A good restaurant manager can be the heart and soul of any restaurant business. Equally able to design shifts, train workers, and be involved in the creative vision business, a restaurant manager often boasts a job that changes day to day and never has time to get boring. In order to become a restaurant manager, a person must become intimately familiar with nearly every aspect of the trade. The skills and training it takes to become a restaurant manager may vary, but the job nearly always requires a fantastic ability to organize and a lot of mental flexibility.
One of the best ways to start on the journey to become a restaurant manager is to work from the ground up. Managers who start as kitchen assistants, wait staff, or even bussers gain great insight into the trials and challenges of these difficult basic jobs. Knowing how to organize a restaurant to best facilitate the job of every worker through personal experience can help improve workplace atmosphere and make staff more efficient and responsive.
Some people are able to work their way through the ranks of a restaurant to eventually become managers, but many prefer to work a traditional education into their training as well. Getting a college or trade school degree in restaurant management or hospitality can be a great way to become a restaurant manager. Most degree programs focus extensively on the business aspects of running a restaurant, making students better able to cut down on wasteful spending and better manage the finances of their future jobs. A manager that can help improve the profit margin of a business is a valuable thing, and school-based programs may be an excellent way to hone financial management skills that relate to restaurant management.
With professional restaurant experience, or a combination of experience and a degree, a person generally can follow one of two paths to become a restaurant manager. Either he or she can look for available positions within the industry, or he or she can try to open their own restaurant. Some experts recommend spending a few years being a manager at an established restaurant before branching into entrepreneurship, but many aspiring managers simply cannot wait to open their own place.
Once working as a restaurant manager, it is important to cultivate good relationships with staff, customers, and suppliers. Excellent personal skills can not only help a person become a restaurant manager, but can also serve him or her well when developing the reputation and financial health of the business. While maintaining good relationships with the staff will help ensure cheerful and efficient service, impressing the customers with personal attention can help create a valuable cache of regulars. Befriending growers, suppliers, and other merchants involved with the restaurant can even lead to discounts and better deals.
