The people who are successful are the people that work hard and are at their restaurant all the time. And you've either got to have experience, or you have to hire people that are excellent at their jobs and who you can trust completely
You're right on, there. We took a shot at running something as a side business a few years back, but since we had neither of the things you mentioned, it failed miserably.
My grandfather was a pretty successful club/restaurant owner. I asked my dad how he did it, and basically he was a very personable guy who busted his ass 18 hours a day.
His biggest problem was no matter how fast he made money, my grandmother could spend it faster.