One serial entrepreneur detailed the challenges and rewards of starting a food service company
All those considering starting a small business in the food service industry be warned: it is not an industry for the weak-stomached, said one expert.
In a blog post for the New York Times, Barbara Taylor told of the woes - and rewards - of starting a small business in the restaurant industry.
Taylor - who launched several other ventures in addition to her drive-through espresso shop Caffinity, and who is currently the co-owner of business brokerage Synergy Business Services - said that starting a restaurant or food service company requires long hours, hands-on management, an extraordinary amount of focus, and high attention to detail.
"While every entrepreneurial endeavor requires passion, I'd say that goes double for food service to compensate for how physically and mentally exhausting it can be," she wrote. "No other business offers such a stark contrast between the dream of ownership and the reality of the grind."
Yet Taylor reaffirmed the role of food service small businesses as the backbone of not just the economy, but the small business sector - and encouraged interested small business owners to follow their dreams.
The Canadian food service industry was hit particularly hard by the recession, with employment continuing to decline in recent months, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association reports.
