Restaurant Business: How to Get Things Done Right

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Managing a restaurant business can be difficult at times but if you are willing to learn, you can turn your hospitality service into a success. From furnishing the restaurant to selecting the right staff, properly running a restaurant business has several steps and phases you need to go through in order to get things done right.

Money Makes the World Go Around

You need huge sums of money when starting a restaurant but running it from day to day is far less expensive. However, you still need to take care of financing early on.

Whether it’s a savings account or a bank loan, you need to have enough money to open a restaurant and be able to keep the doors open for at least three months.

Essentially, your restaurant is a startup that can’t fund itself for the first couple of months. After this critical period passes, you still have to keep a tight grip on the restaurant’s finances.

Have a Solid Restaurant Business Plan

Just like any business, restaurant owners need a solid business plan. Apart from the standard items found in every business plan, the most important issue in the hospitality business is deciding which type of restaurant you want to open.

Will your restaurant be a roadside diner or a fine dining establishment? Also, what kind of food you plan to serve: national cuisine, seafood, vegetarian? Will you have delivery and which percentage of your business will ready-made meals take? These are just some of the most important questions a solid business plan has to cover.

The Location Sells (Food)

A restaurant owes its success to two groups of people: the staff and its customers. The latter won’t come and visit you if the location is poor. If you cannot the right location straight away, our advice is to postpone the grand opening until you land a more appealing space.

The location ensures the restaurant always have guests, even during the slow hours. Keep in mind that you will always have to sacrifice an amenity for every location you pick. Downtown restaurants get a lot of foot traffic but parking spots are hard to find.

On the other side, a restaurant on a picturesque spot has plenty of room to park but few clients live about. Just like adding seasoning to food, it’s all about balance when it comes to choosing the right location for your restaurant business.

Choose a Theme

Once the restaurant space is ready, it’s time to furnish it. To be unique, we recommend you choose a particular theme. A 60s diners or a rustic design; it’s entirely up to you but every detail should reflect the overall theme. Of course, don’t neglect workplace safety and place anti-fatigue mats behind the counter and in front of refrigerators. If the waiters and cooks can’t enjoy the atmosphere, neither will prospective guests.

Hiring Excellent Staff

Restaurant owners usually have a rough idea of the staff they want to hire but as the opening hour closes (ironically), they realize they will need to hire extra waiters or one more chef. To prevent this from happening, place an ad week in advance to have enough time to choose the best staff.

Ideally, the workforce should consist of both young individuals and seasoned professionals who can train staff. Inside the kitchen where all the magic takes place, the most important selection is the executive chef. He or she needs to possess excellent managerial skills to run a restaurant’s kitchen and come up with a mouthwatering menu.

Make a Marketing Strategy

Just like you have meticulously handpicked the right staff and selected the overall theme, you need t come up with a solid marketing strategy. Just like the business plan, you can hire professionals to advertise your business.

This is a good choice, as there are so many chores and tasks ahead of you that you might easily forget to post on Facebook or Instagram. The biggest marketing challenge is getting people to come in throngs on the opening night. If this event goes well, old-school word of mouth advertising will help people hear of your restaurant.

Running a restaurant business is a real challenge because there are so many aspects to it. From procurement to training staff, a business owner constantly feels under pressure. Therefore, you should act as the manager only for the first couple of months and then outsource this position to professionals. Instead of an entrepreneur, you should become a coordinator, which is a far less stressful post.

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Emma Williams

Emma Williams is an Australian writer with a master‘s degree in business administration, who has a passion for anything lifestyle and design related. She spends most of her time redecorating and participating in house projects. As a great nature lover, her biggest pleasure is spending time in a small cottage by the river.