Finding balance: 4 essential self-care tips for restaurant owners

Owning any business can be mentally and physically demanding — particularly restaurants, which are fundamentally different from other businesses.

The ownership experience gets supersized: hours can be longer, finding reliable staff is difficult and maintaining quality with thin profit margins while keeping customers happy is a constant challenge.

Each day brings new challenges. It’s easy to let your physical, emotional and spiritual health slip while you’re juggling everything you need to do to keep your business afloat.

This is something Chef Imani Greer, the owner-operator of Roasted and Raw restaurant, knows from firsthand experience after 20+ years in the restaurant industry.

“The only way to really be successful in my business is putting spiritual, mental, physical and emotional health at the top. Those things first,” says Greer, a NEXT customer since 2020.

He’s seen what can happen when you don’t put self-care first — substance abuse issues, mental health crises and worse.

NEXT recently visited his restaurant in Oakland, California, to learn more about how he navigates the challenges of growing his business from a pop-up to a brick-and-mortar and his approach to self-care.

1. Take it day by day

“Take it day by day,” says Chef Greer. From the moment we wake up in the morning, Chef Imani suggests focusing on getting mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually prepared for the day ahead — and approaching it with a plan.

There are different things entrepreneurs can do to practice self-care and not get overwhelmed by everything happening around them. Some actions include:

• Pick your prioritized tasks for the day.
• Chunk out or schedule time for specific tasks
• Set a “focus” timer. Work on one task for a set period and give yourself a short break
• Practice the fours D’s: Do, defer, ditch or delegate

It’s also important to acknowledge that there will always be work that needs to get done, or that things won’t always be perfect. Accepting these things isn’t always easy, but showing some compassion for yourself keeps you moving forward and your mental well-being in check.

2. Prioritize yourself

Most of us learn early on that being selfless is admirable. Numerous studies have shown that helping others boosts health and well-being. However, this desire to prioritize others sometimes comes at the expense of your own health and needs.

“If you prioritize an email, a work matter, a challenge that you have with a career or even family issues — if you prioritize all those things before you prioritize yourself, it can steamroll, and it can domino into your health diminishing,” Chef Greer says.

Prioritizing self-care is necessary for restaurant owners. Feeling exhausted or emotionally depleted benefits no one. You also risk losing the passion or vision that prompted you to become a business owner in the first place.

By practicing self-care and finding healthy ways to meet your needs, you can recharge, find resiliency, lessen feelings of resentment and better extend yourself to others,

“You’re going to have 24 hours in a day. How you prioritize those 24 hours, is up to you,” says Greer.

3. Make time for exercise

While you may feel like you don’t have the time or energy to exercise as a restaurant owner, Chef Greer advises entrepreneurs to make it an important part of their lives. “Prioritize an hour or 30 minutes a day, whether it’s stretching, just getting your heart rate up, running, going for a jog, jumping jacks or sit-ups.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise is a strong stress buster. Aside from pumping up your endorphins (your body’s natural hormones that relieve pain and stress), exercise can also be meditative, helping you forget the day’s irritations as you focus on your body’s movements.

“If you just prioritize 30 minutes to an hour, at least four to five days a week, I promise your life will be just a little better,” Greer says.

4. Get enough sleep

It’s common for restaurant owners to find there are not enough hours in a day. They end up working long hours to complete work, catch up on tasks they didn’t get to during the day and figure out ways to grow — sometimes at the cost of getting a good night’s rest.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone: Around half of CEOs sleep for less than six hours a night, while founders of startups report even worse sleep conditions.

However, Chef Greer advises not to skimp out on sleep.

“I work really hard on my mental, spiritual, physical and emotional health,” he says. “So sleeping is at the highest priority for that. When I, as a chef, or as a business owner, get an adequate amount of sleep, I feel the most successful in my business.”

Studies have consistently shown that getting at least seven or eight hours of sleep every night leads to an overall better quality of life, from physical health to mental clarity. Good sleep can improve everything from your mood to decision-making.

How NEXT helps restaurant businesses

We know all the stressors of running a small business in the food-service industry — and we also know all the risks you face everyday as a business owner.

That’s we specialize in helping restaurant owners gain peace of mind with the right business insurance. NEXT creates customized restaurant insurance packages so you can get coverage that matches your specific business needs online, 24/7, whenever the time is right for you.

Our online application lets you get a quote, choose your coverage and get your certificate of insurance in about 10 minutes.

Get a free instant quote from NEXT.