(photo by glennharper)
What kind of flexibility does owning a restaurant or bar afford you? It is certainly an act of entrepreneurship. As such, you have some control over the structure of the business. If you don’t have investors involved, you’ll be your own boss. As with other forms of entrepreneurship, however, you are actually trading a boss for some other entity that judges your work product.
In the case of being a restaurateur, a bar owner or a shopkeeper, your customers are the ultimate judge. You can’t take a break from pleasing your customers whenever you want to, or your business will suffer. With services like Yelp starting to dominate how people find out about new local businesses, you can’t afford any bad reviews.
Another major constraint of owning this type of physical business are the hours of operation. For a restaurant or bar, you’ll probably have to be open six or seven days per week. Bars obviously stay open late. Are you prepared to stay up until as late as 3am to close the bar every night?
The story is similar for shop owners. It depends on what you’re selling, but you’ll probably have the store open at least 60 hours per week. In the beginning, it’s unlikely that you’ll have enough money in the bank or cash flow to pay a trusted manager to run things (if you can even find one). That means you’ll be on site for the majority of open hours.
Some restaurateurs or bar owners are lucky enough to run a successful business with limited hours. These are certainly the exception because limiting your hours will also limit your revenue potential. If you can find a way to run a seasonal or part-time operation, you might be one of the few restaurateurs with free time.
There is plenty of advice on the web about starting a restaurant or bar if you’re serious about it.
This post is part of a series about the flexibility of entrepreneurship. Let me know in the comments if you know of other options for people who want greater flexibility from their restaurant/bar/shop.
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As a former owner of a small chain of coffee shops in Puerto Vallarta, I know the benefits and drawbacks of the business. My advice to anyone who is interested in starting a restaurant is to do it for love and then do it for money. Keep in mind you must make money or there will be nothing to love. Ultimately, every one I know in the restaurant biz that has any success at all truly loves being in the restaurant business.
You will work harder to launch than you have ever worked in your life and you might have to continue to work harder than ever before for as long as you own your business. As your business grows, you will have systems in place that may allow you to take a breather if you are lucky.
I left the coffee shop business due to plans to relocate. I didn’t feel that I would continue to be successful managing from a distance. I had a great staff, loyal customers, and even profitability but without my presence it was going to be difficult.
Even with all of the work and difficulties of running the shops, I miss the customers and the employees. It was great work. I don’t miss the hours. We were open from 5:00am to 10:00pm every day of the year.
The restaurant business has a romantic image but it is exceptionally difficult to be successful. Before you jump in, be honest with yourself. How much do you really want it? And, how hard are you willing to work for it?
Thanks for the excellent and thorough comment, Douglas. Your point about people romanticizing the idea of opening a restaurant is perfect. Congrats on having reached profitability with your former business. Many don’t make it that far.
-Corbett