Universal Business Lessons from Owning a Restaurant

Horrible photos from my first entrepreneurial venture

My first job out of grad school #1 was co-owner of a restaurant/catering business called Five Bucks Even. We catered breakfast and lunch for Atlanta law firms and served lunch in a storefront near the Delta Airlines headquarters. The menu changed every day with one meat and one vegetarian entree, plus sides.

My boyfriend (now husband) was the chef. I ran the operations. We sold the business before the 1996 Olympics and both went to MBA school. Perhaps we should have done these in reverse order.

For National Chef Appreciation Week, I share a few universal lessons from my restaurant business experience:

• Your reputation is everything

• All roles are critical to make a small business hum

• Wondering if you’ll be able to make payroll is a special breed of work stress

• Five Bucks Even is evidence of a flawed business model

• Thinking on your feet and keeping calm under pressure are the most important skills as an entrepreneur. You never know when the grease trap will leak, the employee will quit, the delivery comes late, or a stranger will be found sleeping in your cargo van

• Live in your boyfriend’s mother’s basement only as a last resort

If a couple can survive entrepreneurship, they can survive just about anything. 

Congratulations, Chef, on making Atlanta Magazine’s Top 25 ‘hole in the wall’ restaurant so long ago.  What’s for dinner tonight?