Hey Monkeys - I'm a former consultant/current chef in NYC looking for advice regarding MBAs.
I went to NYU for undergrad, majored in Econ with a minor in math (CAS not Stern), and worked 2 yrs at a executive compensation firm. Then I worked at Momofuku MIlk Bar for about 1 year as a bookkeeper.
Since I have spent the last couple years cooking in restaurants and used my savings from my consulting job to open my own restaurant in Brooklyn. We are still in our first year and have been cash flow positive since the 2mo which is rare in this industry. My background in economics has helped a lot in starting my business and our food costs run around 24% (vs industry standard of 35-50%). Our current profit margin is around 10%, could be a lot higher once we get more volume.
However although my business is well positioned, I am starting to feel burnt out as a chef. I have worked 80hr weeks for the last 4yrs making $14/hr and no benefits. Since starting my own restaurant I have been working 100+ hrs now for about 8 months. If things go really well I will be making at 30 what I was making when I was 22 at my former consulting firm.
Office life used to bore me and I love (and still do) love cooking and working in a kitchen. However as I am approaching 29, I miss the security, comfort, and relative easiness of my former white collar life. Starting my own business has been in some ways an amazing experience and I have learned so much but I am mostly self-funded and trying to keep a restaurant going on a shoe string budget is very very tough (I only spent $40k to open a 34 seat in Brooklyn, I can talk a little more about how I did this)
I am considering leaving the hospitality industry at some point and going back to school for an MBA. However because of my nontraditional background and age, I was wondering if I would have a fighting chance at a top business school?
Do you have a clear objective post-MBA? That would be step 1. FWIW, you have a really cool unique story and b-schools love people outside the normal finance mold.
Thank you for your reply - my objective would probably to try and get a corporate job at a big hospitality or food company, but if I got back into consulting I would like working on management of labor/capital intensive businesses
There's plenty of solid F500 companies recruiting out of good MBA programs. The next step would be to gear up for the GMAT. Your score is gonna have a big impact on your odds at a top program, although it's just one part of the application.
You definitely have a very interesting story so that will help. Just curious, if you end up moving back to office life, what will you do with the restaurant?
re: "(I only spent $40k to open a 34 seat in Brooklyn, I can talk a little more about how I did this" that'd be an interesting story, let me know if you decide to post
First, I would suggest removing "Then I worked at [ ] for about 1 year as a [ ]" as it may give away your identity. Not sure how much you care about that but just a thought.
Regardless - I think you have a very interesting background. If you sell it well enough, and maybe add something philanthropic to further diversify your profile, I think you have a good shot at solid MBA schools. Maybe not MBA business schools">M7, but you don't need to go into MBA business schools">M7 to get a solid job afterward.
I'd also consider your personal life. At 30, I think you need to also look at how your professional life will balance with your personal life. What's the path? Apply for schools, get in at 31-32, school for 2 years, maybe be a summer associate somewhere. Great, now you're going to enter in as an associate at 33-34. At best, you work 85 hour weeks for 3 more years. Then what? You get promoted to being a VP? You're 37. Are you thinking about having kids? Finding a wife? Don't get so absorbed in a career switch where you neglect this aspect of your life. You could have all these things for all I know...but just in case you don't, these are important variables IMO.
This could make for a really interesting story. Hopefully you've got a solid GPA and can deliver on the GMAT. I like the post-MBA hotel/hospitality path. It's a bit niche-y, but those jobs exist and if anyone could tell the story, you could. Download the employment reports for a few programs and look for Hilton, Marriott, IHG, etc.
Check out Cornell - I think they have a strong focus on hospitality in MBA program. You can transition to something else obviously and developed powerful skills that make you unique.
I think you are an optimal age to matriculate if you apply soon, don't dwell too much longer at the decision.
Best of luck!
You could probably work on systemizing the business correctly, and then scale it and not get stuck doing the work you hate. I would do that and focus on driving EV to where you can at least sell it through a small local business broker or something like that. That way you get full value out of it.
top undergrad, corporate background with unique story and entrepreneurial experience... with a 700+ gmat youre a dead cert for MBA business schools">m7.
keen to learn more about how you opened your first restaurant. due dilligience/market research/thought process would make a good thread.
I guess your business isn’t profitable at this point. Which isn’t a bad thing. It sounds like you are overworking yourself and not getting a return on that or counting it in pnl.
Did you look at finding a financial backer? So the business had the ability to be cash flow negative at first and you would have more time to run the business and less time doing the work?
Best of luck doing it all yourself on tight financings seems tough. Not sure you need the mba if going into hospitality I would think I a restaurant group or larger firm could see enough to already be interested.
I guess your business isn’t profitable at this point. Which isn’t a bad thing. It sounds like you are overworking yourself and not getting a return on that or counting it in pnl.
Did you look at finding a financial backer? So the business had the ability to be cash flow negative at first and you would have more time to run the business and less time doing the work?
Best of luck doing it all yourself on tight financings seems tough. Not sure you need the mba if going into hospitality I would think I a restaurant group or larger firm could see enough to already be interested.
just for kicks and giggles, what do you think the cash flow profiles are like for an elite fine-dining restaurant like eleven madison par or per se? Bet there are MASSIVE upfront costs but if a table of four booked twice a night generates $2,500 then I have to imagine the business can spin off a healthy amount of cash.
I am not sure but I know the general manager at Carbone which is kind of a fine dining Italian restaurant, JayZ and Nas are both frequent diners there, he told me they do about $30-$60k a night depending on weekday/weekend
You do. Assuming you have competitive grades as an undergrad, you will need:
It sounds like you have a great story. it may help your MBA admissions chances if you leave the restaurant and try to get a job in hotel management or the corporate side of the hospitality industry.
FYI, We recently hired as a consultant a Kellogg MBA who served on the Kellogg student admissions committee. However, her relevance to your story is that she came from the hospitality industry; she was a sales manager. Not exactly what you've been doing, but there are connections.
Again, with evidence you can handle the work and clear goals, I think you have a chance.
Much appreciated! Thank you for your advice
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