Let go of the Excuses and Do the Work…
Something I see a lot in business is companies that give a million reasons why they aren’t successful. It’s the algorithm. I can’t believe I am being charged rent before I have begun cooking. Facebook Marketplace doesn’t get me enough clicks. There is always SOMETHING to blame. I am learning that each one of us is ultimately responsible for our own success or failure. Of course, there is some element of luck, but a lot of winning in business is working, sometimes endlessly, with or without “success”, to make it happen, and also having a plan and being open to pivot if things don’t work.
Aside from the costs of the tangibles (physical space, if that is required, equipment, people resources, consumables etc.) you should expect to have to build your business from scratch. Most people think their concept is BRILLIANT (and it might be), but what if it isn’t as much of a gold mine as you expected right off the bat? It might actually be a fantastic idea, but if you don’t market your business effectively, you will never know what it can be. You should not expect for it to take off like a rocket, right out of the gate. This means that you need financial bandwidth to build it. If you can’t pay your personal expenses, your business expenses and costs for employing a staff (if that is needed), then wait until you can sustain that business for a minimum of 6 months before getting starting… with zero revenue. If you can’t do that, you aren’t ready, yet.
You may know how to make some amazing brisket that everyone that tries it thinks is great, but if no one knows what you are doing when you start your company, how do they know they want it? Knowing how to cook is not the foundation of a solid business model. There is a lot more to opening up a barbecue company than the brisket. Try plastering the neighborhood you will be working from with menus and letting everyone around you know what date you are opening, so they can check it out. Try giving out discounts to capture your first customers (buy one get one free of your best item is a great start). Also, know your numbers to make sure you aren’t going to sink yourself if 1000 people buy from you.
If you are open a week and sell one $17 plate, that doesn’t actually mean that no one likes your food. Do your friends and family know about it? Did you ask them to come and try it? Are you posting multiple times per day on social media to let people know that your restaurant is open? What do your pictures look like (on social media and the delivery platforms)? Are they on par with the ones that pop up first in your category (bbq) If they don’t look enticing, why would people choose your food over another? If you don’t have pictures up at all, people are WAY less likely to choose your food, because people eat with their eyes and the pictures give a sense of “proof of concept.” Early on, you will usually have to pound the pavement and hustle to get your first customers.
Is your business a media based business? I can tell you from experience that it is discouraging to work really hard on a post and then not even get one “like” out of it. But, those are just vanity metrics. They don’t define your whole business. Do it again. And when it flops again… do it again. Yes, it hurts. Do it again. There is only one way for a boxer to get good at taking hits… it’s by taking LOTS of hits, and then after being knocked down, standing up again and doing it again.
