All Those Who Haven't Dreamed of Owning A Restaurant Or Bar Can Leave Now

As a multi-concept restaurant owner and author, I know the sleepless nights you spend thinking of serving the masses great food or rubbing elbows with your congenial guests in a packed pub. It's a dream of all smiles, aromas and full tables of satisfied customers.

Reality is much different. People can warn you over and over about the difficulty of starting and owning a restaurant, but the dream is too strong. You will do it anyway.

At the very least give yourself a chance to survive. Remember a restaurant is a business like any other and food has less to do with it than you think. When my first restaurant business started off with total focus on serving exceptional food, I was satisfied customers would soon come by the dozens. They didn't.

Fortunately, I had previous entrepreneurial experience and a history of running businesses. My first plan was to re-write the plan. and that is the beginning of a long process that should have started on the day I decided to turn my dream into reality.

If you want to give yourself a chance to survive here are a few basics;

1) Write a comprehensive business plan.

2) Include a cash flow statement on a best case and worst case scenario.

3) Prepare a marketing plan that covers at least the first six months of operations.

4) Lack of capital causes more restaurant failures than any other single cause. Make sure you are prepared.

5) Get all the input you can from accountants, attorneys, other restaurateurs and anyone who will listen.

6) Location is the second most frequent reason restaurants fail. Know why and how your location will work with the demographics of your guests.

Notice I don't have anything about "good" food and catchy menus. The fact is that few restaurants fail because of bad food. Most food related issues are due to lack of understanding what your prospective customers' expectations will be.

Plan every detail. Know your guests and get as much help as possible. The hospitality business is difficult. Just ask the owners of the 60% of the new restaurants who fail every year. Follow these simple guidelines and learn the business before you embark on your adventure in the restaurant business.

Improve your odds and keep that dream alive.

Larry Edger is the author of The Restaurant Ebook. Complete details on the subjects above are available at http://www.therestaurantebook.com along with many more resources for restaurant owners.

Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb
Ytocrb