Are you a Natural Entrepreneur?

A successful restaurant owner needs to be a good business person. Don’t fool yourself that you only need to have a passion for food – although that certainly helps. Unless you have very large pockets filled with money that you are prepared to spend on buying in the skills you don’t have, you need to be an entrepreneur to make your business work.

You do not have to be a natural entrepreneur – you can learn a great deal about how to run a small business from the vast amounts of business resources that are available – but you certainly need to accept that your business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit will go a long way to making your new restaurant a success.

How do You Know if You're an Entrepreneur?

It can be easier to tell if you are an entrepreneur than if you’re not – especially as plenty of people can learn how to be better at business. A natural entrepreneur will tend to have been involves in some sort of business before – that doesn’t mean that you have to have sold your school packed lunch for a profit or run a market stall in the East End, just that you have a flair for seeing the business opportunity in situations.

Think about your previous work history. Even if you were not in a sales role, did you enjoy the client contact, the phone calls or the networking elements of your job? Did you prefer to be in the background sorting out the paperwork, but you got your suppliers to give you a great discount? Whatever your employment background is, think about how your skills have allowed you to maximise profit or prospect.

What To Do If You’re Not a Natural Entrepreneur

When you think over your previous employment history and realise that you never got a discount, never gained a new client and rather dislike talking to people you don’t know, perhaps your skills do not lie in the ‘business development’ aspect of setting up a restaurant.

However, if you love to cook, are passionate about food or love to write menus that are local and seasonal, perhaps you just need to make sure you employ the right people. Successful businesses need all sorts of people, but many of them fail when the boss thinks they can do everything themselves.

How to Employ the Right People While Still Being In Charge

This is a tricky one. If you employ an excellent ideas person, as indeed you should if you are not a natural entrepreneur, you need for them to be fulfilled and happy whilst making it clear that you are still the boss. Being the boss, though, is fulfilling in itself when you have a successful restaurant – allow your staff to flourish and you will reap the benefits.

Employing the right people is not only about their skills, although you must make sure they have the right experience. The people you choose will represent you and your business, so their character and personality are key to setting the right atmosphere for your restaurant.