 |
| (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
It seems like new restaurants, fast food chains and
coffeehouse are popping up constantly, and while there will always be a demand
for restaurants and food business, it’s not so easy to launch a new one and
make it into a profitable business. You might think that it’s as simple as
renting a space, hiring chefs and servers, and purchasing equipment, but ask a
few restaurants owners and they will tell you making money from the start isn’t
quite a piece of cake.
If you’re looking to start a restaurant, you must follow the
guidelines given below, because overlooking any of these steps will seriously
hinder your chances of making it big.
Research & Niche Selection
Just like in any other business, you must avoid making
decisions based solely on your own likes and dislikes. Your expertise and
preferences will matter, but that shouldn’t be the only criterion for choosing
your niche. You need to finalize the details after conducting a through market
research. To decide between the many different types of restaurants (fast food
or formal dining, for example) and what type of food you’ll serve (soup and
sandwiches, pizza, diner food, Italian or Chinese, for example) you will have
to decipher the demand, competition and location.
Planning & Financing
Once you’ve chosen a niche, the next step is to set down a
proper business plan. While planning, don’t let the excitement or unnecessary
optimism affect your rational thinking. You will have to analyze all risks and
opportunities with a balanced mind. Because you will have to arrange finances
in advance, remember that regardless of the quality of your food and ambiance,
it will take some time before your income statement starts to show some kind of
profit, so you need to have the funds to survive that initial period.
Food & Equipment
One of the biggest expenditures in starting a restaurant
will be the restaurant equipment like tables, chairs, cookware, bakeware,
ranges, pizza ovens, grills, boilers, refrigerators, dinnerware, and the likes.
Instead of trying to cut corners with used or low quality items, you should
invest in high quality, commercial grade products and superior kitchen
equipment. When people come to a
restaurant, they want a dining experience far superior to their home dining
routine. Having said that, décor or ambience will go far, but even more
important is the food you serve. Focus on the taste, quality and cleanliness of
the food that you’re going to serve.
Marketing
The reason many restaurants fail to make it big, despite
having excellent food and an inviting atmosphere, is because the owners aren’t
really business-savvy, especially when it comes to marketing and promotions.
Remember, you cannot rely solely on word-of-mouth marketing to attract new
customers. You will have to implement aggressive marketing at least in the
first few months to get your name out. Try to make the most of the Internet,
especially social media or special deals websites to attract new customers. In
addition, you can try inserting advertisements in local newspapers, magazines,
or TV channels.
I can say starting a food business requires a lot of capital and expertise. Yet, this business can be a sure success since people don't stop eating. It is always on trend on the marketplace.
ReplyDelete