A lot of people dream about opening their own restaurant, because they have passion for food and catering and it is a good way of making profit.
But little did they know that the work load is quite heavy for new comers, especially the ones who fail to plan properly before starting up their restaurant business, causing the restaurant to deteriorate after a year or two.
Running a restaurant is not as easy as it may seem. New restaurants fail because they have no plan to manage problems and lack understanding on the cost of starting a good restaurant business.
There is need for a business plan when starting a restaurant just as every other business requires.
A business plan gives potential investors a summary of the startup process and successful running of your restaurant.
A written business plan would provide a fortuity plan when problems arise.
A business plan may also be important in securing a location for your restaurant and obtaining a liquor license in the case of a microbrewery.
A lot of good restaurant business plans are of five main parts, so if you are looking to write a good business plan for your restaurant business, you should consider the following.
Executive Summary
This section is considered the preamble of your restaurant’s business plan because it contains a brief outlook about the restaurant.
The Executive Summary should place emphasis on the important parts in all the other sections of your business plan.
This part should contain fundamental information on your restaurant such as business name, details of the business as well as goals and aspirations and location.
The executive summary of your business plan should portray the main idea of your restaurant to investors.
Venture capitalists should be able to have a reasonable extent of understanding your business plan from just reading the executive summary.
Restaurant Description
This is the part where you state the type of restaurant you want to start up, you can decide to start up a fast food restaurant, casual dining restaurant, ethnic restaurants, family style restaurants, barbecue, buffet , cafe, cafeteria, table top cooking or a special kind of cuisine which is sometimes associated with culture, local ingredients and geographic location.
Cuisines include; French, Italian, African, Chinese, Jewish, Hindu and many more.
The system of service in your restaurant should be included in this aspect of your business plan.
Special service type is mostly required in a fine dining restaurant and table top restaurant where full serving skills are required.
Quick service restaurants such as ethnic and fast food restaurants would require a low scale planning as cost of food and services are reduced.
You can also include a research on your regional competitors and ways to trounce them.
Marketing Strategy
This section of a business plan is sometimes referred to as market analysis, which can further be broken down into;
Industrial analysis: As described above this part should contain a description of your customers and the kind of food and services you offer.
Would you cater for children? Also explain why customers would prefer your restaurant to that of competitors.
Regional competitors: Research on competitors around regarding their menu, pricing, and ways to attract their customers to your restaurant.
Marketing and advertising strategy: Starting up a restaurant and managing it is one task and attracting customers is another.
Restaurants are everywhere, almost in every corner. So you can look for ways to attract more customers, like you may decide to discount prices for kids or during special occasions and through social media.
Operations and Management
This part of your business plan should give details on how many hours you intend to work, the number of employees you want to hire and how much you intend paying them.
Explain the functions and duties of each employee you want to hire, ranging from the manager to the cleaners.
It is very important that your business plan contains methods to check the progress of your business, keep tabs to ensure what goes out of the business isn’t lesser than what comes in.
Employ the services of an accountant and manager and other business personnel if necessary.
Financial Data
If you do not have enough funds to start up your restaurant, it is important for you to take into account the source of your startup capital; you may consider external sources such as;
Finance from family and friends: If you have a close friend or family member you will like to borrow from, it is advisable to carry out a formal transaction to avoid future complications.
Partners: Partnership in a restaurant may be of two types, a partner who wants to assist in the set up and running of the business or an investor who wants to part in the daily running of the business except when necessary or when demanded.
Banks: Acquiring a bank loan is a very good source of startup capital, but there are a few difficulties associated with acquiring a bank loan as banks are indifferent when it comes to fresh restaurants or new comers. Also, a lot of restaurants fail within their first year of startup and individuals would still be required to pay up the loan.
I hope with this you should be able to write a good business plan on how to start up your restaurant.
Starting up a new restaurant may seem to be fraught with danger and risk but a good restaurant business plan would help prevent failure and aid smooth running of the business.
Your business plan should be updated and analyzed regularly as it is not just a preplanning activity.
Good luck to you in starting your restaurant.