When it comes to setting up a restaurant there is a lot to think about and many steps to follow to make sure your new business venture proves to be successful. To help you get off to the best possible start, we’ve put together the following guide listing all the steps you’ll need to take when setting up your own restaurant. From the initial plans and ideas to when you’re up and running, we’ve listed some of the key aspects you need to make your restaurant thrive. Keep reading to find out more.
Creating A Business Plan
As with any new business venture, you need to have a solid business plan in place before setting up your restaurant. Your business plan should include all the details and ideas for your restaurant, how you plan to set it up, your goals and ambitions for it, and your budgets. It will help you to stay on target and focused during the start-up process, as well as being a valuable tool to use in convincing any potential investors in your restaurant. You will need to put a lot of thought and time into your business plan and outline the following:
- What kind of food you plan to serve
- The design of your restaurant
- The location you want to operate from
- Your targets in terms of income
- Your expected costs for running the business
- Example that you understand some of the basic laws surrounding the restaurant industry
- How you will overcome fellow competition in the industry
- Understanding of your target audience and what they want
If you have contacts with other restaurant or business owners, then you could ask them to have a look over it for you and give you their opinion. Surrounding yourself with those that already have successful restaurants and businesses is one of the best ways for you to learn what it takes to become successful.
Forming A Budget Plan
As part of your business plan, you need to put together a budget plan. This should list all the different areas for spending when it comes to setting up your business as well as the predicted day-to-day running costs involved. You will need to cover how you plan to afford all the costs both for your own planning and financial stability, as well to show to investors. You should always have a separate fund for any unexpected costs so you always have money to fall back on should you need it in emergencies. If you’re wondering how much it costs to open a restaurant, then take a look at this article from Yelp.
Choosing The Right Premises
Picking the right premises for your new restaurant is a big decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. The location and accessibility of your restaurant is one of the biggest factors in whether it can be successful or not. You might already have a good idea of the general location you want to set your restaurant in, but make sure to do plenty of research into the best setting. This will depend on the type of establishment you’re going for. For example, if your target audience is adults, then the setting would be different than if your target audience is families. You’ll also need to consider parking, footfall, and nearby competitors. Although it can sometimes be a good idea to base yourself near other restaurants or bars, moving into oversaturated areas for restaurants can mean there is too much competition. This is where it helps to specialize in a certain type of cuisine, so you can have a unique edge.
Interior Design Of Your Restaurant
The exterior and interior design of your restaurant is worth spending time on to make sure it reflects the type of establishment you want to come across as. You can design the spaces yourself or work with a professional interior designer, just make sure the setting reflects the type of experience your target audience will want. For example, a group of friends on a meal out after drinks are unlikely to be drawn to a brightly lit, colorful, and noisy restaurant. Instead aim for soft lighting, modern and stylish designs, maybe with separate booths so people can talk together more easily.
Knowing Your Specialty
To give your business a unique selling point that makes it stand out from the crowd, as well as signature cuisine, you should try and come up with a signature dish that you can become renowned for. Good reviews and word of mouth is the best way to get customers coming back time and time again. Be sure to change your menu around regularly so customers don’t become bored with the same offerings. You can keep a few staple dishes that are particularly popular, but you need to be coming up with fresh new concepts for both food and drinks for people to try out.
Choosing The Right Team
Making sure you have a good team representing your restaurant is essential. Your front-of-house staff will be the first impression customers get of how professional your establishment is, so they need to be polite, organized, and approachable. You should also ensure your team presents themselves professionally by providing them with smart, clean, (but still comfortable and practical) uniforms. You need to pay particular attention to the chefs you choose to hire as the quality of your food is arguably the most important aspect of your business. A good chef doesn’t need to have years and years of experience, but they need to have a natural flair for the kind of cuisine you’ll be offering and a strong work ethic. Working in a kitchen is hard work, so they need to be able to keep up with the pace and pressure. Consider asking candidates for the chef role to come in and practice a few of your dishes for you to sample. This will give you a good understanding as to whether they’re the right fit or not.
Utilizing Feedback
When it comes to running a restaurant, you will receive plenty of feedback from customers that can be both positive and negative. Try not to let negative feedback knock you back too much, and instead see it as an opportunity to better your restaurant and adapt it. You should also make sure you listen to feedback from your team, they might be able to give insight into the running of the restaurant that you don’t get to see yourself.