Why Restaurant Babies are the Best Entrepreneurs
Ever been to a restaurant and see kids play in the back, tucked away from customers or helping out doing small tasks? Perhaps this is a spot you visit regularly, and as time goes on you see the kids progress in age as they continue helping their family with the business. You eventually hear their stories, their likes, personalities, pet peeves and so on. Some you feel attached as you saw them grow and will recognize them in the streets even after the restaurant is bought from someone else. I like to call us restaurant babies.
#RestaurantBabies are children who grew up in, well, a restaurant. Maybe not literally, but practically as they spend the majority of their childhood in the eatery assisting the family. Think of Bob’s Burger, but more competent. As a kid, I went through many ups and downs with the family over not being able to have a normal, American childhood, and definitely wasn’t the best time when you’re a pain in the ass teen. Yet, I still appreciate everything my parents taught me about the food game. Visiting over 60 different Chinese restaurants in Virginia, New York, DC, Baltimore and 4 other cities, I saw maybe one that didn’t have their kid in the facility. Additionally, I occasionally see this with other ethnic restaurants, like Dominican, Mexican, Filipino, Afghan, Salvadoran, Vietnamese, and others, so I believe this is more than a Chinese American thing.
Now athletes do make good entrepreneurs, but pale compared to restaurant babies. We #restaurantbabies are:
Bootstrappers
Never having a huge budget to scale, we improvise and maximize our resources as to achieve the monthly goal. Pick up new skills when the occasion arises. Figure new methods when something doesn’t work. Know when to pivot.
Operation Orientated
Running a restaurant isn’t easy if you don’t quickly comprehend how things operate: finance, delivery, human resources, sitting customers, order placement, inventory, and speed. All of that and then some gets cramped into a young child’s mind at a young age.
Customer Experience
The biggest thing to understand: how to retain customers. More than customer service, they differentiate between slow periods and when patrons are fleeing for competitors. From there, they would have a mental database of how often customers are returning for a meal, frequency and personalization. Just like a relationship, the little things matter.
