Evolving as a Chef Owner

[sugarseattle]

My bakery has been open a little over three years, and from the start, I've been in the kitchen doing a lot of the baking with the help of a full time pastry chef and the occasional intern. We have a shop with espresso and do lunches. I like doing the work, I am pretty sure that's why I opened a bakery, but in order to grow the bakery, I know I need to shift my focus from "being in the trenches" to becoming a great leader and manager for my team. I'm finding this transition a very big challenge.

I would love to hear about similar challenges with any of you as your restaurant/cafes have grown.

Do you feel like you finally figured out how to be a great leader?

[Jeffery C]

Leadership Is An Art & On the Line are books for a good starting point on setting a foundation. Writing a mission statement for the bakery, instituting an overlying philosophy, developing a strong baseline infrastructure of management guidelines, developing systems for daily operations, developing systems for dealing with the ever occurring "curveballs", and maintaining an integrity of what you set forth will help your employees buy into what you are selling. Also delegate, delegate, delegate. Understand where you personally have weaknesses. Outsource tax, expense management to companies that know the laws inside and out and will save you money. Have a personal accountant. Be sure to have a real estate broker consult with you when negotiating your lease. Even if you have expertise in any of the business side of things, having a second set of eyes and grey matter helps with spotting anything you might miss. Empower those that work for you buy having them fill in your gaps that they might excel in. Involve them in the decision making processes you deal with on a daily basis. All of these practices will instill a sense of ownership with your staff with out making them vested partners. If they are carrying your dream with them, your business just grew immediately and will make your management job a lot less stressful. Edited March 11, 2011 by Jeffery C (log)