{"id":5025,"date":"2018-07-03T01:00:53","date_gmt":"2018-07-03T05:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/?p=5025"},"modified":"2018-07-02T20:25:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-03T00:25:33","slug":"guest-column-know-youre-getting-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fornobravo.com\/pizzaquest\/guest-column-know-youre-getting-reality-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Column: Do You Know What You’re Getting Into? A Reality Check"},"content":{"rendered":"
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You can reach Michael Shepherd at: michael@perfectingpizza.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Chances are that, if you are opening a pizzeria, you will be out of business sooner rather than later. Typically, 60% will fail in the first three years; at least this is what statistics tell us. Why? Is it because there is too much competition? Maybe the economy isn\u2019t doing very well? Perhaps it\u2019s the government and high taxes? Or better yet, it’s probably because of those darn millennials<\/em> who just don\u2019t want to work — that\u2019s the answer everyone safely falls back on when all other excuses run out.<\/p>\n

But, I\u2019ll tell you why I think most pizzerias go out of business, and hear me out because I choose these words intentionally: it\u2019s because they suck!\u00a0<\/strong> They suck because their owners suck. They suck because the owners don\u2019t know anything about accounting. They suck because they lack necessary business skills. They suck because they were under-capitalized. They suck because they don\u2019t have a clue about marketing or customer service. They suck because the owners have an ego that needs to be fed. They suck because they don\u2019t know how to make good pizza. They suck because their product is generally lackluster. They suck because they don\u2019t know how to treat employees or customers. Most importantly, they suck because, even if they do make good or even great pizza, the owners severely underestimated the amount of work and knowledge that goes into building a business other than making pizza, and they refuse to invest the time needed to complete that work.<\/p>\n

Making pizza is the least of your worries; making a good pizza is easy but running a business is hard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you make fantastic pizza and no one knows about it, what good is it? If you make an excellent pizza, but you don\u2019t make a profit, what good is it? If you make an excellent pizza, but you can\u2019t get your staff to make it consistently, what good is it? You have to hit on all cylinders the majority of the time. A few misses here and there won’t kill your business but, to be successful, you need to do it right most of the time.<\/p>\n

Business owners are the true jacks-of-all-trades — or at least they should be. No one is going to do it for you, no one will be invested as much as you.<\/p>\n

So, if you are new to the pizza business (or to any business,), you should expect to have and be able to exercise a basic understanding<\/em> of the following:<\/strong><\/p>\n