Have you always wanted to own our own restaurant? It is a dream many people have as they really think the independence of running their very own business would suit them.
If you don’t have any experience of working in a restaurant, let alone running one, you probably don’t have a clue where you should begin with setting up this business. But don’t worry, it’s not as hard as you may think. As long as you have plenty of cash behind you and enough time and effort to dedicate to the business, you should be able to easily make a success of things.
To help you get your new restaurant business up and running, read on for some super important hacks and tips!
Consider How You Will Fund Your Business
No matter what type of business someone sets up, they need plenty of cash in the bank to ensure it becomes a success. If you don’t have enough savings to use as a cushion for your business at the minute, you need to think carefully about where you will find all the required finance. One of your options is to go to the bank for a business loan. To do this, you will need to present the bank manager with a business plan. This should include how you expect the business’s profits to grow in the first few years. If the bank manager is happy with your plan and idea, then you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting the cash for your restaurant.
Think About Your Theme
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You might already have an idea for a theme for your restaurant. If not, this is something you should start to consider. Ideally, you will need to have a concrete theme so that you can mention it in your business plan. The theme might stem from the type of cuisine you want to serve in your restaurant. For example, Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants often have an Asian vibe. If you want to serve traditional American dishes, there are a few different themes you might want to go with, such as Tex-Mex or Creole. Once you think of a theme, you will be able to settle on a decor and menu.
Find A Location
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Next up, it’s time to think about looking for a location for your restaurant. Ideally, you should find somewhere where lots of people pass every day as this will increase the amount of passing custom that you get. So, in the center of a town or city is the best place to start looking. However, it’s important to remember that central locations often come with higher rents. Something else you need to consider is whether or not you will simply take over an existing restaurant or create your very own. Taking over a current restaurant’s location will be easier when it comes to setting up a kitchen and dining area as there will already be some in place. If you want to set up a restaurant in a completely new location, you will have to pay to get a kitchen installed and will need to get the building inspected to make sure it is fit for being a commercial site. As you can tell, this will be a lot more expensive and could take more time to get ready.
Who’s Going To Cook?
If you are a good cook, you might be tempted to take over the reigns in the kitchen yourself. But is that really a sensible idea? If you have never worked in a professional kitchen before, you might be completely taken aback by just how stressful it can be. However, if you are starting off with a fairly small and low-key restaurant or bistro, you might be able to cope. It’ll give you some really useful experience so that you are ready to start cooking in a larger professional kitchen once you expand your restaurant! However, most restaurant owners prefer to hire a professional chef. This way, they know that the quality of the food is going to be as good as it possibly can! Plus, it gives them plenty of chance to get on with the whole admin side of running a business. If you are hoping to open a restaurant with a particular cuisine, you should look for a chef who specializes in that particular type of food.
Hire Your Front Of House Staff
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Next, it’s time to start looking for your front of house staff. Ideally, you should hire people who have experience in working in the hospitality industry already. They will be able to hit the ground open once your restaurant opens and will have no problems dealing with busy services. If you are planning on opening a large restaurant, you will need to have plenty of staff on hand to help. So that you can stay on top of the staff rota, you might want to read an online restaurant scheduling guide so that you never have too many or too few waiters and waitresses working a shift. There are also lots of great apps that can help stay organized with your shifts and scheduling. But as well as relying on tech, you should also keep a good old paper notebook in which you write down all your shifts and table reservations, just in case something goes wrong with the tech!
Invest In Quality Items
There are a few things that you will need to buy before you can start serving up delicious meals and food. These include things like crockery, cutlery, and serving dishes. When you come to buy these types of things, it is important that you don’t scrimp on them. You should invest in top quality items that will impress all of your guests. The plates and dishes on which your restaurant serves its food will be one of the first things that diners notice. And if they don’t like what they see, it may influence their thoughts and impressions of your food. So, be sure to set aside enough cash to buy some dining ware that is sure to impress all of your diners. If they are happy with everything they see in your restaurant, then they will be much more likely to leave you an excellent review on Tripadvisor!
Get Everyone Excited On Social Media
You will no doubt want to organize a big launch event for your restaurant’s opening. It’s important that you drum up a bit of a buzz about this opening so that plenty of people turn up to it! If you don’t let anyone know that it is going to happen, you might be very disappointed with the small crowd that shows up. The easiest way to get everyone excited about your restaurant’s opening is to use social media. Set up a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for your new restaurant in the run-up to its opening. You might even want to start a social media competition to try and spread the message as wide as possible. You might also want to offer a special discount on your opening day or evening. This will attract a lot more people to come and try your food. If they are impressed, word should travel far and wide, which will help you get plenty of customers in your first few months of business!
Opening a new restaurant can be a really profitable business venture. Just make sure you follow all these tips to get it right, though!
Good luck with your restaurant, we’re sure you’ll serve up a storm!
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