How to Make Progress as Fast as Possible in Hospitality

By Daniel Zolinski | October 29, 2024

I’m sitting here at my desk on this beautiful, yet cold day in Michigan. My hands can’t seem to warm up, which is why I’m hopeful all this typing will help.

There’s a common dilemma everyone faces when trying to build a hospitality business. It’s the thing that slows down or entirely halts progress. It’s the idea that business must be complicated. Oftentimes, we look for complex solutions to simple problems to avoid work. Odds are you know exactly what needs to be done. You may be telling yourself that you aren’t ready yet, that you need to learn more, or you need an exact method to follow to see results. This is your mind playing tricks on you. It can be scary stepping into something new that requires a different version of yourself. This new version of yourself comes with additional pressure. “What if I acquire a new client and run into a problem?” “What if my marketing and sales strategy is awful?”  You can stay where you’re at and fool yourself into thinking you aren’t ready, but the stars will never perfectly align until you take the imperfect action.

This is exactly where I was 2 years ago. I was driving myself insane working at a place that didn’t provide me with any satisfaction while I dreamt of having my own company. Finally, I had enough and took an imperfect action. One after the other finally led me to the day that I sat in a car dealership, waiting for the oil change to be made, when I closed my first client over the phone. Reminiscing on the days of building my business reminded me of three important takeaways you can incorporate into your own:

Takeaway 1: Imperfect Action Over Perfect Inaction.

There is heartache, disappointment, and stress in a moment of failure, but there is more stress and disappointment when you don’t try. It is only through failures that you gain clarity. It is through imperfect action that you gain the confidence required to continue trying until your desired results come.

Takeaway 2: Love the Process.

There is something we all continue to face, and that is doing things we don’t want to do. There are probably things in your own hospitality company that you don’t feel like doing, but forcing yourself to get over that mental hurdle will accelerate your progress over your competition.

Takeaway 3: Use Results as Fuel

Moments do come when the hard work, the mental fatigue, and the lonely nights you endured pay off. The pay off can come in different forms, such as monetary, health, relational, or inner peace. Take full advantage of these moments. Become fully present and feel proud of yourself. This doesn’t mean that you should become complacent. It should serve as a reminder that you had everything you already needed to get what you once dreamt of having. Keep going.