A restaurant business is one of the most profitable business ventures you can enter – people have to eat, right? You are probably a great chef who has mastered the culinary arts of delighting people’s taste buds, but they are some things worth considering when opening a restaurant to guarantee its success. Here are 5 of them:
1. What is My Concept?
A concept is everything; it affects every decision you make about the restaurant, from the menu to the location to the decor. You could run a sports bar that caters exclusively to football fans, or you could run a rib joint that serves the best and most succulent pork ribs. Whatever concept you choose, make sure you get it right from the start because changing it later can be costly. It can even make the restaurant fail altogether.
2. Do I Have the Finances?
To make money, you have got to spend money – there is no way around this most times. Of course, the money you invest depends upon the concept of your restaurant. Coming up with a business plan that pulls all your monetary resources together is a wise choice and so is bringing on investors once you have that killer concept with the potential to generate revenue.
3. Do I have a Location?
Location is also everything. One important thing to consider here is to stay away from bad (unsafe) locations and ensure plenty of parking space. You also need to make sure the location matches your concept, otherwise, people will ignore you completely. To make your restaurant more visible, pick somewhere near a road where people will find it easier.
4. How will I Market My Restaurant?
Not marketing your restaurant is a big mistake. Having a killer concept is worthless if you can’t attract people to the restaurant. Use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Yelp), hand out leaflets, speak to surrounding businesses and ask them to come try out your lunch menu, offer discounts and host food events. Do what it takes to spread the word.
5. Do I Have the Necessary Licenses and Permits
Contact the local government and find out what licenses and permits you need to obtain to be able to operate your restaurant. Do your research so you don’t miss a step – the last thing you need is your restaurant being shut down for not having all its affairs in order. Once all the licences and permits are sorted, you can put on your culinary coat and open your doors for business.
Your love of food and ability to cook is just one of the aspects of running a successful restaurant. With careful consideration of the questions above, you can definitely open a restaurant with confidence that you know what you are doing.