Four Tools Restaurant Owners Use to Succeed Through the Pandemic

Earlier in the year, I expected to be writing by now about the lessons we learned during the COVID crisis.

I mean, we knew going into this that it wasn’t going to be a sprint.

We always thought it would be a marathon.

But it turns out we’re in an ultra-marathon.

When the COVID-19 crisis started in March, restaurateurs thought they would be completely back up and running right now.

Now the prevailing thought is that they’ll be back up and running in Q3 2021 – or at least a year from now. 

And I would expect nothing but aggravated looks from people not in the frame of mind to hear about lessons learned while restaurants still fight through this mess.  

How to Have a Successful Holiday Season

Now, say hello to November and the launch of the 2020 holiday season.

The season has changed, the light in the afternoon has changed, and the month on the calendar has changed.

Aside from that, though, everything has an eerie sameness to it.

My clients – owners of successful independent restaurant companies – tell me that one of their biggest challenges is finding someone to tell them how well they’re doing.  

They spend their days giving the people around them credit and practicing authentic praise – but then have to self-evaluate at the end of those days.    

Be a Four-Tool Restaurant Owner

When you’re self-evaluating, make sure to give yourself credit for what you have accomplished in reaching this point using these four important tools – the same tools that will allow you to survive, stabilize, and dominate.  

1. Creativity: Keep breaking the barriers on never imagined before levels of creativity in all areas of your company with all people every day.
2. Perseverance: Once you picked yourself up off the floor and processed your first fears about losing your business, you sprang into action. The horizon looks more distant now, but keep going.  
3. Acceptance: Feel no pressure. Realize that, when students cover 2020 in a future history class, they’re not going to be evaluating business acumen; they will focus on the virus (and that’s not your responsibility).
4. Optimism: Be grateful you have a perspective that keeps you going. 

Using these four tools will help you make it another seven months or however many months lie in front of us.

People such as my clients, who had great businesses going into the pandemic, need to know they will still have that when this ends.   

Over to you. How will you deploy your creativity, perseverance, acceptance, and optimism to keep yourself up through the holiday season and confident you will have the best 2021 possible?