Why Now Is The Time To Open Your Restaurant
If anyone ever told you that opening a restaurant was a way to make quick money, you should go back and ask them where you can get some of whatever they are on! While opening a restaurant may seem like a great idea, it is easy to overlook potential obstacles when you’ve got your rose colored glasses on. Fortunately, opening your dream restaurant is possible. Many people have opened successful restaurants and have thriving businesses. This is evident when you look around your town or city! Nowadays, it seems like there is never a shortage of places to grab a bite to eat. No matter what kind of food you want to serve, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your restaurant will be a success from day one.
According to Entrepreneur, “Shifting demographics and changing lifestyles are driving the surge in food-service businesses. Busy consumers don’t have the time or inclination to cook.” This means that now is as good a time as ever to open up the next vegan pizzeria, coffeehouse, or pub. No matter what you serve, there is going to be someone who will want to eat your food. That being said, there is one thing you need before you ever decide on a name or go on to a restaurant supply site. You must know your who your customers are!
Knowing Your Customer Equals Success
Business News Daily cites several ways to get to know your customer. When you know who is going to want your type of food, what they like, where they live, and which restaurants they already frequent, you go in with a heads up on the competition. Being able to get people in your doors and keep them coming back is a big part of restaurant success. This starts before you even buy the building. Location will play a big part in the success of your dream restaurant. When you set up shop where your customers already are, they don’t have to find you. They will come to you the first time out of curiosity and hopefully they will return because they love your food. The Balance Small Business cites a bad location as one of the top ten reasons that restaurants fail in the first three years.
What You Need
While starting a restaurant is a an exciting a daunting task, having a general idea of what it takes to open one is a good place to start. While every type of restaurant is going to have some different needs, here is a general list of many common needs that restaurants have.
- Chefs and Cooks: Perhaps the most vital part of the restaurant, chefs and cooks are the key players in creating your product: food. Be sure to hire a chef that is familiar with the type of food you want to serve. Most restaurants start with three cooks.
- Servers: Great service is everything in the restaurant industry. Having servers who know what they are doing and do it well can increase customer satisfaction. Good food and terrible service probably won’t create a returning customer, but great service and a flubbed order might give you a second chance at acquiring that customer.
- Manager: Experience is key here. This person will know the restaurant inside and out, be knowledgeable about where to buy products, and about how to supervise employees.
- The Menu: As the centerpiece of your entire operation, your menu should reflect the style of your restaurant, and be catered to your customers’ wants and needs.
- A marketing strategy: Getting people into your restaurant is probably the hardest part in having a successful restaurant. By developing a marketing strategy, you have a better chance of getting your hungry customers into your door!
