For years of being with a chef, they always talk about having thier own place, and i would always just say 'no thanks' ....ive seen too many people think its a great idea to open a cafe or something only to later realise it was the worst thing they ever did. I know what hard work it is and 24/7 PIA really!!!
But DH has come up with a good consept that would probably work where we live, found a shop we could fit out an is in a good location, and even a few people that would be willing to back us financially ( we have some of our own to invest but not enough to do the whole thing).
Im wondering if there is anyone out there who has done this and has any advice or general knowledge in the field.
we own and operate a bakery so its kinda the same!
Things that are hard are its a 24/7 job! Wpork then paperwork then advertising etc! We only have 1 day off a week and no holidays except at christmas when we close the shop which means no income! If dh is sick he still has to work! Also managing staff can be a pain lol Thats some of the bad stuff lol
the upside is we feel really proud that we have run our business for e years especially after no bank would give us the loan! We get to be the boss! Its really hard work but really rewarding!
If its something you really want to do jump in feet first and commit everything!
Best of luck hun! Hth sorry if it doesnt make sense am tired lol xxx
DH was also a chef and had a background in hopitality before heading into accounting. So between us we were idealy set-up to run a cafe/restraurant. We have considered it many times, but so far have not done it. One of my last bookkeeping jobs was for a deli and cafe that was family owned.
As boomba as already said the house and dealing with staff are that hardest bits, well along with juggling the finances. Compliance, as in dealing with award wages, BAS statements, super etc can take a lot of work. If neither of you are skilled in this area, then look at getting a bookkeeper and I mean a real one, not someone who has done a basic MYOB course. Someone with an accounting background with payroll is a better choice. Also a good accountant is a must.
Good luck! You must tell us how you go with this. Also if you want to bounce ideas around, there are a few of us here that love to listen to them and will give you fair feedback.
wow, sounds great, hows it going, is it how you imagined now you actually opened the doors!? there is so much to ask, i wouldnt even know where to start. Its such a big decision, all that money to outlay and quite a high risk of failure, i guess you just have do just take that leap and do your research and hope!! best of luck to you!
We've got a little pizzeria on the beach that we owner/operate ourselves.
I don't work there as its nights - but DH does & I do the books etc from home.
I also take care of the running around during the day (picking up fruit & veg etc).
When we first opened, we both worked in there initially to get started (we had family/friends help out)... and put staff on gradually as we got busier.
After 2 yrs we now have 3 pizza/pasta chefs (DH, his brother & one other full time), 2 girls that answer phones & waitress, 2 drivers full time (they also share cleaning duties in the kitchen) & 3 other drivers for weekends.
Sometimes we have to call in a few extra helpers for weekends at busier times (over Christmas & public holidays... and weekends like football grandfinals etc)
Its going fantastically - we are so happy with how everything has come along over the last 2 yrs.. much better than we'd anticipated so early!
Its a LOT of work, & consumes every day (even the days we're closed) but I truly think its much better to work for yourself rather than other people
DH works his butt off, & my laundry is forever full of tea towels, tablecloths, aprons etc but its worth the hard work - we were like Boomba & couldn't get the $$ from banks as the little shop had had a few average people in there before us.
Some advice is that I would second Astrid - get yourself a really good accountant!
Also I guess be prepared for it to be number one in your lives for at least the next 12 months - our restaurant has come first before everything for us to get it off the ground - it was tough at times, but we're starting to have a little bit of a life now
Anything else don't hesitate to ask.... the only other big tip I can give you is to be really specific when you choose your menu - when we wrote ours, we made sure we could use the same ingredients on many different things... doing this, we could simplify our stock order/costs each week & also cut down the risk of having too much wastage on stock if it didn't get used (eg. if you're going to have smoked salmon, have it for 3-4 different dishes instead of just one, so it has a greater chance of being used IYKWIM?)
I think Holly's advice sounds good.
I am feeling very disorganised as I am sitting here trying to work out what the correct pay rates are for people. Talk about leave it until the last minute.
We have been soooo busy in our first week, we can't believe it.
I think I would say make sure it is something you both want to do and define what roles you will have in it. My DH wants me to do more than I think I can so I am feeling very stressed at present. and he is working very hard and getting no sleep from worry.
I don't have any background in business or money so I am learning everything from scratch which is difficult. Well not really difficult as there are lots of resources but just time consuming.
I think it is going to be a great decision. But having said that we are just doing it on "gut feel" ie no business plan or research but just a missing thing in our area.
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Are there any owner/operators out there
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