Make the time - it won't appear on its own.

The Sysco order needs to be made.
My manager is sick.
I'm training the staff. Again.
I have to do payroll.
I have to do the scheduling.
The Sysco order needs to be put away.
The bathroom needs to be cleaned.

All are perfectly good reasons for not marketing, at least until you realize that you don't do marketing on a weekly basis. Marketing is every bit as important as doing payroll. It's as important as scheduling and ordering the food.

You need to schedule the time, or it will never just "appear". You need to make the time, not find it. Here are some suggestions to make it happen.

1. Commit the time. If you don't acknowledge its importance, marketing will always get pushed down on the list - even behind cleaning toilets.

2. Hire well. Train well. Retain. These are investments, not simply costs. The better you retain good people, the more business you're able to do.

3. Refine processes, delegate. Once you have a good staff, delegate.

4. Schedule the time. Schedule time to plan for the week, time to prepare (print coupons, arrange meetings), and time to execute.

5. Mix it up. If you want to build lunch, market at 10am. Dinner - 5:00-6:00pm. Weekends - market on the weekends. Make it different every week depending on your audience (schools, churches, offices) and objective (trial, frequency, ticket average).

6. Find and accountability partner. Think of it as a work-out partner, someone who can help you plan, encourage you, help you work out challenges. Someone who will give you encouragement...and a kick in the pants when you need it.