Are you passionate about cooking? Is it your dream to open a restaurant? Launching a new eatery is an exciting prospect, but there are numerous traps many would-be restaurateurs fall into that are worth keeping in mind.
For example, as it’s a high risk environment you’ll need to make sure you have the right kind of business insurance for your restaurant to make sure you are covered against a multitude of potential pitfalls. But that isn’t the only thing you’ll need to prioritize.
Menu
When it comes to restaurant ownership, the first thing that comes to mind is the menu. Most people already specialize in certain kinds of cuisines so the decision may already be made. But if it isn’t, you should think about three important factors:
- Your target audience: What kind of food does your target audience like, for example people in the UK love curries, Chinese and foreign cuisine
- Capabilities: Even if you decide on a particular cuisine, you need to think about your knowledge of that kind of food, which means finding the right chef
- Competition: You may consider starting a Thai restaurant, but if there are already popular eateries who offer the same nearby it may be extremely difficult to get established
Equipment
One of the largest costs associated with opening a restaurant is purchasing equipment like commercial refrigerators, stoves, ovens and deep fat fryers. A few things you can do to make it cost effective are:
- Buy used equipment through a commercial equipment auction because that could save you a lot of money
- Don’t buy too much. You’ll need to keep in mind that you are a start-up and avoid overestimating your sales until you see results
- Make sure any used equipment you look at has been properly safety tested and certified
Ambiance
Having the right ambiance can make a whole lot of difference to any restaurant – it’s what differentiates a Michelin-starred bistro and a high street take away. So you’ll need to make sure you have the right kind of atmosphere in line with your menu. Playing suitable background music is also important because people don’t want to hear loud music while they are dining.
Keeping these basics in mind, I‘m sure you will be able to get your foot in the door and hopefully carve your way to developing a successful restaurant.
More information about Business Insurance (from James Kirkham): http://www.moneysupermarket.com/business-insurance/
More Information about Equipment Auction (from James Kirkham): http://www.rsmauctioneers.co.uk/
This guest post is courtesy James Kirkham. He is a small business entrepreneur and money saving expert.