Oh, wow. What a subject! I've been in business for 3 1/2 years. I had a ton of cooking experience when I opened my restaurant, but still there are so many things I wish I had known before I dove in!!
I guess one of the main misconceptions I had before I started was that I believed my own restaurant would allow me to cook what I wanted to with no boss to tell me otherwise. The thing is, when you open your own business, you still have a boss - the customer! There have been days, too, when it felt like "the customer" was the worst boss I ever had! To be fair, there have also been days when "the customer" was the best boss I ever had. I'm not sure my skin will ever be thick enough to blow off those bad days, though. No matter how good your vision is, there will always be someone who doesn't understand it or agree with it. That can be difficult to deal with - at least it has been for me.
Other advise.... hmmm.
Write a business plan - and not like it's due tomorrow. Really spend time on it, like a couple of months at least. There are a lot of good resources on the Internet for writing business plans. Do a Google search, you'll see.
Read "The E Myth" by Michael Gerber about how important it is to create a system out of what you do. And then when you are finished reading all about how the lack of a system is the number one reason small businesses fail, remember what others have said here about money. I think Gerber has a lot of good ideas, but I think he is wrong about why so many businesses fail - at least in calling it "the number one reason". Businesses fail when the money runs out, which it can do pretty quickly! When times are slow for big corporations, they usually have a cushion to get them through. When times are slow for small business owners, it can be a lot more painful financially - even fatal.
Learn Quickbooks, and talk to an accountant. If you don't already know about all the taxes involved in running a business, it will make your head spin (not to mention likely change your political views!).
Don't ever, ever, ever expect anyone to care about your business as much as you do - no matter how well you pay them, no matter how well you know them. They won't. Be prepared to have strong shoulders - and shoulders with lots of endurance! Because they will likely bear a huge burden for a long time. And days you feel like giving up, there probably won't be someone there willing to pick up the ball so you can take a breather.
Be prepared to have periods of time where you absolutely hate food
I have always loved food and cooking. But there was about a year where I was so stressed out with the day to day, the money, the drunk thieving employees I thought I could avoid by paying a decent wage (I couldn't, they were still there), the complaining customers, the new health inspector who was a lot meaner than the last one I had, etc., etc., etc. - I hated everything about food for a while. I could barely even eat.
This sounds so negative! I'm sorry for that. I wish you great success. I really do. But I think being prepared is the best weapon you can have (and believe me - business is war). Being optimistic and realistic at the same time is hard, but I think you have to have both to make it work. Be your own greatest supporter in what you want to do, but also be your own devil's advocate. If you imagine, and plan for, all the good and the bad that you are likely to encounter, then you will be ultra-prepared for anything.
Best of luck to you!
RF
