The restaurant industry is a fast-paced and lucrative space for entrepreneurs to throw their hats in the ring. Owning and operating a restaurant gives you the freedom to be your own boss. In the food services industry, you have the flexibility to create your own hours, work as hard (or as little) as you want, and make the most of your own talents and business background for creating long-term success.
Many restaurant owners in the United States have experience in the business world already, bringing in past restaurant experience and even business school credentials such as a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). An MBA program (and the corresponding MBA degree) provides excellent fundamentals for a small business owner to bring to the table, allowing for excellent expansion opportunities and a strong financial and business administration footing from which success can be built over the long term. Plus, an MBA degree will lead to a steadily growing savings account to match your business success.
Businesses don’t spring into profitability overnight, but the foundation can be put into place all at once. With an MBA degree in your back pocket, creating the conditions for growth and high-quality profits becomes second nature.
MBAs and restaurants go hand in hand.
MBA holders often make great restauranteurs. MBA program graduates have a special assessment ability when it comes to the market and is often able to take on board special metrics and business analytics tools to help them create a cutting-edge business that still conforms to the age-old format of the restaurant. Innovation isn’t typically the expectation when it comes to dining, yet this is exactly what MBA graduates are bringing to the table in this sector.
The financials of the restaurant business are possibly the space in which MBA education shines the brightest. Restaurants have a significant expense burden, and this is an ongoing, daily payout in many cases. Restaurants must constantly restock ingredients and supplies in order to provide their clients with the high-quality dining experience that they’ve come to expect on a regular basis. Fiscal responsibility in the management of a food service business is therefore one of the most important components that drive the ultimate success or failure of the franchise or small business. The training that an MBA program grant to business owners is second to none in this realm, and it’s one reason why MBAs are so adept at navigating operations management on this fraught path that fells so many restauranteurs, even those with years of experience but lacking the core courses taught in an elite MBA program.
While it’s a common misconception that most restaurants shutter their doors after just a year in business (in fact food service industry businesses beat the U.S. average in first-year stats for growth, profit, and stability), the industry is a risky one when it comes to long term viability. With MBA training from a top-notch business school, getting the financials right is something baked into the process rather than a learned, additional skill that must be mastered.
One area of the financial picture is in the use of reserve funds. These are a crucial component of merchant success in a variety of different industries, but particularly in food services. A reserve fund is a liquid asset stopgap that helps defray the financial obligations and cost of chargebacks and other quirks in credit card and debit card activity. When a customer uses their debit card to make a purchase, these funds must clear through a few different checkpoints to leave their checking account and enter yours. If the funds aren’t available, the customer disputes the charge later on, or a timing issue holds up the payment, your account could be negatively impacted in the short term.
Putting all the pieces together is another area in which MBA grads excel.
In addition to the finances, business program graduates are capable of great things when it comes to the intangibles and piecing together the fragments of a solid plan for the future. In the restaurant business, you will need to craft a menu, put together the dining room’s décor, and then build a kitchen and POS system that compliment these forward-facing elements. With a resource like The Restaurant Warehouse, MBA holders and other small business owners in this space are able to find the pieces of furniture and restaurant equipment that they require to make a great first impression on new clients and continue to wow the regulars so that they’ll keep coming back for years to come.
Building a great restaurant that will keep customers happy and well-fed is something that is challenging for many small business owners in the United States and all around the world. Understanding how to put together all the elements that must collide to create the perfect dining experience is something that’s learned through doing, but MBA program graduates give themselves a significant leg up over the competition when designing and opening a new restaurant to the public.
Many MBA holders today are able to lock in best practices ranging from financial analysis to supply chain management for their business. This gives those with a business degree a huge leg up over the competition when it comes to repaying business loans, finding renovation opportunities that won’t break the bank, and building rock-solid management skills within their core team.
If you’re graduating from business school, the foodservice industry might be the perfect place to match passion in the kitchen with your high octane business skills.