too.

→ Last month I tested a post format that works really well for other people.
Mega flop.

And no, it’s not because I’m bad at it.

Or that the strategy doesn’t work.

It’s because I’ve built a brand.

One that people recognise.

One that makes people stop scrolling.

One that feels familiar.

So when I suddenly post something totally different, people pause.

“Wait, Molly doesn’t create content like this.”

To them, the new content doesn’t feel like me.

That’s the power of branding.

It’s not just what you sell.

It’s how you sell.

How you speak.

What you repeat.

What you never touch.

And when you veer too far from it even with good intentions,

you dilute it.

The goal isn’t to reinvent yourself every quarter.

It’s to become known for something.

Trusted for something.

Booked out because of something.

Your audience isn’t craving new.

They’re craving consistent.

If you’re trying to go viral on LinkedIn you’re doing it wrong.

To go viral you need to please the masses.

To make money you need to please your target audience.

I’ve had posts do hundreds of thousands of views.

Nice for the ego, not what pays the bills.

What does?

Systems.

One of my clients had fewer than 1,000 followers,

I taught her inbound marketing. 

Within a week she had her first sale and 15 warm conversations in her DMs.

Post to make money first, then once you’re rolling in dough worry about going viral.

The challenge itself is full and oversubscribed, 

if that isn’t proof enough this system works…

I don’t know what is.

I don’t hate sales calls.

I hate pointless ones.

(the ones where someone books because they’re bored, not because they want help)

I’d wager you don’t have a sales problem.
You have a standards problem.

You jump on calls with anyone who shows the slightest pulse.

You let complete strangers take up thirty minutes of your day.

You spend half the call trying to work out what the person even wants.

I did it too.

Until I built my One Call Close Method:

1. Build rapport so the call starts human and grounded (not awkward).

2. Set the frame so you stay in control and they follow your lead.

3. Diagnose with precision so you uncover the real problem.

4. Reflect the truth back so they hear their own gap out loud and take it seriously.

5. Present the path so clearly that the decision feels obvious.

6. Handle objections by asking questions. 

Then, most importantly, take the payment on the call. 

You probably don’t need more calls.

You just need to stop accepting the wrong ones.

Picture this ...

It's NYE 2026 and for the first time you have f*ck you money

(the kind that makes every 'problem' go away).

You go to set New Years intentions and realise 

"wow... I already have everything I ever wanted".

The online business you started is making thousands upon thousands of dollars every single week.

You are the most present you have ever been for your loved ones.

You live in the place you used to holiday in.

I want this for you.

And I know it is possible for you. 

Just like it was possible for all my clients who came before you.

Whether you've been in online business for a while but you still haven't the foggiest how to make $10k.

Or you're still trapped in the corporate hustle, 

trading time for money, 

or stuck in a remote job earning pittance...

I have been where you are now.

I kissed a lot of frogs before landing on my feet.

Career frogs, not men frogs (although… there’s an argument for that too 👀).

On Friday I am pulling back the curtain on every step I took to get here.

By here I mean having $100k months from my villa in Bali.

Serving dream clients. 

Making money while I sleep. 

Want me to send it to you?

Lowercase posts on LinkedIn offend my millennial soul.

If people can’t be bothered to capitalise a sentence, 

What hope is there for clear thinking?

We’re meant to be building authority.

Showing up like we care.

Not typing like we’d rather be doing literally anything else. 

It’s not just about the font choice.

It’s about the message you send when you treat a professional platform like a group chat.

If you want to be taken seriously, start with the basics.

Capital letters are free.

There’s a difference between outsourcing and delegating

(as I learnt the hard way)

When I started my online business, I thought I was outsourcing.

But really, I was just delegating.

→ Hiring assistants
→ Handing off tasks

Still being needed for literally everything.

I made every decision based on price, not skill.

Which meant the results were only ever as good as I was.

That changed this year.

I stopped asking who could take it off my plate.

Started asking who could do it better than me.

That’s when I found Martijn Pothof.

He builds my sales pages now.

And I hate to admit it, 

but he’s better than me.

Every page he builds converts better than the ones I built myself. 

Since outsourcing to Martijn, the expert:

We’ve had a $100k launch.

and scaled to 9 employees to meet demand.

Working with experts isn’t an expense.

It’s a growth strategy.

test

did this go live?


That was the subject line of her email.

And yet?

Everyone opened it.

Marie Forleo sent it.

The email looked like a mistake.

But it wasn’t.

It was a pattern interrupt.

Because Marie knows you’re numb to polished copy.

And you scroll straight past loud, fake urgency.

So she made you feel like you caught her slipping.

The brain has to close the loop.

It needs to know if it really just caught someone out.

To click.
To check.
To confirm.

That’s why I’d bet this email outperformed every other one she sent that week.

Because the best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing at all.

I just closed $5k on a call with a baby strapped to me.

Unprofessional? Maybe.

Bad@ss? Absolutely.

I spoke to a dad yesterday who’d been up with a puking toddler all night.

But there he was at 9am sharp ready to roll.

To scale his agency to be the best in the UK.

To build a life for his family.

That is why I do this too.

Why I sit here writing you this post with no childcare. 

Hair unwashed. 

Milk stains on my work clothes.

Because business will hand you a hundred reasons to wait for the perfect moment.

And literally none of them matter.

Success doesn’t require a perfect life or circumstances.

It requires a powerful reason to go after it in the first place. 

And nothing lights a fire in your belly like making your babies proud.

Outbound is 100 calls with random leads.

Inbound is 20 calls with people who already know you and can afford your services.

Outbound and inbound are not two different sales methods.

They are two different buyer states.

Outbound forces you into conversations with people who haven’t shown any intent.

→ They aren’t problem aware.

→ They don’t see the gap between where they are and where they want to be.

So you end up educating, convincing, 

and pushing on a call instead of seeing if the offer itself is a fit. 

Inbound is the opposite.

People who come through an inbound system have already done 3 invisible things:

1. They have self identified as the type of person who buys from you

2. They have absorbed enough of your worldview to trust your method

3. They have pre qualified themselves long before you speak

Outbound relies on sales tactics, urgency, scarcity and overall… ickyness.

Inbound connects and aligns. 

If you want better calls, change the buyer state.

If you’re still commenting under competitors’ posts
 (and relying on them for your clients)

This is how you create your own ecosystem of inbound leads instead of relying on theirs.
 So many competitors hang out in my comments.

Then go and DM everyone who interacts with my post.

And pitches them a similar offer to mine. 

I see why they do this, I just had a 6 figure launch.

They see the traction and see what is working.
 And while they’ll probably get a few sign-ups…

They are collecting scraps from a system they doesn’t understand.
 Because I’m not reacting to the market.
 I am the market.
 I built the ecosystem.
 They are trying to survive inside it.
 Inbound marketing is the opposite of riding someone else’s coattails.
 → It’s about owning your traffic source.
 → Creating demand instead of borrowing it.
 → Becoming the person others have to orbit around.

Reach out if you want to stop chasing other people’s clients, 

and start attracting your own.

I’m about to drop $16k on scaling my business 

(this is why I haven’t committed to it yet)

1. I am questioning whether I could just do it myself 

2. I worry if i have enough time to do what they tell me I need to do 

3. It is a lot of money 

What no one tells you about big investments is:

It’s not just about the money.

It’s about who you’ll need to become once you’ve made it.

And the version of you that’ll need to deliver at that level. 

Sure, I could probably do it myself. 

But that’d take trail and error. 

And, most importantly it would take more time. 

To all the CEOs reading this ↓

What are the best investments you’ve made as you scaled your online business?

Give me names, agencies, errryyyything. 

Hormozi said you can’t get rich if you never risk losing money.

I guess we are about to find out if he is right.

Thinking of starting your business? 

(or maybe you already have).

But where do you actually begin?

How do you know if you’re spending your time in the right place?

90% of businesses fail in the first year.

Not because people aren’t motivated.

But because they don’t know what to focus on.

You can be brilliant.

You can care deeply.

You can have something that changes lives.

And still get ignored.

Less than 10% of women-owned businesses ever reach six figures.

Not because women aren’t capable.

But because they never get the right strategy, support, or positioning.

The Five Figure Club was built to change that.

So you don’t waste time second-guessing.
So your ideas stop collecting dust.

So the version of you who earns well, feels clear, and moves with self-respect… 

becomes your reality.

Not someday.

Now.

This is the moment you decide which side of the numbers you belong on.

Get the Black Friday offer:

https://lnkd.in/ge_bFj8w

It’s that time of year again when everyone who hit their goals shouts about it.

And anyone who didn’t spirals with every celebratory post from their competitors.

If you’re sat there wondering how everyone-and-their-mum is making 6-figures,

While you’re struggling to sell a £100 coaching session despite five plus years of experience…

I have good news.

The reason your competitor is smashing it has nothing to do with paying some magic high-ticket coach you can’t afford. 

And everything to do with their personal brand.

They didn’t stumble into some secret corner of the internet reserved for chosen ones.

They did one thing early that most experienced professionals avoid because it feels uncomfortable.

They decided how they wanted to be perceived. 

Then went and built their content around that decision.

Then they made sure that content got seen. 

In practice this looks like: 

→ Repeating the same ideas from different angles instead of constantly reinventing themselves.

→ Investing in support like they know their business will succeed.

→ Actual focused work rather than spending hours procrastinating over a Canva presentation nobody even asked for.

Meanwhile, the “experienced professionals” are: 

→ Hiding behind qualifications.

→ Over explaining instead of positioning.

→ Getting riled-up by every Stripe notification post a competitor shares.

They are treating their business like a career.

Showing up like the reliable-employee.

That’s a strategy.

It’s just not a profitable one.

My client is going viral on LinkedIn right now

(this is exactly how and why).

Before we worked together, she assumed growth would mean more effort.

She nearly spent $4k on a two week intensive to “learn LinkedIn”.

Not because she wanted to.

Because she thought she had to.

But she is the CEO.

Her job is not to understand the algorithm.

Her job is to make good decisions, protect her time, and stay in her zone of genius.

If the most expensive person in the company has to go back to school to get visibility, something is built wrong.

So we did not teach her LinkedIn.

We completely took it off her plate.

→ We rebuilt her profile so LinkedIn could place her properly.

→ We used the platform’s native features to distribute her content.

→ We put inbound structure behind the posts so the right people actually saw them.

No boosting.
No video or carousels.
No extra hours online.

CEOs do not need more training.

They need professionals supporting them while they get on with their job.

taplio

The Battle

Christin Marvin

Molly Stovold

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taplio

The Battle

Christin Marvin

Molly Stovold

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Christin Marvin's LinkedIn Performance

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