Donald Burns spent 40 years in restaurants and learned that operational skills are only 20% of success. The real work is building a profitable brand that delivers financial independence and freedom, not just running a job.
Now, I thought I had the experience required to open and operate a successful restaurant. On the surface, I did have a lot of skills that a restaurant owner really needs. Back then, I thought that knowing how to run a restaurant was all I needed. Now, looking back over the four decades I've been in this crazy industry, I truly see the errors of my thinking. Having experience, work ethic, and knowledge of how a restaurant operates is just 20% of what it takes. You see, I knew how to run a restaurant, but I did not know how to build a profitable brand. That would give me the freedom that I really crave deep down. Think back to why you opened a restaurant. Was it to have a job, or was it to have financial independence and freedom.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
