I was asked by a potential franchisee what it was that they needed to be successful in the restaurant industry. As silly as it sounds the questions made me stop and think. The fact that we are constantly in the grind, and always putting out fires, makes you forget what it is that it takes to be successful. This thought process sparked a conversation with my son and in the midst of it it dawned on me. I think that in this business you have to have a serving heart. The willingness to serve needs to be there for you to be able to see the guests’ smile as the silver lining at the end of a rough day. The second thing that is needed to be successful is understanding that you are only as good as your last plate. Goodwill is amazing and it is priceless in this business. It is built through consistency and dedication. Processes and people are the key to building goodwill. It is built before your first guest ever enters your shop on the first day, it comes from your internal culture.
CULTURE, your shop has a culture. No matter how small your business is. Culture should be written on a plaque and adhered to, but it doesn’t need to be. Culture is best represented in the way you live, the way you treat your most important guest. Of course the first guest is the employee, the team member, the coworker. That culture you have will shine through in them and your guests will feel it, see it, and it will create the goodwill. Genuine encounters are the key to creating this culture within your team and through to your guests.
So what else is necessary to be successful in this business? I told my son that it comes down to getting your ass kicked and knocked down, and just getting up one more time. At the end of the day the best culture and intentions still cause us to get knocked down. We still will have moments of doubt, despair, hardship, stress, anxiety, and other difficult feelings in this journey. It is the ones who get up more again that remain in the biz. Getting up one more time than the guy next to you is what sets you apart from all other people in any field of work. Taking the lessons that failure blesses us with and saying “thank you” as you get back up and tend to your wounds. Its figuring out solutions to what seem to be insurmountable obstacles. It’s the feeling of achievement and pride that come from answering the bell one more time. I am cognizant of the fact that one day I will fail, I will lose, and I will have change course. I am also certain that this day is not that day. “This” day is every day. Its the day to succeed, to learn, to build, to coach, to give, to teach, to help others, to give away what you don’t even have for yourself. At the end of the day that is why we all do whatever it is that we do.
I also tell every potential franchisee to please think of every reason not to do this business. Think of the toll on your time, your family, your finances, the risks and hard work. Then if you still want to do it, if you have that serving heart and the toughness to get back up one more time, then welcome to the team and lets get started. Remember that this business is a people business. Spend time on your team, treat them like you want to be treated, coach them and teach them. It truly is like the saying says that “if you want to go fast, then go alone, but if you want to go far then go together”