Restaurateur sounds like an overtly fancy word, but a restaurateur simply refers to anyone who owns a restaurant. A chef, a retiree, a businessman, or even a celebrity can bear the title. However, just because anybody can own a restaurant doesn’t mean everybody should. It’s not easy to become a successful restaurateur.
There’s a saying about deeds forming habits and habits forming character. Well, the same can be said about becoming a successful restaurateur. As an industry that thrives on creativity and sheer diligence, the secret recipe to success lies in the habits formed and regularly practiced by successful restaurateurs—looking to start up a restaurant? Here’s how to hone your skills as a restaurateur.
Get Educated
If you lack adequate experience with food and food handling, read up and watch everything you lay your hands on that talks about food, drinks, craft, and chefs. You’ll also need to learn about business management and accounting, of which you can take online graduate programs or physical classes. It’s vital to understand how to cook even when you do not intend on being the head chef at your restaurant.
The knowledge you gain is not so that you can be directly involved in and interfere with your chef’s business. No, you gain this knowledge to understand the restaurant’s needs and the chef. If you can stand in your chef’s shoes, you can better recognize and understand his strengths and weaknesses, and you’d be able to better provide him with everything he needs to work successfully.
Acquire Experience
It’s one thing to learn the theoretical aspects of restaurant management; it’s another thing to have hands-on experience. Unless you are already an experienced chef, you consider taking a job in a restaurant and working your way around the different departments. Know what it feels like to work in each position. This will provide essential information when you are ready to run your place.
With this experience, you will not only understand and appreciate your employees’ duties but also be able to motivate and guide them effectively. Waiting tables, dishwashing, and bartending are some of the responsibilities you should carry out. It will also come in handy when there’s a need to train new employees or when an employee tries to misinform you about their job responsibilities.
Learn From The Competition And Mentors
Some of the most important things a successful restaurateur should do are seeking help, asking questions, studying, researching, and being open to regular feedback. You have to pay attention to what other successful restaurants are doing. They are your competitors, so it’s advisable to learn one or two positive things from them to gain a competitive advantage.
Additionally, get mentors. Try reaching out to other restaurant industry influencers to collaborate on ideas, share successes and failures, and ultimately learn from them. Every successful restaurateur is bold in the face of criticism because this is how they learn to grow and do better. They also include research in the priority tasks and learning about industry trends and seasonal food options.
Hire A Great Team
You’ll need an all-star staff if you want to create a solid business concept and open a popular restaurant. Many expert restaurateurs suggest that you hire all the relevant staff weeks before launching your restaurant. This will give you plenty of time to find suitable employees. You should hire people you’ve previously worked with and trust because you’re familiar with their work habits. Individuals from whom you feel at ease learning and vice versa.
Determine your team’s composition and clearly define each member’s roles and responsibilities. Furthermore, a successful restaurateur understands the importance of treating employees with the same respect they expect their customers to be treated.
Be Consistent
In a restaurant, there are no two days that are alike. Like any other business, new crises can emerge in a restaurant at any time. Things move quickly, and the worst thing a manager can do in that situation is inconsistent in his responses and resolutions. What are the areas in which you must be consistent? Your communication, how you follow the rules, and your expectations are all important.
Your employees need to be certain that even when there’s a rush at the door and a frenzy in the kitchen, that you’ll be level-headed and consistent. Because of your consistency, everyone will withstand high-stress loads without breaking. It will also help you improve your overall management abilities.
Conclusion
Managing a restaurant is similar to keeping an eye on the gears of a complex machine. You do not just get to deal with the usual managerial issues from employees and customers, but you also deal with food service and all of the baggage it entails. This can be challenging for a new restaurant manager.
With the tips listed above, you can improve your managerial abilities. Always keep in mind that the most important things a successful restaurateur needs are to study, conduct research, ask questions, seek help, and stay open to feedback from customers, employees, and mentors.
