Quote:
Originally posted by cook
II am used to working a lot (I already do 60-80 hour weeks depending on business) and I have run my own non-foodservice business before... I have a pretty good understanding of the financial end of things (payroll, accounting) and I have good friends with more experience than me in these areas willing to help... I have a very good working knowlege of food costing and menu design and pricing (I have done lots of this)... and I have worked my own kitchens before, hired cooks and dishers, etc...
Here are the questions... First of all, I'm only 24... What the %&*#@ am I doing thinking I could start a restaurant... Second, I'd need to get someone to handle front of house, I have someone in mind, who is good, but should I consider running a restaurant without a lot of experience outside the kitchen?... Third, can it really be as simple to make this profittable as it sounds? I know you'll all say no, but I've run the numbers a lot of times and no matter what, it looks good... Restaurants out here do well and they get a lot of business... Especially the fine dining places... The restaruant is already 90% equipt... If I paid a living wage, I'd have no trouble staffing... I've spent my time doing the homework and it seems that after overhead, payroll, food costs, front-of house costs, a generous chunk of change for odds and ends, the restaurant could easily turn a low end of 1000 and a high end of 5000 profit in the summer and a low of 0 and high of 1500 in the dead season... Something between there and there in the winter (that's all per week)...
Could it be possible... |
Sure, it's possible. Anything is possible. Will it work? Who can say? It is a huge risk, as it is for anyone in this business. The smart, the talented, the fair wage paying - none of these escape the risk of the restaurant business. All the knowledge and talent in the world doesn't guarantee success - especially in a seasonal market.
Having said that, here are my answers to your questions...
1) I don't think you age is a factor
2) Learn something about the front of the house - and, believe me, I feel your pain there; it's not my cup of tea either. Delegate with knowledge, though.
3)No, it isn't simple. If it was simple, everyone could do it, right? Running numbers looks good a lot of times when you are projecting. Living it day to day is different, believe me. I'm not saying you don't know what you are doing. I'm sure you are quite informed. Just try dividing all your figures in half, though, just to come up with a worst case scenario - and then decide what you would do if that was your reality. It is certainly a possibility, no matter how good you are.
The other thing I wanted to comment on that you mentioned was how you had friends willing to help you out. Whatever it is they say they will do for you, you better get it written in stone before you start. Otherwise, don't count on it. I know they are probably really good friends, and you think, "yeah, but this is so-and-so, and he/she would never let me down." As friends, they probably won't let you down. As business associates, they might. What will you do then?
Okay, one other thing. If you ran a non food related business before, why in the world would you want to start from scratch in the food business? Food cost alone could easily sink you. What business were you in before?
RF