New business idea in restaurant industry. What are my next steps?

Hi Mathew

All the best for your future. Food and clothes are best investment for business.

" Customer is KING "

Before starting i would recommend you to do some ground work on it and take mentor-ship or work in hotel/restaurant for an year to know about the management skills. I would like you to think the stream line in the restaurant to take it up and join.

You can go for franchise style restaurants like KFC, McDonald etc.... Where you have to pay them money and give them place they will built the infrastructure, raw materials, chef. You should know how to do people management. Marketing cost will be very less since people already know about the quality/quantity.

Other choice would be built up your own restaurant cost wise it will be very less when compared to Franchise restaurant. Here chef is very important person who delivers with good taste and quality. Because he is the person who will help you in getting customers in.

I would recommend you to do home science or catering to learn more about food items and get more knowledge on it.

I have shared few links which will give you good description of the business plans.

http://www.slideshare.net/hiarnavsoni/business-planrestaurant
http://www.powershow.com/view/4e43a0-ODU1O/Business_Plan_Restaurant_powerpoint_ppt_presentation

All the best!!!!!!!

Hi and thanks for asking a great question.

I'd definitely try and get a little experience under your belt- doesn't have to be a ton. Consider finding something as close as possible to your idea and getting in the door in even the most entry level position. You know what your goals are and the great thing about restaurants is you can get exposed to many aspects from almost any position.

Consider 'testing' your idea. This can be creative, really fun, and make you some money. Food trucks and pop-ups are great ways to introduce a new idea in restaurants that don't cost as much as fully opening. You'll also gather a lot of useful information that validates your idea-this can help when you're trying to raise money. Here's a good article on food trucks and pop-ups (really about how they could be models to fix schools).

https://medium.com/future-of-school/what-if-we-tested-schools-the-way-chefs-test-new-restaurants-32dc3442b26#.smwwaroys

In terms of books, here are a few must reads:

Setting the Table by Danny Meyer- on hospitality and service but really important on every front no matter what business you're in.
Restaurant Success by the Numbers- really good for basic percentages to operate successfully

Hope this is helpful!

f you’ve wanted to start a restaurant for years, it might be time to sit down and draw up a plan to open your own business. To help you create a recipe for success, we’ve put together a how-to-get-started guide to make sure you have all the ingredients you need to open your restaurant with confidence.

While starting a restaurant is exciting, it’s also time consuming and one of the toughest businesses to successfully launch. In fact, 60 percent of restaurants fail in the first year.

We’re not telling you this to temper your passion. We’re merely pointing out that if you want a successful restaurant, you’ll need to invest some serious time and money.

Why do many restaurants fail?

What’s the biggest reason for failure? Lack of planning. Before you ever make dinner for a customer, you’ll spend a lot of time figuring out every detail of your restaurant. From kitchen appliances and menus to floors plans and staff selections, the planning stage will make or break your restaurant.

To help you plan, fund, and manage your new restaurant, we’ve asked three owners to share their trade secrets. Kim Strengari owns three successful restaurants in the Philadelphia region, including Stella Blu. Yuen Yung owns fast sushi restaurants called How Do You Roll? which received a million dollar investment from the hit ABC show “Shark Tank,” and now has 10 stores in the U.S. Lambrine Macejewski, is the co-founder of Cocina 214, a contemporary Mexican restaurant in Winter Park, Florida. Below are their tips for success.

Planning:

Have the right intentions

If you want to make it as a restaurant owner, you have to love what you do, Kim Strengari says. While she knew a restaurant was the right path for her, she had to work nights cleaning office buildings to make ends meet when she first opened her restaurant.

“I wanted the restaurant more then anything else in life, so the sacrifices were endless and I never minded making them,” she says.

To be successful, you’ll invest a lot of time and money—so make sure that starting a restaurant is your passion, not just a business venture you hope will make money.

Have a solid business plan in place

You can’t scratch a business plan out on a cocktail napkin. You need a detailed business plan that charts the course for your success. That said, we suggest beginning with a “lean plan” rather than the cliché long, dry business plan.

Yuen Yung’s plan included a list of everything he would need to buy for the restaurant. “It looked like a novel by the time we were done,” he says. “But it helped us stay on budget and keep track of our capital.”

Your business plan should include market research, a comprehensive look at your competitors, explain your target audience, outline marketing plans, and offer a solid budget projection. To get you started, check out these templates specifically for restaurant planning, or check out LivePlan software that will walk you through the process.