There are a lot of great suggestions (and some not so great), but here is my two cents worth.. know your numbers.
If you are not checking your accounts daily and knowing where every dollar is coming from and going, you are doomed. Even seasoned owners can get caught by this.
A client I am currently working with recently had a cheque go NSF for their monthly retainer. When I called to follow up, the owner was so surprised. They had no idea why the cheque would have bounced and said they would call their manager because they take care of all the payments and invoices for that restaurant. I hung up the phone and thought, here we go again. Another restaurant owner putting too much faith into their manager and expecting them to take care of the business the same way they would. Now, I am not saying this manager is doing anything nefarious, but I have seen that before.
Many years ago, I had two restaurant owners I worked with lose hundreds of thousands (yes, hundreds) because they put too much trust into a manager to run their business and stepped back. By the time they realized, it was too late. Money was gone and they were left trying to recoup and bringing charges against someone they trusted. I’m not sure what hurt them more; the loss of the money or the betrayal from someone they thought had their back. I know for a fact that these are not unique occurrences.
No one is going to run your business the way you do. They have no real stake in the game. It’s your business, your money, and you need to take care of it. If you don’t, then you shouldn’t be surprised when the money you thought should be in your account is not. It doesn’t mean it’s necessarily been stolen, but it may not be getting managed the way it needs to be. And, let’s face it, if you’re not looking at and caring about the numbers, why should your managers. They’re just trying to get through the day to day.
Now, if it sounds like I am poo pooing over all restaurant managers, I am not. I have had the privilege to work with some AMAZING managers in my 40+ years in this business. The best of the best had one thing in common, owners who were engaged, set guidelines, and built a positive culture of communication and support. Not surprisingly, these were the restaurants that fared better during times of economic challenges and flourished during the good times, too.
Before you get into the restaurant business, you need to understand what you are getting into. It is not just owning a business, it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that will be all encompassing for a very long time. It can be very rewarding. It may even be fun. But it will definitely be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Make sure you have a plan when you go in to set up processes and procedures that take care of the important things. Things like deposit procedures, food and labour management procedures/strategies, and tools to track every dollar in and every dollar out. An old VP I worked with used to say. “if the fish stinks, so does the head”. Meaning, it starts with you. You need to set the example, lead the business and build a culture that people want to be a part of.
So, the one piece of advice I have, on top of all the others out there is KNOW YOUR NUMBERS!
