How Restaurateurs Take the Reins of Success

Every restaurateur has a right to succeed — and to succeed beyond their dreams. I absolutely believe that…and it’s been my life’s work to make that happen. I also believe that, as long as you are learning, paying attention, changing with the times, and taking action you are going to get better and create the restaurants, company, and net worth you desire.

Every Restaurant Does Not Have the Right to Succeed

However, not every restaurant has a right to succeed. Just because you select a site and open does not mean you are going to be successful.  But the best and most experienced restaurateurs do not complain when something does not work. They do not blame outside factors. Instead, they learn. You are not supposed to be perfect. But you are supposed to keep learning. Profit and net worth will come from your great units yielding excess cash to more than compensate for the occasional mistake.

In the current market — where gains are harder to come by — it is even more important to take responsibility for your own success and handle the issues that have been either nagging your brain or seemed important until you realized you don’t like listening to nagging…and, wow, those issues really are important.

4 Lessons From My Best Clients

• One, with highly profitable restaurants, has realized that their financial reporting could be improved. They are doing this to enhance an already strong bottom line.
• Another client tolerated excessive management turnover and is taking steps to change that — which is important because they have connected that to guest count trends.
• Still another client thought expansion was too risky until they identified markets that were nearby, maturing, and ready for their concept. Now, excitement surrounds their team and they expect their highest performing unit to be the one currently in development.
• Yet another client has a differentiator they have not been promoting, but they are going to change that because it will increase guest count and protect them from competition.

If you are an owner of a successful independent restaurant company, you are constantly reviewing budgets, allocating resources, and planning strategy.  My best clients are ready to stretch their goals and their organization — not in an outlandish way, but in a way that, when they do accomplish their goals, their team is going to feel powerful and successful. And satisfied that they did this by handling issues they’d known all along were important, but did not know why they had not conquered them…until now.