I Love Making Mistakes!

Ok, I am one month into opening my own business and I have made some mistakes but that’s to be expected. The key is to learn from those mistakes…. here are some of the mistakes I’ve made and lessons learned.

1.) Whatever you think your initial start up costs will be…. double it! It will be more realistic than the original estimate you came up with. The largest factor for small business failure, especially restaurants and other retail endeavors, fail due to under-capitalization. I’m glad I had some extra savings and a line of credit to fall back on… or I’d be in dire straits now. I’m still teetering on the edge, but at least I know I’m on the cusp of making it.

2.) Be ready to deal with anxiety. If you are like me, you believe you have the ability to control your destiny. However when starting your own business, there are many factors that are out of your control. This can frustrate the hell out of you if decide to let worry take over your thoughts. This can cause many sleepless nights and anxiety filled days waiting for an important phone call or lack of a phone call; waiting for contractors to finish; negotiating lease terms with the potential landlord; wondering when your first customer of the day will come in; etc. At first I was very frustrated but then I just decided to not worry about the uncontrollables and move forward with other things that I can control.

3.) Screw the economy!  Seriously… when it comes to opening a restaurant… if the economy is the deciding factor that makes or breaks your business… your business model needs some work. This doesn’t apply to all businesses especially industry specific collapses such as in the mortgage industry, etc but definitely the restaurant industry and many other retail businesses. Blaming the economy is easy to do but not likely the cause of failure. People forget that there are so many other factors that contributed to a business closing its doors…. poor marketing strategy, undercapitalization, lack of controls, inconsistency, poor concept, bad customer service, etc. The economy is a Macro force while the majority of your business works on a micro level (peoples individual decisions).

4.) The tortoise wins the race. This is probably another blog but I think our society shapes how we think in regards to how to obtain success. Many motivated individuals, even myself, try and sprint to the finish line however many times we just run out of steam too early. We go into a new endeavor guns blazing but either end up ill prepared, overwhelmed or just plain burned out. Slow and steady progression towards a higher standard will not only ease your anxiety by having small victories along your path to keep your spirits up but it will also help you improve your business’ products, services, human capital, efficiency and in the end your profit margin.

5.) Don’t work in your business work on your business. Dealing with the day to day issues and minor details can bog down your entrepreneurial juices. Handling the day to day operations and putting out fires everyday can make you feel like you are being productive and building your business but it’s completely the opposite. Once you fall into the trap of running the day to day tasks, you end up neglecting the most important job you have… to grow your business.

Being a start up boot-strapper, I am forced to do a lot of the day to day work so I struggle to consistently have the time or the desire (since I am exhausted many times) to come up with new ideas to improve my business but I still try and do it. I can see how easily it is to get lost in working at my cafe and never growing beyond a marginally profitable business because I work in my business instead of on it. I think this is why so many restaurateurs feel like slaves to their business. They are too pre-occupied with the details that they lose sight of the bigger picture. I can see this pitfall and I am challenging myself to not end up like them. My cousin in-law, Ken, expressed to me that his dad told him that his restaurant was like “a prison”… he was always there and could never leave. Ikes! I’d hate to have my dream end up being my prison!

6.) Your people MAKE your business. I’m probably beating a dead horse from all the past posts I have written but your ability to cultivate good relationships with your employees is probably the single most important factor that will determine your ultimate success. The success of my business so far has all to do with my employees. They show up to work with a great attitude. They are passionate about what they do. They are open to sharing ideas with me to help improve “our” business and also they are helping spread the word. I spend a lot of time talking to them, hanging out with them and just getting to know who they are and their unique situations. That way they can help me achieve my dreams and I can help them achieve theirs. I know one day, I will help these people achieve their dreams. Not all of them, but the ones who desire to be more… I hope that one day; I can reward them for their dedication to me….

The last thing I learned is that if it’s not hard, it’s not worth getting. I wouldn’t have it any other way!