Coming from a hospitality or food service background, you know the ins and outs of creating an exceptional customer experience, managing a team, and crafting delicious dishes. However, as you transition from restaurant employee to restaurant owner, you quickly realize that running a business requires a completely different way of thinking, but its not always easy shifting to restaurant owner’s mindset.
While your experience as an employee is valuable, owning a business requires a shift in mindset—a restaurant owner’s mindset. You’re no longer just responsible for your tasks, but for the entire operation and the long-term success of the business.
The good news? Shifting to a restaurant owner’s mindset can help you avoid common mistakes and set you up for long-term success.
If you’re ready to take the leap, adopting a restaurant owner’s mindset will empower you to think strategically, prioritize profitability, and make decisions that drive growth.
The Difference Between Restaurant Employee and Restaurant Owner
When you worked for a restaurant, your responsibilities were clear-cut. You might have excelled at customer service, front-of-house management, or perfecting your restaurant’s signature dishes in the kitchen.
But as a restaurant owner, your focus shifts.
Now, you’re not just managing tasks—you’re overseeing the entire operation. This shift can be a challenge for many new restaurant owners.
Restaurant Employee vs. Restaurant Owner Mindset
- Restaurant Employee Mindset: You’re focused on delivering the best food and service. You excel at daily tasks, solving problems in real time, and creating a positive experience for your customers.
- Restaurant Owner Mindset: As a restaurant owner, you have to see the bigger picture. Yes, quality service and food are important, but now you also need to manage finances, marketing, operations, and growth strategies. You’re responsible for ensuring the entire business is profitable and sustainable.
Key Challenges New Restaurant Owners Face
One of the biggest challenges for new restaurant owners is stepping away from the hands-on tasks they’re used to and focusing on aspects of the business that might not come as naturally, such as bookkeeping or strategic planning.
Does this sound familiar?
Imagine Nathan, a new food truck owner, who loves crafting delicious smash burgers and creating a mouthwatering menu. He spends weeks perfecting recipes, asking family and friends for feedback, designing his menu, and selecting paper goods for service.
But Nathan is so focused on the “fun” side of the business that he neglects crucial tasks like tracking expenses, creating a marketing plan, and organizing workflows—all of which quickly lead to financial difficulties.
To avoid this pitfall, adopt a mindset that views your business as a whole, not just the sum of its parts. Passion for your product is essential, but ensuring the business runs smoothly behind the scenes is just as important.
Think of it this way: What makes a great cheeseburger isn’t just high-quality, perfectly seasoned meat—it’s the combination of ingredients, how it’s prepared, and how it’s served.
4 Tips for Shifting to Restaurant Owner’s Mindset
To succeed as a restaurant or food truck owner, you need to start thinking like a business owner. This means focusing on long-term goals, making tough decisions, and balancing passion with profitability.
Here are four key ways to start thinking like a restaurant owner.
Restaurant Owner’s Mindset Tip #1: Think Big Picture
As a restaurant owner, you have to plan for the long term. Instead of getting bogged down by daily tasks, ask yourself: What do I want my business to look like in three years? Five years? And how do I get there?
Get specific about your big-picture goals. Everyone who opens a business wants it to succeed, but what does success look like for you? Is it owning a fleet of food trucks? Making enough money to quit your day job?
Whatever your goal, write it down. Review it often. Share it with others!
Restaurant Owner’s Mindset Tip #2: Set SMART Goals
Once you’ve defined your big-picture goals, break them down into smaller, actionable steps. Aiming to own a fleet of food trucks is great, but how will you get there? You need milestones and progress checkpoints to stay on track.
Follow the SMART framework for goal-setting:
- Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve?
- Measurable: How will you track your progress?
- Achievable: What will success look like?
- Relevant: Is this goal aligned with your long-term vision?
- Time-bound: What’s your timeline for reaching this goal?
Using a restaurant budgeting tool is essential for staying on track. Table Needs’ Cash Flow tool, integrated directly into your POS system, offers clear, up-to-date insights into your restaurant’s finances. Learn more: Restaurant Budget Management with Tables Needs Cash Flow.
Restaurant Owner’s Mindset Tip #3: Prioritize Profitability
Finances can be one of the hardest shifts for new restaurant owners. You’re passionate about your product, but you also need to prioritize profitability.
Many people think of profit as what’s leftover after expenses—but it’s so much more. Profitability is a metric to track, plan for, and prioritize every month, just like any other expense.
Remember: if your restaurant isn’t profitable, it won’t survive.
This might mean making tough choices—adjusting pricing, streamlining your menu to focus on high-margin items, or even curbing your business hours. Data will help you understand what’s working and what’s not.
Restaurant Owner’s Mindset Tip #4: Operational Problem-Solving and Decision-Making
As an employee, your role was to solve day-to-day problems like handling a missing order or a dissatisfied customer.
As an owner, you need to elevate that problem-solving to an operational level. This could mean improving your hiring process, upgrading restaurant technology, or developing systems to allow for future growth.
Here’s a common example: A food truck owner might handle staffing shortages by working double shifts themselves. But that’s a short-term fix. A more sustainable solution might be using a streamlined POS system to reduce the need for additional staff.
Ready to Run a Profitable Restaurant Business?
Transitioning from an employee mindset and shifting to a restaurant owner’s mindset is key to running a successful restaurant or food truck. It requires thinking about the big picture, prioritizing profitability, managing your time wisely, and continually learning. By shifting your focus from day-to-day tasks to long-term growth, you’ll set yourself up for success.
Ready to dive deeper? Download the Food Truck Owner’s Manual for free to learn how to build a thriving food truck business.
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