The ‘Glamorous’ Life of the Restaurant Owner

Last year, just after we opened Momo, one evening I sat down with a glass wine and got some food. A stranger came up and said: “It must be so great to own a restaurant. You can drink as much wine as you want and eat what you want and when you want.” The reality couldn’t be farther from this belief.

 

But where am I going with it?

We are open just over a year. The craziest year you can possibly imagine. I have never worked so hard in my life, but I still love it. Time with my family is very limited. Being a working mom that owns her own business is much harder than I could ever imagine. The last months have been a real life lesson teaching me to put my priorities first; family and time with the kids.

We are so lucky with our little ones. They are the most amazing little helpers you can imagine. We try to get them involved as much as we can. Lucas is only 7, and little Momo is 6. He cannot wait to work @Momo and she wants to be a chef and repaint the front of the restaurant pink (of course!). They make us proud. Their teacher told us that Lucas not only knows seasons and months but was talking about seasonal eating and why we change the menu at Momo with seasons. They listen, they learn.

I’m learning how to spend time properly with them. I’m asking my son to remind me to put my phone away and not allow me to answer phone calls. I’m planning days off more carefully to make the most of it; little day trips, adventures….

  Appreciate the time together. Being and living the moment. Appreciate the sunshine.

It’s all about juggling the time between family, business, friends…. But how to do it all? There are not enough hours in a day. Priorities for us? Always our children. Because of them I get up and I keep going.

Being a business owner is not as glamorous as I thought it was going to be. I remember, few years ago, when I was mopping the floor as a waitress in a restaraunt, I said to myself  “when I have my own restaurant I won’t have to mop the floor ever again.”

And I was sooooo wrong! Yes, I’m mopping floors and cleaning. I do it all. I’m a strong believer in ‘do it yourself’ and then ask others. I used to believe that it was the only way to check if it was done right. Now, I have to learn to delegate. To trust others. To “let it go.” I’m a control freak. I keep forgetting that the team I have and the husband I have can do it all as well as I can, probably much better, but I’m not ready to admit it ?.

And there is so much more to learn. There is so much I don’t know. There is so much to remember. There are so many phone calls, emails, letters, bills, and things to do. If I had only known… but I would do it anyway. I think so.

A few days ago, I had a chat with a very successful business woman. She started her new adventure last year and she is doing amazingly well. During the chat, she said “it takes sooo much time… I’m not yet where I need to be.” I looked at her and reminded her what she achieved in a very short period of time. I asked “Did you expect to achieve as much as you did? Can you see how fantastically you are doing and how successful you are?”

And that’s a problem we have. The more you achieve, the more you want. And that is fantastic. Always trying to do better. But we all should remember to stop and realise how much we have already done. We are still doing what we love.

I’m mopping floors less often.

Lots love,

Kamila