As per statistics, nearly forty six percent of restaurant employees say they would like to own a restaurant someday. Clearly, quite a few people dream of owning a restaurant! However, nobody wants to run a failing restaurant. Here are five tips any owner could implement to ensure their restaurant runs smoothly and customers keep returning. These tips may not be in any particular order of importance or applicability.
Tip #1 Start at the beginning and learn the basics
Suppose you want to own a restaurant and fortunately your grandfather and father were also owners of a bakery. You’ve been cooking, managing the affairs and have been accustomed to work under pressure. You deliver well. You seem well-prepared to be the owner of a restaurant now, no? Well, not really. Despite absorbing knowledge and learning everything, any person who wishes to manage a restaurant should be trained. It can be a chef, a manager, or even the owner.
Three pillars of competence to run any restaurant are
7 C's of communication , discipline and structure. Training is like the gloss on the wood which appears after which it has been shaved to perfection. It not only helps you specialize but also respect colleagues in areas you might not specialize in yourself.
Tip #2 Never start without the big three
No restaurant can succeed without a great chef, a great location and a great concept. This collectively is the ‘big three’. These all work together. Your location should fit your concept well. Also, your chef, or “talent,” must fit your concept.
Accessibility is everything. A great location just increases your chances of success. The most successful restaurants like McDonalds or are the most accessible in terms of location, brand and price point.
Tip #3 Always overestimate your capital needs
It is wise to plan a working capital of six to nine months from the start. You will be amazed at how quickly the expenditures add up. Many new restaurants see a major downswing in business after the opening’s initial excitement and success. Many owners seem excited when they have cash in reserve, but then cash soon becomes an issue. Cash flow falls into a negative figure. Remember, never let initial success go to your head. Success is often almost determined years down the road.
Tip #4 It’s not all about money!
Running a business is about economizing and earning profits to keep it running. However, any good cook should enjoy what he does and must be passionate for his or her work. ‘Mike enjoys bringing some Chinese for his customers from the kitchen. He loves it when couples come in for the famous Chicken chowmein he cooks with all his heart.’ Yep, that is how it should be. This helps keep motivation high and eliminates the situation where money may be the sole reason to run the business.
Use economies of scale to increase revenue rather than profits. Provide
coupons and discounts to increase the number of customers and let your restaurant be marketed by your own customers through word of mouth.
Tip #5 Simple but delicious menu-
Many restaurants too often these days offer page after page of unique food items. While this huge range to select from sounds great in theory, many people don’t need as many options to choose from. Whether it is Continental, Chinese, or even a Pizza parlor, a dozen or less main courses are enough. The key to failure is trying to please everybody. Moreover, when you offer everything under the heading of ‘food’, it becomes difficult to create amazing dishes using the absolute freshest ingredients. Instead, focus on the saying ‘Less is more’.
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