Keeping it Essential: Traits of Effective Restaurateurs
3 Min Read By AJ Beltis
When things aren’t going the way you had hoped in your restaurant, it’s easy to blame the competition, your suppliers, your staff, seasonality, the economy, the weather, or whatever other excuse you can conjure up. However, have you ever stopped to consider that maybe – just maybe – the problems in your restaurant can only be fixed by first looking inward? In other words, have you ever thought that maybe for your restaurant to change, you must change the way you run your restaurant?
It’s simple but ineffective to find scapegoats when figuring out how to go about fixing your restaurant, but let’s face it – it takes a certain kind of mentality to run a restaurant. Below is a list of ten personality characteristics all great restaurateurs should (and do) have.
To get you started towards more effective restaurant management, here are 10 characteristics you should adopt to become better at running your r-e-s-t-a-u-r-a-n-t.
R is for Resolute
Let’s face it – managing a restaurant involves making a lot of decisions on a daily basis. Sometimes, this can spark disapproval from your workers, and it’s tempting to reverse your decision and back down from your idea. Being resolute is essential for restaurant managers. Remain confident in your thought process. If your restaurant data tells you to make a move, listen to logic and follow through with what will be best for your restaurant in the long run.
E is for Exclusive
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the directions you could take your restaurant. Perhaps, you think an expanded menu or a more universally-appealing restaurant will bring in more customers. Sure, you may see some new faces, but trying to appeal to everyone is never a great idea, and could hurt your business in the long run.
McDonald’s didn’t get famous off of pizza, Panda Express isn’t a household name because it tried to offer tacos with its Chinese food, and Starbucks didn’t go worldwide for trying to sell filet mignon with its caffeinated beverages. Trade-offs are crucial for restaurants to incorporate so that your restaurant can focus on its core offerings and position itself wisely and exclusively in the market. In the restaurant industry, knowing who you aren’t is a huge part of knowing who you are.
S is for Statistical
With so much insight available nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to be an effective restauranteur without being data-driven. Successful restaurateurs are wise enough to mine the back-end data from their POS system to gain insight in nearly every area of their business, including ordering patterns, customer loyalty, and labor and inventory management.
Owners and managers must have their hands in all aspects of restaurant management. By making these data-driven decisions instead of guessing, assuming, or blindly predicting, restaurateurs set themselves up for a greater chance of success.
T is for Timely
Get with the times! Follow consumer trends, food business news, and restaurant updates. What’s the latest in your Industry?
Are you a pizzeria? Chicken Bacon Ranch is making quite a splash. Are you a bar? Reach out to your distributor and see what new liquor is a hot seller.
The world moves in trends, and people move with it. Don’t miss out on capitalizing on the latest craze. You don’t have to make permanent changes to your menu (yet), but it doesn’t hurt to be moving ahead of the curve with regard to menu offerings. Being a restaurateur who’s in touch with the times conveys a current, established, and customer-oriented restaurant that’s willing to give guests what they’ve been demanding.
A is for All-In
Are you fully dedicated to your profession?
You can’t be half a restaurant manager – either you are or you aren’t. If you feel that you can’t be what this job needs you to be, you may have to have a serious heart-to-heart with yourself. But if this is what you truly want to do with your life, and if you see the many intangible rewards of running a restaurant, prove it to others and yourself by going all-in with dedication, commitment, and unwavering passion. How can you expect to be an effective restaurant manager if you’re not giving it your all?
