Every one of my son's friends tells me I should open a restaurant. But having created a weekend-long seminar called "How to Open a Restaurant and Make it Last," with Nobu creator Drew Nieporent, I know how hard the restaurant business can be. Last month's Entrepreneur magazine's cover story was Live the American Dream: How To Start A Restaurant. Interestingly there's not a list of do's, only a list of five don'ts: 1. Don't sign a lease if your rent ratios aren't in order or you'll be working for the landlord. 2. Don't commit to the project financially if you're not alredy committed to it conceptually, culturally, and logistically. 3. Don't ever start a project that doesn't have a genuine... More