My Unfair Advantage

1.Business Education
- It is a skill that not all possess even though they go into some kind of business venture. To understand how to budget and create sound financials for your business doesn't come easily to all, so by having a background in finance is a big advantage.

2.Experience with running a restaurant
- I have grown up in a family that has owned and operated restaurants is a very hard resource to imitate. It also such a valuable skill to know what it takes to create a well run restaurant that has the possibility to create profit.

3.Experience with working in a restaurant
- Beyond just being on the operating side of owning a restaurant it is valuable to have worked nearly every position within a restaurant. I have been a waiter, a barback, and a bartender, I have also worked in the kitchen. This is a rare skill that is not always imitated by owners and prepares to to hire employees that have the characteristics that fulfill the needs of your restaurant.

4.Experience with ordering
- It is a rare and valuable resource to know what you need to order to not have waste and to know how to keep costs low in order to turn a profit.

5.Leadership
- It is not so rare to have the traits of a leader, but it is valuable to know how to delegate power and to know how to separate work from the personal friendships that form in small businesses. You have to be able to make decisions that may hurt your friendships with people, but that are ultimately best for your business.

6. Creativity
- May seem not so rare or that hard to imitate, but it is valuable to think out side of the box. Especially in the hospitality industry, you must always be able to adapt your business to the trends of the time.

7. Potential Start Up Money
- It is a rare thing to be able to create your business without much debt, it is hard to imitate. I am lucky that my family has been successful with their ventures and would be able to create a business.

8.A Sense of Realism
- Often times those who restaurants have to high of hopes. I know the reality is that seventy percent of restaurants will close their doors within the first year, and you must take this inconsideration and create a financially sound business model before ever investing.

9.World Experience
-I have traveled all around the world and have a sense of different cultures, which is something rare and hard to imitate. It is also valuable in an industry where people are always looking for new, creative things to try.

10.People Person
- Owning a restaurant is part of the hospitality industry which means that you better be good at dealing with people, those that are happy and those that are angry. It is necessary skill to have if you want to open a restaurant.

After listing out my 10 advantages, I feel that my experience with working and operating in a restaurant is my biggest advantage in opening my own. I don't think there is any substitute to have been raised in one specialized industry for your entire life and to have worked in every aspect that makes it up. People can pick up the other skills I possess but this is one skill that is engrained in me.