So you're looking to start a restaurant? It seems like you're not alone, there appears to be more and more restaurants trying to break into a competitive hospitality industry every year. Taking on this new exciting venture is not to be underestimated, whether you are a seasoned business professional or you have just graduated university, starting a restaurant is not easy but the rewards are worth it. Let's take a look at some of the things you will need to do to open your dream restaurant.
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Proper planning will increase the chances of you becoming part of a positive statistic, there isn’t only one reason that many restaurant's struggle, rather a myriad of issues which ultimately result in only a small percentage making it past the 5th year.
What many budding restaurateurs fail to do is research thoroughly - according to Dr HG Parsa, 60% fail within 3 years resulting in debt and a lot of heartache. Before you start preparing food for your diners, you need to figure out several things first; from kitchen appliances to location, menu, financing, and layout, opening a restaurant requires a mountain of research.
There is research to suggest that different generations have different dining habits, it pays to understand what a particular demographic wants in order to cater to their needs accurately. Take the millennial generation, for example; research suggests that in comparison to any generation before, millennial's are most likely to eat out at restaurants and seek convenience. If you decide this is the generation you want dining at your restaurant, understanding their dining habits is essential to increasing your profitability.
Gain hands-on experience in developing menus, ordering supplies, managing personnel and implementing marketing campaigns, as doing this will give you considerable insight into the ins and outs of the day to day life within the restaurant business. Many
Looking for marketing ideas? Here are 4 Effective Ways To Market Your Restaurant
A business plan has many uses, not only is it essential in securing investment should you need it, but there is also the added benefits of foreseeing potential problems before they arise. A detailed business plan covers many areas relating to every part of your new venture, as you research and build your business plan you will detail everything from restaurant marketing strategy to who will be supplying your food.
Creating a business plan is not an overnight process, as you build your plan you will learn about how every department in your restaurant will operate and how it will play its part in the success of the business. You will also understand the local competition and create a strategy on how to beat them, and win a market share in your area.
Let's take a look at some of the essential ingredients which make up a restaurant business plan.
Executive Summary
Company Description
The company description explains the particulars of your business plan, such as the style of restaurant you want to create and the legal name as well as the ownership and management personnel. This section should also set out your vision for the company and outline clear objectives you want to achieve. Other basic information such as location and the target demographic should also be included here.
Market Analysis
Competition
Rather self-explanatory, this area is the study of your competition. You are always going to have serious competition, especially in the hospitality industry. Your competitive analysis should provide answers to questions such as, who are your competitors? What are their opening hours? What share of the market do they have? Detail the challenges that they could pose to your business venture.
Marketing Plan
Management and Ownership
Who is going to take care of your venture? Will you find an expert to manage the restaurant or are you going to do it on your own? Explain the roles of the different staff members which are part of the management team. If you already have somebody on-board who has agreed to manage the restaurant, you can explain how they are the right person to lead the business.
Unique selling point (USP)
A USP is something that makes people see that your restaurant - for example a unique product, service or concept. To fully make the most of your USP, you need to make your restaurant 'dance around it' - for example, the USP of a restaurant called 'burgers and beers', based on homemade beers and the best quality meat, may be designed with beers and burgers on the wall, with a menu of 15 burgers and 10 homemade beers. They could then utilise their social media to post content about how they make their beers, the differences in their burgers etc. This is 'dancing around your USP'. You're sure to make your customers remember you with a strong USP in place!
If just thinking about a business plan gives you a headache then click here for a free guide provided by the UK government.
Profiling is also a great way to create a successful menu. This involves creating a market profile - a set of attributes relating to a target population. These characteristics can include religion, income, age, countries of origin and life styles. This information will allow you to create a menu that will fit into the area of your restaurant. It can also help to decide on a price-range and atmosphere.
Before you design your menu, understand the relationship between the size of your menu and the kitchen size. A smaller kitchen size means that you shouldn’t be biting off more than you can chew by having an unrealistically large menu. Spend plenty of time researching your dishes, understand how many you can produce and whether you can meet the potential demands of your diners.
It's also crucial that you practise and experiment with every dish at home before it goes on the menu. You could also provide a limited menu to friends and neighbours at a reduced price so you can get feedback on your dishes, to help you to tweak and fine-tune recipes.
Take a look at 4 Tips For Creating a Successful Restaurant Menu
Menu Layout
The layout of your menu speaks volumes about your restaurant. Whether you go for a formal, playful or casual design, make sure it encapsulates the dining experience.
The colour scheme and font should reflect your restaurant’s style. For instance, if you are starting a French bistro, a plain font or a classic script font may be more appropriate than something bold and brash. If your concept is sports, a bold and playful font may be more appropriate. The same applies to the colour scheme; If you are launching a Mexican restaurant for example, you may want to use bright colours to reflect the vibrant culture.
How often should you change your restaurant's menu? Find out here
Menu Pricing
Menu Descriptions
A menu description should be both enticing and vivid; you want to make sure your descriptions give your diners a tough time deciding between dishes as they all sound so good! This is another case of finding a balance; descriptions should be simple however they should be creative enough to make diners lick their lips with the thought of ordering one of your dishes.
Ready to design your menu? Check out 4 Tips For Designing Your Restaurant Menu
Check out or Restaurant Sustainability Guide
Many restaurants are now seeing the benefits of becoming sustainable. As you are opening a brand new restaurant you can catch your competitors napping, start adopting sustainable practices from the day you launch.
Carbon Free Dining is a United Nations-backed initiative which is sure to create a feel-good factor around your diners and staff. Carbon Free Dining is free and very simple, one life-changing fruit tree will be planted in a developing country for every bill that is presented. Your diners can counterbalance the carbon impact of their meal while also helping put an end to poverty.
To learn more and request more information simply click here.
Visibility Is Paramount
Setting up a business where there is a high car and foot traffic is essential to bring in new business, although often costly to rent or purchase a building in a prime area, having plenty of eyes on your restaurant is essential to enticing passing diners. Although having the right location is crucial, there is little point in having a restaurant which has a dull and drab exterior. Attractive signage and a welcoming facade will increase your visibility and stand you in good stead for attracting those hungry passers-by.
Easy Access
Size Matters
Even the smallest restaurants require enough space for the kitchen, dry storage, the dining area, bathrooms, and the office. Therefore, ensure the premise will cater to your needs and also provide some room to scale, after all, you’re going to be a success right?
Local Competition
Take Your Time
Don’t settle for the first location you visit. Make sure you visit multiple areas before making your decision. Traffic, competition, access and pricing will be different at each location, ensure you thoroughly study each option. Especially if the areas you are considering are unfamiliar, speaking to local business owners and residents is a great idea.
Ready to design your restaurant? Check out 4 Popular Restaurant Design Trends
For you to run and manage a successful restaurant, you must have staff members that are equipped with various talents and skills. Staffing has always been a challenge facing restaurant owners, a high turnover of staff in the hospitality industry continues to be a problem. In fact, in a recent study over 30% of restaurant owners stated that staffing is their biggest challenge.
Let's take a look at what positions you may need to fill in your restaurant:
Front of House Positions
The front-of-the-house staff members have the most contact with your diners, they should be friendly and professional as well great problem solvers to deal with issues which may arise. The people you hire should be willing to handle customer complaints efficiently and encompass your restaurant values at all times. Some of the front-of-the-house service positions you may need include:
When hiring for these positions, consider the concept of your restaurant. An outgoing server may not be the right fit in a quiet family restaurant. Regardless of the kind of restaurant you operate, the individual should understand your menu like the back of their hand.
Back Of House Positions
Back of house positions include:
The high-paying positions like the chef and accountant require experienced individuals. The chef must be able to bring your vision to life, not an easy task. They should also be good time managers and practice high-level hygiene and safety. You can decide to hire non-kitchen employees like an accountant for a few days in the month instead of employing on a permanent basis. This will depend mainly on the flow of work in your restaurant.
Speciality Positions
Besides the high-end restaurants, most of the other eateries do not have a specific person assigned to the role. Instead, one member of staff is trained to take up multiple positions.
Check out 4 Tips To Hiring The Best Restaurant Staff
New restaurants should be advertising before the doors are open to the public, you need to shout from the rooftops that their is a new restaurant in town. Before you start running social media campaigns or posting ads on Google, have a solid understanding of your target market. Are you hoping to bring in business people, families or college students? Once you are sure of your target demographic, you can now design ads that are tailored to meet their needs.
Social Media
Take a look at 4 Tips To Attract More Diners
Promotions
Looking for the edge on your competition? Check out our Restaurant Marketing Guide