Start a Restaurant

When it comes to writing a quality restaurant business plan it is important to be prepared and to do plenty of research before sitting down to write the business plan.

The more information you can gather about the proposed business the better position you will be in when it is time to actually create that restaurant business plan.

While there are certain elements, like a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow analysis, that will be part of any business plan, the restaurant industry presents its own unique set of challenges, and that means that the restaurant business plan will likely contain a number of elements not included in other kinds of business plans.

==The Number Of Excellent Resources==

There are a number of excellent resources available to make the process of creating and planning a restaurant business plan at least a little bit easier.

For instance, the many business planning guides, business books and business publications available at the local and online bookstore can contain a wealth of information on how to create a restaurant business plan that will get the attention, and the money, that is needed to get the new business up and running.

==Using The Internet For Advice==

In addition to these offline sources, there are a number of excellent restaurant business plan examples available on the internet. The internet is a great source of information on all kinds of business topics, including how to write a restaurant business plan and get a new restaurant off the ground.

In addition, there are a number of excellent web sites that provide a great deal of information on creating a business plan, along with some excellent sample restaurant business plans that can be easily changed and customized.

==Software Packages On The Internet==

In addition to these sources of restaurant business plan there are a number of software packages on the market specifically designed to allow business owners to write a quality restaurant business plan. (more…)

If you’ve been looking into starting a restaurant business, this could be the information you need to become successful. Anyone who has never worked in a restaurant before can really understand how difficult it can be to make something like this successful. It doesn’t matter if it’s the food, the bar area, the employees or even the distributors, every facet of the business has to be complete or your new venture won’t run smoothly.

This is why learning How to Start a Restaurant Business can make or break you within the first two years. However, we came across this profitable system that delivers a success rate over around 80% according to their sales page. This is enough to have us take a deeper look and find what exactly you can learn and accomplish from using this program. The results are quite interesting.

The Last Thirty Years Have Been Crazy

Let’s face it. Restaurant sales have gone up tremendously over the last thirty years. When you look on their sales page, you’ll find a snapshot of the progression that has taken place over the last three decades. What started out as 42.8 billion dollars has now risen to 558.3 billion dollars. We aren’t great mathematicians or anything, but that type of increase is definitely monumental. (more…)

As you may have guessed restaurant loans are taking a serious beating in the current credit crisis. A year ago, and even 6 months ago there were many options. In fact, 30 year fixed programs on restaurant loans where an option, stated income commercial loans where available, borrowers with very low and or no net income could still get decent restaurant loans. Even borrowers with other issues like bad credit could find restaurant loans.

Now almost all of these creative options have frozen up and or are simply gone. What’s left are traditional loans. Primarily SBA commercial loans and a few, scattered, and only for very strong borrowers, conventional commercial mortgages. With these types of options, restaurant owners are going to have to start planning for the future and be more conscious of playing the traditional game. In other words, you’ve got to show some income! If you don’t show any income on your tax returns you’re not going to get a loan.

If for example you know you have a loan ballooning soon or if you’re in the process of expanding locations you’ve got to tell your CPA now to start showing some income. Yes you might increase the amount of tax you will have to pay but the alternative could be much more expensive. (more…)

Restaurant owners have limited options for commercial mortgages, relative to other businesses and building types. One of the most common options is the SBA loans. Although not perfect, they can be a viable option. For one, they are still reliable and are still closing. Two, they do offer some of the lowest fixed rates available and the highest level of financing for restaurant loans.

Interest rates for restaurant loans are currently in the mid 6%’s to mid 7%’s depending on the particulars of the transaction. Combine that with 85% financing on purchases AND 85% financing on refinances and it is easy to see why the SBA has had such a huge impact on American Small Businesses.

Compare that to traditional bank financing, rates are about the same, but you would have to come out of pocket 30-40% of the purchase price. Refinance financing is more limited and harder to close and loan to values are normally capped at 50-60% as well. Again with the SBA programs you can go up to 85% loan to value on refinances on restaurant loans.

The SBA programs have received a lot of criticism over the years, some of it warranted, some of it not. One of the biggest complaints is the time frame and bureaucratic process. A key to avoiding the long delays is to work only with PLP lenders. If you do not your loan will have to be underwritten and approved twice, once by the funding bank and secondly by the SBA. If you work with a PLP lender the loan will only have to be underwritten once, and you will avoid at least one month of delays. It is common to close SBA loans in 60 days which is right in line with all commercial loans. (more…)

The first step in starting a restaurant is proper planning. One must lay out a plan complete with goals, priorities, and the tasks that he will need to complete in order to achieve these goals. The biggest mistake first time restaurant owners make is improper planning. Ambition, while absolutely required, is simply not enough to succeed in the highly competitive food service industry.

If you’ve always wanted to run a Cajun restaurant, and you live in an area that already has five, do you have to relocate to accomplish your dream? Not necessarily! It’s now time to engage in a bit of opposition research. Drive by each of the locations during varying parts of the day. Are there many cars in the parking lots? At what times? Are many people standing in the lobbies? If so, then this restaurant is doing something people like, and these patrons are thanking the restaurant owner with their wallets. If you see that a particular restaurant is more popular than others, discover why by visiting their establishment during peak hours. Dine in, have the waiter recommend their best dish. Pay attention to every aspect of the experience.

The food should be an area of concentration of course, but there are several other factors that can turn wonderful food into a wonderful experience. How do the servers present themselves? How spaced out are the tables? What type of centerpiece is on your table? All of these factors are vital, and are what makes or breaks a new restaurant. By no means should you overlook the atmosphere of your dining area while planning your restaurant. (more…)

Starting to run your own restaurant is a very exciting time. However, it is also very stressful and can become even worse if you don’t know what you’re doing and what you need to do after you start up your restaurant.

For a startup you will need to have a definite plan and then you’ll have to make sure that you follow the plan every step along the way. Your plan should include financial goals, getting a mentor and following his/her suggestions, and operational goals.

The first thing you need to do is figure out how much money it will take to get started with your restaurant. You need to make sure you are realistic with all the costs. Don’t try to cut corners and think that you’ll be able to keep costs lower than you really will be able to. If you are unrealistic during this stage, you are doing noting more than setting yourself up for failure.

Once you have the plan in place for your startup then you need to make sure you actually stick to the budget. You don’t want to overspend and put yourself in a hole at any point during the process of opening your restaurant. You also want to make sure you continue to follow your budget with the daily operations of your restaurant.

Speaking of daily operations, you also need to plan and then go forward with how you will run your business on a daily basis. You want to plan how you’ll acquire proper sources for your foods, what sales goals you’ll have, and how you plan to keep and meet the sales goals after you launch your restaurant. (more…)

So you’re planning to open your own business. And you know that you need to have a business plan of some kind. But what you don’t know is if you should opt for restaurant business plan software or whether you should write out your plan by hand. Well, here’s some information that can help you.

Any business plan you write out needs to include the same information and for every restaurant there may be slightly different information that is needed. All the information included in a restaurant plan has to be specific and honest. No stone can be left unturned when making a plan. The last thing you want to happen is for something unexpected to arise when you’re halfway through opening your restaurant.

You may be tempted to use restaurant business plan software for planning because it seemingly makes everything very easy. However, when planning your restaurant, which is your very future, do you really want easier way to be the major factor in how you choose to put together a business plan? Hopefully you don’t.

While business plan software will make it easier for you to input your plans, it will not make it easier to actually implement those plans. It also won’t allow you to make your plan yourself, by hand, which will give you time to think about everything and contemplate it as you are writing.

Since making a business plan for your restaurant is a personal thing, you really should try to keep it on a personal level. And the best way to keep it on a personal level is to write the plan by hand. There is nothing more personal in writing then actually putting pen to paper and writing down everything. (more…)

We’ve covered the basics of writing a restaurant business plan in another article, but here are some more tips to help you really make your plan pop and create an extremely positive impression on your partners, lenders or investors when you present it for their inspection.

Do add an extensive appendix

You can throw everything in here you can think of- the more there is, the more you give the impression you have been hard at work on gathering info, doing research and generally getting things started as opposed to simply wishing it was going to happen.

You can include things like a sample menu, marketing materials, sample coupons, a supplier list, a staff list, an equipment list, floor plans or blueprints, decorating item photos, uniform samples, a printout of the restaurant website design, the sign design, the restaurant logo, sample printed materials, your incorporation papers, a copy of your health permit, and literally anything else handy.

Do recruit and list an advisory board

The more people you can attach to the project, the more considerable it looks. Try to find people with extensive restaurant experience, business experience or preferably both. They don’t have to agree to do anything more than meet with you occasionally to review your progress and allow you to use their names as advisors. The more the better.

Don’t worry about fancy binding

It really makes no difference. This is one area that people simply don’t care about. It is what inside the cover that counts.

Do include financial projections

You can tell a great story, but sooner or later any serious investor or banker wants to talk numbers. Not including solid and industry standard financial projections in your plan makes it look amateur at best or like you are hiding something or simply don’t know at worst. (more…)

A well-conceived, professional restaurant business plan is your greatest single asset for turning your restaurant dreams into reality. If you are starting a restaurant, write the plan before your first day, this can be as simple as an idea written on the back of a paper napkin.

Restaurant business plans are a means to achieving aggressive goals, establishing policies and procedures, developing a cohesive model that covers every aspect of the business from the kitchen to the front of the house.

A plan is absolutely essential for a restaurant venture to obtain funding and have any real chance for success. Your plan is the script of how your restaurant will look and function when it’s done. In short, many restaurateurs say that having a sound business plan was the single most important ingredient in making their new business a reality.

Do you need a restaurant business plan software programme to write a business plan?

It is not critical, but it can make life a lot simpler. To help you choose the best restaurant business plan software for you, you need to learn about some of the more popular programmes and what they can do for you.

Generally, restaurant business plan software contains spreadsheets, templates and forms relevant to the hospitality industry. It even does the maths for you, just plug in your numbers and the software will do the rest. This software will help you develop an effective system that takes care of all your business operations.

To solve your marketing issues, some restaurant business plan software provides you with promotional templates, sample-advertising flyers, bill fold advertisements and even discount voucher templates. (more…)

There are many ways to make a living of course, but opening a business is one of the best ways to become wealthy.

Creating a business is not easy, and opening a restaurant without a solid restaurant business plan to guide you would simply be foolish.

Adding All Of The Pertinent Information To Your Business Plan

After all, a restaurant business plan will be the first document any potential lenders, investors or partners want to see, and the restaurant business plan will also serve as an important guideline as the business moves forward.

It is therefore vital to put as much pertinent information into the restaurant business plan as possible.

Hiring And Retaining Good Employees

Some of the factors on which that restaurant business plan should focus include the business owner’s plans for finding, hiring and retaining the most talented chefs and cooks in the industry.

The restaurant business is known for being a highly competitive one, and it is important that the restaurant business plan spell out exactly how the business owner plans to find not only the best chefs but the best waiter staff, management and support staff as well.

Detailing The Type Of Food You Will Serve At Your Restaurant

The restaurant business plan should also provide details about what kinds of food the new restaurant plans to serve. Some restaurant owners will focus on a serving a wide variety of fine American cuisine, designed to appeal to a variety of different tastes.

Other restaurant owners will choose to serve a more eclectic mix of cuisines, while others will decide to focus on a smaller niche market. It is important for the restaurant business plan to be prepared to spell out this important distinction. (more…)