How Top Restaurant Owners Enjoy Freedom Now

What did you do over the summer to take time away from your business and enjoy your success?

Do you want to be able to do more of that?

If so, how can you set up your company in a way to let you do that?

Those three simple questions may not be on your mind when you walk into your restaurants, greet your employees and guests, and think about today’s shift, meetings, or P&Ls.

But they turn out to be your bedrock.

They detail your use of the freedom you have earned as an owner of a successful multi-unit restaurant company.

My best clients immerse themselves in time away now and don’t postpone it until their eventual retirement or sale of their assets – which may or may not ever happen.  

Vacations Seem Brighter This Year

Last week, when the word “September” first appeared on the lock screen of my phone, I noticed a little decline in my attitude. 

In my school days – back when classes started at a civilized point on the calendar instead of the middle of August – the first day of September meant the countdown to reduced freedom, alarm clocks, and the coming academics.

I liked school, but I definitely preferred the freedom of the summer!

This summer, people really began to travel again after 2020 had knocked them off their routines.

I have talked to so many people who had very impactful summer vacations like they took the drug of being away: the colors seemed more vibrant, the sun looked brighter, and experiences made more of an impression.

That’s not surprising – for people who spent most of the past 18 months either at home or in their restaurants, dealing with a puzzle-piece, complicated world.

My recent trip to the Southern California coast turned out to be one of the most restful and recharging I can remember. Taking my daughter to Colorado in June during the decline-in-the-crisis period allowed us to renew our mutual love of travel with plenty of great memories.

You Don’t Have to Wait to Enjoy Your Freedom

So many of my clients have come to me to figure out how they can spend more time with their kids or grandkids, or at their vacation home, or to visit parts of the world that intrigue them. That is just as important as the cost of food, expansion of units, and building of culture.   

Some people expect they will create time for themselves by delegating, reducing activities, and working more deliberatively.

All of that is definitely important, but many people who do that just end up filling their gained time with more work.

Set up your company to allow you to leave. Then block an increasing amount of time on your schedule – and go. 

Over to you. How will you build capability in your company to make that happen?