A New Restaurant

For most restaurants, your year is really affected by the different seasons.  It’s how well you take advantage of the different seasons that determine whether your restaurant will be a success or a failure.  Restaurant owners that are successful realize that the money they earn at Christmas will have to get them through the remaining winter months.  Restaurant owners that fail to plan for the slower periods run out of cash, and end up with cash flow problems that could cost them their business.

While the seasonal slowdown is not good for the financial health of your restaurant, it does not have to be wasted time.  One of the big complaints in the restaurant business is that there isn’t enough time to do all of the things that need to be done.  during the sower season you can be doing things that you don’t have time to do when it’s busy that can contribute to your restaurants success. (more…)

I was talking with a friend, and we were comparing busy schedules.  Between work, social activities, and teenagers heavily involved in sports, we were always running.  His comment was:

“Busy people get things done.”

While on the surface this seems like it makes sense, it isn’t always true.  Some busy people are just…busy.  This is true in your personal life, but it can also be especially true in your restaurant.  Between staff issues and customers, it is easy to let the day slip away without ever spending as much time as you should on the things you need to do to make your business successful.

Time is a precious commodity, and if you don’t budget for the important activities, you will find yourself rushing to get through everything.  This usually means not giving your critical tasks the attention they deserve.  Budget your time daily.  Look at the things you know you need to accomplish, and get them on your daily agenda.  Be careful not to over schedule your day.  If your are doing any business at all, I can almost guarantee that something will come up that demands your attention.  Make sure you leave enough time to handle those issues, but be self-disciplined enough to get back to the task at hand.

Issues like inventory are very easy to let slide for one day.   You can always get it tomorrow, right? Just remember, food costs can eat your business alive.  It is one of the areas you absolutely have to keep under control to be successful.  Every day you put off tracking is one more day that a potential problem can be cutting into your margins.

Stay on of your critical tasks and you will greatly increase the chances that your restaurant will be a success.

In his book First Things First, Stephen Covey tells about a trainer talking to his class about time management.  As an illustration, he took a jar and put some large rocks in it.  He then asked the class if the jar was full.  They all answered that yes, the jar was full.  The instructor then took some gravel and proceeded to pour it into the jar.  Next he poured sand in around the gravel, and finally finished filling the jar with water.

When asked what it all proved, someone in the class observed that there is always room for more.  The trainer told them that what it really showed was that if you don’t put the big things in first they will never fit.

How about you?  Do you put the big things on your schedule first, or does your schedule fill up with all kinds of different small things, and you run out of time to do the things that are important?

Whether it’s handling necessary business functions, or taking time to renew your certification, or attend the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting, or taking time for yourself, you need to make sure you schedule time for the things that need to get done.

That doesn’t mean you have to be inflexible with your schedule.  Sometimes things come up that you have to take care of, but if things are always coming up that pull you off oyur schedule, you may need to reexamine your priorities.  There are always distractions that call for your attention; phone calls, e-mail, a complaining employee, but you have to decide what’s important enough to pull you off task, and what can be dealt with later.

An open door policy is a great idea, but it does lead to constant interruptions.  You may want to consider a more limited open door policy.  You are always available for emergencies, but non emergency items need to be handled at specified times during the day.  The same with email.  If you are in your office working, turn the auto-update function off and only check your email when you have the time to deal with the distractions.

You have to decide what is important.  If you allow others to set your priorities, you’ll never get your own items handled.

Schedule your important items first.