How Can Two Young Restaurant Entrepreneurs with No Relevant Education/Experience Survive in Recession?

It is very difficult to find a job these days, and some people may want to start their own business. Indeed, it may seem to be a good time to start one’s own business during recession because the start-up costs tend to be much lower than those in the good times. Recently, I have shared several successful stories of restaurant entrepreneurs. As a matter of fact, today’s story is also about two young restaurant entrepreneurs featured in a CNN News video. When they started their business, they did not even have any experience in culinary arts or entrepreneurship. So, how can they survive in such a competitive market?  

• They took advantage of the low interest rate and lower the financial experiences.
• They tested recipes with their friends before introducing the concept.
• They took a year to launch a low fixed cost business plan and found a cheap rental space.
• They did most preparations by themselves.
• They only offered a limited tasting menu to cut down the food cost (actually, they will also have better control over food quality, operation expenses, and labor cost with a simple menu).  
• They used social media (blogs and Twitter) to promote their business.

As every entrepreneur, they made mistakes, but they grew and became better business owners. Here they are: two young successful restaurant owners are sharing their experience with us. May the best wishes to Tse Wei Lim and Dianna Kudajarova!

While I am sharing all these successful stories of restaurant entrepreneurs, I still feel that people need to seriously consider the high risk and huge commitment of running a restaurant business and be cautious of the business plan. My last comment is that I do not agree with Diana Kudajarova’s comment about education. She got a Ph.D. before starting her restaurant business, but I do not think she wasted her time on education at all. A good education will always benefit people in some way. I believe that there is a non-linear relationship between her education and her success in whatever she is doing. Do you think she wasted her time getting her Ph.D.?