During a recent discussion with my career counselor, I said something that many business owners have probably thought:
“Are we all just faking it until we make it?”
If you know me, you know the comment was partly humorous. However, it led us into a more serious conversation about experience, finding confidence while still being a beginner, and the process of becoming capable.
In May, my husband and I opened The Downbeat without having spent our careers in the hospitality or entertainment industries. Neither of us has ever worked in the front of house, waited tables, worked in a kitchen, or washed dishes professionally. We did not come into the business with established systems for scheduling, staffing, managing food costs, or navigating the dreaded reservations and ticketing software.
Outside of frequenting our favorite restaurants and establishing relationships with their owners, we did not have a large hospitality network. We did not have a long list of chefs, musicians, suppliers, and restaurant professionals to call whenever we encountered something unfamiliar.
As the conversation deepened, she helped me consider another possibility:
What if our lack of traditional experience is actually a fair advantage?
We began brainstorming how the very things that once felt restrictive might also offer freedom. Consider this:
Neither of us is burdened by years of industry habits. Our perspective is not automatically shaped by a former employer’s systems, an inherited operating model, or someone else’s definition of success.
Because of this, we can view the experience from the perspective of guests in our own business. Our backgrounds in design, retail, and entrepreneurship also influence how we approach The Downbeat. We think about storytelling, atmosphere, customer experience, and the ways in which every part of the business works together.
Many successful businesses were created by people who initially stood outside the industries they eventually changed. Their lack of conventional experience did not keep them from learning. Instead, it allowed them to question assumptions that others may have accepted.
Being inexperienced does not mean expertise is unimportant. It simply means we do not have to be limited by established thinking.
We depend greatly on talented people who understand food, music, service, and operations. We listen. We ask questions, study what works, and adjust when something does not. Our responsibility as owners is to combine their expertise with our willingness to consider whether there may be another way.
Learning in public has made me more adaptable. Not having an inherited definition of success has also given me the freedom to create my own.
Perhaps we are not faking it until we make it. Perhaps we are facing it until we make it.
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