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The Recipe for Wealth
Restaurateur Dan Mesches says a mentor's question changed his approach to business.
(Star Restaurant Group)
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But tired of working for someone instead of owning something, Mesches started Star Restaurant Group in 1998. "I wanted to control my destiny. I wanted to create wealth."
He became a general partner in Red Sage instead of an employee, cleaning up the balance sheet even further and buying new carpets, furniture and kitchen equipment. Then he started consulting for Delaware North, a $2 billion food service company, helping Harley-Davidson launch a restaurant at its Milwaukee museum, which opens this year.
Mesches said he hated to close Red Sage a couple of years ago, especially because the restaurant was cash-positive. But the landlord doubled the rent.
Mesches said the key to being successful is to find good mentors and follow their example. He counts Rich Mellman of Lettuce Entertain You (which owns restaurants such as Mon Ami Gabi and others) as one of his mentors. Milt Maltz, a successful and wealthy guy from Cleveland, who himself was an understudy of billionaire John Kluge, is another mentor. Maltz is an investor in Mesches' Star Restaurant Group. He also cites Bill Allen, the Outback chief executive.
"I learned something different from each one," said Mesches. "Everyone is about passion. It's that simple. Every time I made a mistake, and I made a lot of them, I was fortunate to learn from it."
What does he do with the money he earns?
"I plow money back into the businesses. I work with a guy at Morgan Stanley and invest in the future for retirement and my kids. I buy stocks and mutual funds, but mostly mutual funds. I want to worry about my own business and what I am good at."
Mesches owns some American Funds and has "a good mix of overseas, European, Asian stocks through several different funds."
"It's easy to earn money but it's also easy to lose money. But it's harder to lose wealth."
Here's his advice to would-be savers who keep putting it off:
"Just because you're making money today doesn't mean you will be making it tomorrow. Am I there yet? No. But I am getting closer."
