How Does an Ice Cream Shop Owner Spend a Workday?

It may sound like a lot of fun, but an ice cream shop owner has a lot of responsibilities. If you have a strong background in management and enjoy a fast paced environment then opening an ice cream shop may be a dream job for you. 

An ice cream shop owner does a lot more than you may think. It's not as easy as just investing money and hoping it runs well. An owner has to deal with employees, inventory control, taxes and may even have to serve behind the counter when staff is short.

Behind the Scenes

Owning an ice cream shop or any store for that matter will require quite a bit of work behind the scenes. Duties like payroll, accounting, scheduling and keeping licenses up to date are almost always the responsibility of the owner. If the shop is franchised the owner must deal with that as well.

Counter Work

Even with a great staff it's not uncommon for the owner to have to step up and take some of the front end duties. This means an owner may have to deal with customers and serve food. With a full staff the owner may still need to deal with unruly, rude or unhappy customers. When the staff is busy attending to the customers the owner may need to step up and help restock the freezers and clean the lobby area.

Inventory Control

A lot of shops will utilize restaurant managers to help with inventory. However, a small shop or a new shop may not have a manager available right away. This means the owner will need to step up and keep up on the ordering process. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Past sales need to be checked to ensure that the stock is accurate, as well as give a better idea of how much ice cream needs to be ordered.