Study Hard!

Clarity is one of the greatest gifts a person can be given. It's such a fluid notion, that when you can actually get a handle on it, it feels magical. It took me years, but within the past few years I knew I wanted a career in the restaurant industry. It definitely wasn't my life goal as a child, but a passion I grew into. And even more recently, I managed to narrow it down even further. That is big for me- after 25 years of putzing around, I finally have a direction to truly pursue. While I have been saying I want to own a brewpub, I always assumed it would be in a chef/owner role. Something recently occurred to me.

I am a solid cook. I'm not the best chef, nor do I have any desire to be a top chef. The time and sheer energy required behind the line is not something I honestly want to pursue. I love reading my cookbooks, learning about foods and technique, but at the end the day? I am way more interested in creating and running a successful establishment. I won't be Top Chef, but I can damn sure be a Top Restauranteur!

To accomplish that, I'm devoting my next few months earning certifications to improve my job chances in the restaurant field. I'm going for my Cicerone (for beer), WSET (for wine and spirits), and CSW (for wine exclusively). Hopefully I can parlay that into a bar position, and if not, I'll go to school for business management classes. It'll be strange, decreasing my hours working, and spending time studying. I haven't done that since... Hell, I didn't even actually study in high school.

Beyond the pursuit of knowledge, I will admit I am seriously motivated by a hefty dose of spite. It's not healthy, but I'm definitely still harboring a lot of anger over what happened on my trip out here last year. But is it really so bad, when I'm finally finding a healthy way to focus that anger? I just want to be more successful than I originally thought I could be. And if that means hella nerding out for a year or two? I'll do it. I'm pretty certain I can get my level one CSW months sooner than I anticipated originally. I've already got a much better understanding of the Bordeaux and Burgundy regions of France than I thought.

Spite. God it makes me happy.

Once Upon a Time...

And just like that, it's finished. Four years of conceptualization. Three months of research, mathematics, procrastination, and cooking. Cumulative five days of typing, reformatting, and typing again. Over fifty pages of relevant materials,  nevermind the obscene amounts of other materials I have yet to polish because they are irrelevant to potential investors (Though those will be done soon enough). More work invested in this one project than I ever put into any of my school projects combined. And I can finally call it DONE.

DONE!

I no longer have this aggravating leech of an idea, just sitting on my brain and nagging me constantly with thoughts of, "You haven't done enough research!  Your idea probably won't work. But hey, you'll never know- you keep procrastinating!  Lazy. You could TOTALLY be working on it right now!"
Well screw you, Brain! I finished something. For once. And my math actually supports my research,  my bar can be a viable business. This lunacy of mine may just work!

Of course, now the first leech has been replaced with a newer, bigger persistence- "Way to go, smartypants.  You got your shit figured out. Now, let's try this whole getting your shit actually together and get this place built, eh?" (The voices in my head seem to all be grizzled old Brooklynites... I can't even begin to explain that)

So, the prelude is over. I guess it is now safe to say my story actually begins today. Cool. :)

The Final Countdown?

Decided to be productive today.

It's a bit scary.

I am sooooo close, I could honestly finish this damn plan today if I had physical copies of this information in front of me. I have the hardest time focusing on screens. However, I think I'm going to make it happen. Notebooks will be filled with numbers and nonsense before today is over. Oh man. Oh man oh man. I'm even doing financial stuff! And while yes, my brain hates me at he moment,  it's getting DONE. PHASE TWO IS IMMINENT. SOON THE WORLD WILL BE MINE!!!

...Or, you know, my bar. Whatever.

Fixing Fixation

The best and worst advice I have ever received is, "The devil is in the details". The chef I worked for back when I started this blog hammered that idea into my head. When used appropriately?  Works splendidly.  However, I have been finding myself getting fixated on things that honestly need to wait, or that are less than important in the grand scheme of things.

When I started my business plan, I made a timeline for what I needed to accomplish in order to work on the next item on my agenda. I would dedicate one day a week to completeing a chunk, and be finished by early January. Week 1 went off without a hitch,  even got ahead of the game for week 2. Then week 2 came. The chunk I intended to complete was writing a menu and then costing out the recipes. Menus were written, but I had no idea how to start costing without accurate wholesale pricelists. My brain was telling me,  "No, you HAVE to finish this! You can't DO anything else until you get this DONE." So I fixated. And I wasted valuable time. I let myself get 2 1/2 weeks behind before I even looked at my plan materials again and came across my checklist.  Right then, looking at is with fresh eyes, I realized- I can (and have) asked some of my restaurant management friends for price lists. And while I wait for them to deliver? I can do other things.

Especially since the rest of the list is freaking easy in comparison.  All of the financials are easily the most important part,  but it's all a matter of collecting data and filling in appropriate tables. The rest is as simple as writing an operations manual, training timelines, quick analysis blurbs- all of which I have been doing in my off time at home. There was never any reason for me to save it all for one day a week. I should never have let the menu become as much of a hassle as it did. Thankfully, I am back on track.  Possibly even ahead of schedule!  Very excited for January, when I start doing the fun stuff for it!

Working hard! (For once...)

So it occurred to me that I probably ought to use this blog not only as a venting space, but also as something of progressing joiurnal of the creation of my pub. I have read countless chef memoirs and books that make a vague mention of 'how hard' it is, and many chefs and owners I know personally will tell you straight up that it took them years to get up and running. However,  I have never talked to an entrepreneur who was able to reminisce and give me even the vaguest of timelines. Even myself, personally,  when I tell people I'm optimistic about opening in 2016, I get asked, "why are you waiting so long?"

Here's the reality- I'm not waiting.  This pub is the result of 4 years of brainstorming already,  I've just finally gotten to a place where I am mentally prepared to take the plunge and really, truly work on it. And it is WORK.

You may first wonder, why did it take you so long to brainstorm? Frankly,  when I first got the inclination to start a place, I only had the vaguest idea of what I wanted to do. It would have been like trying to build a house on a jell-o foundation,  and it would have failed miserably.  It took me time to gather new experiences,  try a variety of different bars and restaurants to find what I truly enjoyed, and really solidify my concept. Then came the paperwork part.

I despise paperwork.  Love writing, haaaaaate business-y official documentation.  It's boring. And doing research?  Blows. I spent 11 hours on Tuesday writing up the introduction to my business plan and researching potential menu items and formats. This week, I'm going to wind up spending another 11 hours copying recipes and costing them to start creating a mock budget. And that's still only maybe 1/8th of the plan. This is a massive headache,  but I keep telling myself it'll be worth it.  Atlanta needs my place.
Got this. :)