I m currently enrolled and earning A.A.S. in Business Administration. My long term goal is to own/operate my own restaurant but I m not sure how much education I would need to make my goal a reality and a successful one at that. (I also have a associates degree in culinary arts)
Although a business degree isn t required to open a business, I would STRONGLY recommend that you either get a degree or take as many business related courses as possible. On average only about 10% of all small businesses survive the first year and the failure rate for restaurants is probably even higher. Do you think most fail because the owners weren t passionate about their restaurant or didn t treat their customers well? Of course not. Most fail because the owners did not understand the business side of the restaurant. Admittedly, there are some people who just instinctively understand business or learn fast enough to survive the first few years but not everybody can do that. Business classes may not be a perfect way to learn everything that you need but they are a concentrated dose of information. In addition to your normal classes, you should see if there are any other classes directed towards small business owners or starting your own business. Lastly, practical experience can be even more valuable than taking classes as long as it s good practical experience. Perhaps there is a well established restaurant that would not be a direct competitor that will be willing to hire you and let you get some experience of running a business. It would have to be a local restaurant and you d have to have a good relationship with the owner but the experience could prove to be invaluable. Good luck.
NO, you don t need any college degrees to open a restaurant. The basic ingredients for a successful business would be experience, skills, and etc.. but a college degree/education is not included in there, especially for a restaurant. I ve worked at a successful sushi place before and I know a little bit about how they are successful. They were/are busy most days of the week when other restaurants are closing down. The main thing is customer service. Good food itself just won t cut it. You don t need a degree, the owner of the sushi restaurant barely graduated middle school in Japan but he owns two houses and has enough already for retirement. The thing he was good at was being able to learn from experience. He knows people that come to his restaruants by name, and he frequently tests new menus that sometimes are a hit for the American taste. You could also be good with finances, but you don t always need to do that yourself, hire someone to do it. But always keep in mind, don t be wasteful with food.
That s like asking if you need a university degree to operate a blender. Anyone can open a restaurant, but the real question I think your asking is Will my education directly assist in making my restaurant endeavor successful? Obviously the more education you have DIRECTLY related to the industry the better. I have been to restaurants owned and operated by retired mechanics and I would give them a 5 out of 5. On the other hand, I have been to places where the owner had 6 other restaurants in his life, and the over all rank would be no more then 2.1 out of 5. So it always depends on your passion, perseverance, and personality! Good Luck!
most restaurant owners probably had no college education - any business background helps - especially concerning accounting and taxes (payroll, sales, gross receipts, income)
