Han Min-kwan revealed the secrets of a hamburger restaurant CEO.

In the 298th episode of KBS2's "The Boss's Ears Are Donkey Ears," aired on the 23rd, professional business failure Kim Byeong-hyeon had Park Myung-soo visit the newly opened Yangjae hamburger restaurant for an urgent inspection. Kim Byeong-hyeon, who had closed his hamburger restaurant last year after reporting "a loss of 200 million won over three years," stated this was his last challenge as he opened the Yangjae branch in the basement food court of Yangjae-dong, raising concerns.

During lunchtime, numerous customers were enjoying a variety of foods, but Kim Byeong-hyeon's restaurant was disappointing empty. At that moment, Park Myung-soo appeared as a special relief pitcher to help Kim Byeong-hyeon. After tasting the menu, Park Myung-soo remarked, "It's delicious. Better than high-priced hamburgers," and commented, "The food was good, but the serving process wasn't appealing."

In particular, Park Myung-soo pointed out, "I don't think lowering the price will make it more successful. Differentiation is needed. The food is good, but I don't think people will intentionally come here. The biggest drawback is that it's at the very end. It would be better to be at the entrance or the middle; it's just too far back. It shouldn't be this way from the start, it needs to be perfect from the beginning. If it were me, I wouldn't have started this business," he remarked. Kim Byeong-hyeon explained, "That's why I'm planning to move the store to the entrance. I was originally going to expand into the adjacent vacant space," but Park Myung-soo expressed frustration, saying, "Then you should have waited until the store was ready from the beginning."

Park Myung-soo then requested the store's sales report. Upon checking, it turned out that other stores averaged about 120 sales daily. However, Kim Byeong-hyeon's hamburger restaurant made only 100,000 won in daily sales, a mere tenth of the neighboring store's revenue. Kim Byeong-hyeon claimed, "It was 146 sales when we opened," but Park Myung-soo fired back, "That’s the average for a store when it opens. This is serious trouble. The food is good, so why aren’t sales increasing? I might as well run it myself," he expressed angrily.

To shake up Kim Byeong-hyeon's situation, Park Myung-soo sought out comedian Han Min-kwan, who is successfully running a hamburger restaurant in Sinchon. Han Min-kwan lamented, "It's too disappointing that someone who was the best in baseball is now running a hamburger restaurant," which drew laughter. Han Min-kwan revealed that his monthly sales are close to 100 million won, stating, "We have at least 150 to 250 customers daily," which generated surprise.

Han Min-kwan noted, "If we're going to do a hamburger franchise in South Korea, there are already established players, so we need to be different. We shouldn't fall behind in price competition. We aimed for customers to eat comfortably and securely. For an entire year, we implemented a buy one, get one free policy." He also explained, "Before we opened, we had the equipment for making hamburger patties. Ultimately, we must reduce the cost of materials," emphasizing that managing distribution and margins was key.

Regarding the reason for starting the hamburger business, Han Min-kwan shared, "I tried again after once failing. I once had a failed venture with intestines. I started the business without knowing much. I had a store inside Sinchon where the rent was 12 million won a month. The cost per serving was 12,000 won, which was quite expensive. I forgot it was a college area. During vacation, there were no customers, and during exams, it was the same. I lost 140 million won cleanly," he confessed. Kim Byeong-hyeon empathized, saying, "I did decently, but I lost 200 million won in less than three years." Han Min-kwan replied, "I lost 140 million won in two years, so it’s similar. Not everyone can just start a business. I should have definitely prepared better," he reflected.

Moreover, regarding Kim Byeong-hyeon's comment about aiming for a mid-range quality and cost-effectiveness, Han Min-kwan pointed out, "If you aim for high quality, go for high quality. The middle ground is ambiguous. The taste is mediocre." He emphasized, "If you don't change when things aren't working, nothing will improve. If your business isn't successful, you need to make some changes for people to come, whether they do or not." Additionally, when asked about the difference in income between being a comedian and running a business, he honestly admitted, "To be frank, it's easier to make money doing broadcasts. Going outside to run a business is much harder."

[Photo] Broadcast capture

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