The attitude, 'I'm working for an uncaring capitalist bastard who's exploiting the working masses' is disturbingly prevalent. That is, for every four dollars you have invested in time and money in your business, you should get one dollar return each year. Unfortunately, very few hospitality businesses are meeting these targets. A depressingly large proportion of the industry is struggling along, just making ends meet. I see plenty of restaurants that are doing good trade but are not profitable.
Economic circumstance can change very fast.
I find that businesses that do not keep tight financial control and establish their profit or loss on at least a monthly basis seldom make much money. If you want to realise these potential gains you have to be prepared to alter your business philosophy and adopt a policy of 'open books'. This means you have to share your financial information with your staff. If they are not trained to appreciate the reality of your financial performance, they will default to the mistaken belief that you are making a fortune, and will not look after the pennies. I've come to this conclusion after structuring and working with many businesses.