Before you go any further in the process of opening a Café, Bar, Restaurant, Pizza Shop, Pub, Club or even a Food Truck, you first need to ask yourself
- Why? Why do I want to own my own hospitality Business?
Owning a business is more of a calling to a certain degree than a job.
And even those who think they are called to it, are often at times completely unprepared for the amount of work and stress that comes with being a business owner.
What you need to consider:
- Do you like being in charge?
- Do you like or can even cook?
- Do you love entertaining?
- Can you multitask?
- Can you handle stress?
- Do you like negotiating?
- Do you love washing dishes?
- Do you love cleaning toilets?
- Do you love working odd / longer hours?
- Do you love dealing with and managing staff?
While all of these are valid reasons to think about opening a hospitality business – not one of these reasons on their own is enough.
You need to be comfortable with the idea of being in charge – not just in the kitchen, not just meeting and greeting customers, not just over the coffee machine or mixing your favourite cocktail, but an entire team of staff, and an entire business!
It’s a huge responsibility with many moving parts.
As a hospitality owner, you need to be flexible and nimble; you might need to make a coffee in the morning shift, jump in and be cooking lunch the next, turn your back and then deal with staffing issues, right through to appeasing an irate customer.
Have you ever had to look directly into the eyes of an unhappy customer and explain yourself?
Not one day is ever the same and you never know what the next day will bring!
While it is exciting, and one can achieve huge financial rewards, (remember it can also fail) you really need to evaluate the above with how it impacts you, your family and even kids.
It’s important to include your family with the decision of opening a business. Is your partner supportive of your new venture? Bear in mind that there will be long days, long nights, working weekends and over holidays.
Will you be Ok if you can’t make it to all your kids’ basketball matches?
Scrutinize your personal finances and decide if the risk is worth the reward.
Depending on what you are currently doing for work, opening your own venue might mean leaving a steady wage with all the employer benefits like health insurance and paid annual leave.
Are you ready to give that up and take that leap of faith?
Do you have a substantial savings buffer to help you get to opening day and through the first 3 months of trade?
If not, how are you going to make that happen?
And once your business is open, how much do you expect to be paid each week?
Are you looking to get away from your current job because you don’t like your boss?
Getting a new job could be an easier solution!
Running a business has its risks and rewards so it’s important to be prepared for what is to come.
An ugly fact that you need to consider is that many new businesses fail in the first three years of operation, often due to poor planning, management, and cash flow.
To assist and see if you really are ready and up for the challenge of owning your own business, complete the chart below honestly, which will give a better understanding and insight to your current strengths.
If you don't have all these factors now, it’s possible to still start your business, by seeking development opportunities and improve in time.
You may also decide that you are willing to ‘bring in’ some of the skills or expertise, through staff, short or long-term contracts or other support mechanisms.
But be very careful as most of these attributes should inherently start with you.
Even ask friends, family, and others for feedback.
An important factor in achieving success is to honestly assess yourself and your business idea or business purchase.
Get the Worksheet.
Download the Business Skills and Traits Worksheet in PDF and see if your ready to get into business!
On completion - If you've answered 'Strongly Disagree' through to ‘Don’t Know', it highlights that you need to improve in those areas, and to honestly think again if you REALLY are ready to start your own Business!
If you don't have all these factors now, it’s possible to still start your business, by seeking development opportunities and improve in time.
You may also decide that you are willing to ‘bring in’ some of the skills or expertise, through staff, short or long-term contracts or other support mechanisms.
But be very careful as most of these attributes should inherently start with you.
If the results look more favourable - then begin your journey here to discover business opportunities and get the ball rolling.
Download the Checklist.
Business skills and traits checklist.pdf
Last updated: 26 May 2019
