[cbfair]

[ QUOTE ]
i've learned a rough guesstimate of failure rate of restaurants/bars is around 85 - 90% which is why you hear alot of stories of failure ..so basically you truly need to be an entreprenuer risk it all and reap the benefits or risk and fail.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management and I knew before I left school that while it had previously been my dream, I would never, ever own a restaurant or bar. I've managed restaurants (mostly back of house) and my wife has managed bars, we've both been out of the industry for several years and have promised each other that no matter how tough it gets, we will never return to restaurant/bar management. Substance abuse and multiple divorces are the norm in the industry.

It's verifiably true that something well north of 50% of all startups fail in the first year and that the vast majority of those survivors (probably 85%-90%) are out of business inside of 5 years. No matter what your well-healed clients tell you, you will likely not see a profit for 3-5 years with a new startup so you'd better be prepared to pour money and time into the place and don't leave it for more than a few hours until you have solid management in place working under rigid guidelines. Even good, "trustworthy" managers will steal from you unless you make it very difficult to get away with or offer a significant profit sharing plan.

You've got some time between now and when you want to start so I'd recommend spending time researching the industry to learn what the true day to day experience will be. I'm not saying that the industry sucks for everyone; it's been very good to alot of people, just make sure you're one of the few who can hack it.