Your Name is on the door. Your Recipes are on the Menu. Your Money built this place. Great! You’re a business Success! But at what cost? What about the rest of your life? It’s a tough pill to swallow, but the truth is…You don’t TRUST ANYONE BUT YOU!

The sad part is, in today’s technological environment, there really is no need for this type of paranoid thinking. You have so many tools at your disposal to let yourself have a rich Personal life and operate a thriving Food & Beverage Service Business.

Productivity dwindles after about 8 hrs on the job and after 10 hours it drops by 50%. If you’re working 12 to 14 hours, 6 or 7 days a week, you are causing more problems than you’re solving. You’re not keeping accurate records. You’re not keeping a sharp eye for detail. You’re not cooking any better food. You’re a tired, Brain Dead Zombie whose a walking accident insurance claim waiting to happen.  I know the BBC T.V. series “Chef” makes fun, but leaving our places only when we’re sick and tired, is well…sick…and tired!

Why do you think most Chef’s are done in the Kitchen by age 55 or look like 60 when they’re 45? I haven’t even touched on why so many of us are single, especially us Men!

It’s impossible to give enough time to Children, a loving Spouse or even a significant other if you are NEVER THERE! It’s time to realize there are solutions to balanced life.

Because our creative Egos draw us here, it’s hard to think that maybe others can Cook as well as us, Manage as well as us, Market as well, Control Costs, etc. So let’s address these issues we face. We seem to confuse our time and presence in our Businesses with:

0. Quality   2. Intelligence   3. Security   4. Effective Management   5. Earnings

So here are overview solutions and quick paths to the 5day / 50 hour work week…

Quality

Most Culinary Schools teach terminology, recipe, technique, history, equipment and a brief overview of FOH & BOH operations and ideological management. They don’t teach you how to teach! If you don’t teach others what you do, you are doomed to these soul sucking hours and life. You need Training Manuals for every Recipe and Position in your business. A Top line cook can learn your recipes. An assistant can do an inventory and order. A lead server can do some light bookkeeping. Start Teaching your staff, today!

Intelligence

Not smarts, but rather information. Unfortunately, what should be limited time spent gathering Inventory, Usage and Sales Numbers that really effect the profitability of your business, turns into far too much time spent with personal information gathering on employees, neighboring businesses or God forbid, personal relationships at the business.

Security

“If I’m not there, they’ll rob me blind!” Horse Hockey! Haven’t you heard of Video Security Monitoring? These days, you can have visual access on your Laptop or Cell phone. Your POS system can poll your operating numbers to any location in the World, by the minute! You can buy that Hot Blonde a Margarita in the Manzanillo surfside bar one minute, check your lunch sales the next to see if you can ask her to Dinner!

Management

Effective Managers haves systems and forms for everything. They can predict customer trends, food cost increases, and most importantly, inventory, waste and usage to the dollar or pound. If you don’t have the systems and programs in place that can catch accounting oddities, “like missing cases of Meat,” then you need to have someone redesign you’re the way you run your business in concept and on paper.

Profitability

If you enact all of the concepts above, you will be able to actually have more time to develop new Marketing or Advertising Programs to build Sales, evaluate your expenses to make strategic cuts or menu improvements, or join some Community or Business Organizations to help build your Brand image and reputation.

Yes, our Passion is creating great Food & Drink and service to others. These are truly lofty gifts that few on this earth possess and have the privilege and responsibility to share. But not at the expense of happiness, family, romance, love, faith and time for these gifts.

It’s time to quit making excuses. Teach others what you know. Adopt management procedures and systems that anyone can run. Get Security & POS systems that are your eyes and ears. Get control of what’s important to the business and identify those employees that will help you be profitable, not waste your time. Then go out there with confidence, at least two days per week and chase life, not your own waitresses! They’ve had enough…they told me to tell you!

Go to our “Time Management” section to read and learn more about this.