The owner is an integral element of a restaurant's success. If an owner's leadership skills are lacking, it will trickle down to other key employees, such as small managers.
What Makes a Restaurant Successful?
Restaurants can be a major success, or they can struggle to keep the lights on. Ownership comes with the responsibility of knowing what really makes it a success.
Numerous elements must be considered, including:
- Location and demographic
- Cuisine and the local demand
- Staff and interior of the establishment
- Customer service
- Profit margins and costs
But a successful restaurant owner knows that the right leadership skills can lead a business to success. Successful management requires you to make decisive actions, such as creating a fun atmosphere, hiring the right managers, and continually analyzing internal data to eliminate foods and keep profit margins appropriate.
The owner or manager of an establishment will have a lot of responsibilities that give more insight into the reason why you need to know some of these leadership skills.
Restaurant Owner Responsibilities
It's easy to learn how to become a restaurant owner, and if you have money to open up a location, you can walk into the business with zero knowledge. But there's a difference between a successful owner and one that simply has the cash to open an eatery without any real knowledge of what they're doing.
Restaurant owner duties include:
- Human resources basics
- Management of employees
- Inventory management and control
- Greeting or serving customers
- Scheduling employees
- Maintaining the building, parking spaces and interior
- Training and hiring
- Directing employees
- Set rules and protocols
- Plan the menu
- Manage budgets
You may have to go to accountant classes and may benefit from restaurant owner training. Running a successful eatery will be different for a well-funded owner and one that will need to take on many roles until they can be filled by other employees.
Capital allows you to hire marketing teams, accountants and others that will alleviate much of the workload for the owner.
But an owner just getting started will need to learn a lot of skills to keep the business running.
The fundamental skills are going to be the most important, but these are by no means the only skills you'll need to know.
4 Fundamental Skills All Successful Restaurant Owners Should Master
If you ask any successful owner how to have a successful business, they'll tell you that it starts with the owner. A restaurant owner's education requirements aren't as important as his or her leadership.
And these requirements will change.
An active owner will develop a vast skill set that adjusts over the years. But the key skills that will always remain the same are:
1. Leadership
Owners must be strong leaders, even if they hire a manager to run their operation. Checks and balances enable owners to make decisions and keep their business running. The owner must have the leadership skills to make the establishment more team oriented.
If an owner can create an atmosphere that is team-oriented, turnover will drop by nearly 25% and everyone will be working towards the same goal.
But leadership goes even further with additional skill sets.
2. Communication
Business owners need to be able to communicate their needs to employees and the rest of their staff. Clear communication allows key employees to do their job better, and it will also reduce:
- Issues with inventory and orders
- Loss of potential business
- Employee turnover
Communication is also extremely important for employees and is one of the most important aspects of small business human resource management. When an owner communicates with everyone, from the line cook to the manager and servers, it creates:
- A feeling of belonging
- A feeling of partnership
- Allows for avenues of communication
Owners should allow employees to equally communicate without the risk or fear of being fired. Communication is as much directing as it is listening to owners. If the owner listens to employees, creates an open-door policy, or encourages managers to listen to employee concerns, it will:
- Cause employees to feel motivated
- Increase employee work ethic
- Create a sense of belonging
Restaurants are fast-paced environments where stress levels can be very high. Allowing for open communication among managers and employees enhances the work environment and alleviates stress.
3. Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills can help in every aspect of a business, from controlling inventory to working through issues when an employee quits. Conflict management also falls into this classification.
If a conflict or issue cannot be resolved, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars in losses.
Problem-solving also works off of our last skill: communication. You'll be able to rectify key operational issues with communication and problem-solving, such as:
- Building team spirit when internal issues are going on
- Communicate needs with suppliers and work through good shortages
You may need to be decisive and solve the problem of an employee calling out last minute or suffering from a medical emergency. Food supply issues may also arise, and you'll have to figure out how to handle these issues using problem-solving skills.
Perhaps you have a meeting with your establishment's cooks that will allow you to find alternatives to key food items you'll be missing.
4. Organizational Skills
As you may have already guessed, organizational skills are going to be part of a successful restaurant owner's skill set. Organization will span across the business and include:
- Managing all stock and inventory to know when to order and how much to order.
- Organizing work schedules, protocols and rules that must be followed.
- Knowing when promotions are a necessity and when business operations will slow.
- Keeping employees and managers in the loop for all major decisions.
When you're properly organized and proactive, you'll create a work environment that is ready to handle any hardships that come with owning a restaurant. It's important that you remain organized, optimistic and ready to tackle all of the challenges that come with owning and operating a restaurant.
You also need a strong personality, ambition and the drive to better yourself as your business' leader.
Books can help you bridge the gap in some of the skills you may already have and skills that you'll need to master over time.
Best Books for Restaurant Owners
You'll find a lot of books for restaurant owners, but management books are the most popular. If you have issues arise when running your establishment, it's better to have some guidance in how to tackle these issues.
Books can help you correct the issues you're facing and make you a stronger leader as a result.
A few of the best restaurant management books are:
- Douglas Robert Brown's The Restaurant Manager's Handbook. The book is a bit expensive, but it covers everything, from the basics of how to set up your business to operation and management techniques. The book provides over 1,000 pages of valuable information to turn your dream of a successful business into a reality.
- Roger Field's Restaurant Success by the Numbers is a guide perfect for anyone that needs to learn to manage money better run their company. The book teaches you how to properly manage your business from a financial aspect, and Roger Fields is a CPA, so he knows what he's talking about.
- Charles Ryan Minton's Thanks for Coming in Today teaches you about creating that integral culture inside your business that makes both employees a success and customer service exceptional. The book is a concise 158 pages and will teach you valuable skills that you can use to increase customer satisfaction.
Over time, you'll learn skills that you'll need on-the-go. Once mastered, these skills will allow you to continue running your restaurant with the utmost success. The more you read on management and the more experience you gain will allow you to train employees how to work more efficiently, effectively and remain happier.