Hospitality-Minded? Here's Some Education Guidance

The food and beverage industry is about so much more than preparing food and customer service. It’s a huge field! Just to name a few, there are also manufacturers, growers, retail outlets, distributors, and restaurants. I personally have owned many different restaurants and currently own a successful food manufacturing company. Many students and acquaintances tell me they want to open their own restaurant. However, as you can imagine, they are only honed in on one or two aspects of it, not the whole picture. The advice I give every single one is to take classes to help you become successful.

Opening a restaurant is about more than knowing what food you would like to serve. When I was younger my husband and I opened a huge, gorgeous restaurant. This all took place without knowing to whom we were going to market. Big mistake! We knew how to run a restaurant as we had owned three other restaurants that were franchised. It didn’t seem like it would be that different and we had the vision and the decision making power. So, we created everything.

Since it was our idea, we had to decide on the name, what the inside would look like, where it would be built, and how big the space would be. We set out with the idea of selling both American and Mexican food, but then decided we would turn it into a night club after 9 p.m. Again, these were ideas we just thought would work; no real research, just us sitting and talking.

Lesson one: Somewhere in our talks we decided to call it “Su Casa.” Sounds good, right? Wrong. When people came in they thought that we only had Mexican food, when we really had more American food. Plus it was not authentic Mexican; it was American-style Mexican. This was one of the bigger mistakes we made. If we had done some research we would have known that this was a bad idea.

Lesson two: The crucial thing was not knowing who our target market was and how we were going to reach them. Going into the project we thought that we could just market to everyone, since we had so much to offer; again, not a good idea. (Think jack of all trades and master of none.) We ended up closing Su Casa after four months and many dollars later. There wasn’t really a Plan B but there was a silver lining. I went back to school and earned both an MBA and a PhD in business, where I bring successes and failures for people to learn from. My husband also went and earned an MBA. This was not our biggest mistake though.

While in school I created a new, very specific, niche product that I could not wait to share with the world. This time, however, I was ready! Back with the classes I had taken, and my husband’s readiness to open a new business, we opened a company that makes grain- free pasta from garbanzo beans and sells to retail stores and restaurants. After learning that you must know who your target market is, and how to create a brand image that people will enjoy, we started and today sell in two states.

It is interesting how life takes you down different paths. I went from owning restaurants to selling to them. Having a background in the food industry makes our current business run smoothly. Just always know what you are getting into. For example, if you want to open a bar and sell adult beverages, you have to know what you are doing. How do you learn this? You could drink all of the different drinks, but you should probably research, go to people in the business, and take classes. Be prepared!

In the end, we must follow our hearts. If yours is in the food and beverage industry, start learning as much as you can. If you want to own your own business in this industry, research, take classes, find a mentor, and follow your heart. Even if you want to work for a large company like Pepsi, or the Hard Rock Café, you still have to learn as much as you can. Stay current and understand that the more you know, the more you have to learn.

This article originally appeared on the APUS Entrepreneurship Center.

About the Author: Dr. Brenda Geer-Frazier graduated from American Intercontinental University (AIU), earning both a BBA and MBA. She holds a PhD in Organizational Change Management from Capella University. Brenda has over 25 years of management experience. She has owned several restaurants. Currently, Brenda teaches at APU. She owns a small business called “By Brenda,” which sells Dr. Noodles, By Brenda.