Starting your dream restaurant can be a daunting task. Restaurant startup business involves elaborate planning and thoughtful execution. From your restaurant’s location to floor-plan, from staff to menu, from decor to restaurant table design, you have to juggle several aspects during the first few months. If left unattended, even the slightest mistake can grow into a considerable delay costing valuable money and time.
Common Mistakes Made by Restaurant Startup Business Owners
Read on to find out some of the most common mistakes made by restaurant owners so you can avoid them yourself. Don’t let those mistakes to ruin your restaurant business.
1. Unaware of Food Industry Challenges
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The restaurant industry is one of the most high-risk businesses you can find. If you are a newbie, it’s quite easy to spread yourself too thin and lose focus. The initial decisions are the most important ones. As you step into new territory, a business plan helps you in avoiding these early mistakes. Take your time, identify your objectives & expectations and how you intend to achieve them. List your restaurant’s concept, identify your target customers, and work out the budget. An elaborate business plan not only serves as a guide but also saves time, money, energy, and stress in the longer run.
2. Expecting Instant Results in Restaurant Startup Business
Running a restaurant is like planting trees. It takes some time to grow and reap the fruits of your labor. Understand that you may not be making money right from your opening of your restaurant. Try to create a memorable brand image and get the word out about your restaurant. One of the most common blunders that new restaurant owners commit is using all your budget by the time the restaurant opens. Set aside some of your budget to cover any losses during the initial weeks or months. Rather than profit, focus on creating a cohesive working environment, customer service, and bonding with your guests during the initial days.
3. Not Understanding Role as an Owner of Restaurant Startup Business
Planning your dream restaurant and running a successful business are two different things. Many restaurant startups suffer from owners not understanding all of the roles and responsibilities they will need to take on. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to motivate your employees, ensure your restaurant runs smoothly, and satisfy your customers. Quite often, restaurant owners end up acting like staff members in their own restaurant. For example, if you are busy helping your staff in the kitchen, who will look after the guests or manage other aspects of the business. An active role in analyzing profits or losses, marketing decisions, customer feedback, etc., helps you make strategic decisions and keeps you ahead in the competition.
4. Overlooking Menu Design Errors
Errors in menu design are one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of restaurant operation. Haven’t we all noticed spelling mistakes, unreadable fonts, mismatched or inconsistent designs in the menu sometimes or the other? Perhaps the menu doesn’t match with the restaurant ambiance and looks like it does not belong there? Maybe the items in the menu appear to be copied from the restaurant next door? If you have encountered any of these menu design errors, make sure you do not repeat them in your restaurant.
A well-designed menu is an excellent marketing tool, and can do wonders for your restaurant’s image and sales. After all, it is one of the first things your customers use. It should be elegant, crisp, readable, creative, original, and reflect your restaurant’s brand and theme. Ensure that the dishes you serve go with your restaurant’s theme. Make sure your menu can be easily accessed on smart phones and tablets, as many restaurants do not use paper menus for now.
5. Being too Narrow-minded and Focused on Restaurant Concept
During the initial days of planning your dream restaurant, as an owner, you visualize its appearance. How the decor would be, how your restaurant table and chairs would look like, and so on. However, quite often, due to some unavoidable reasons, like space or budget constraints, they don’t materialize. Taking help from professional designers, contractors, engineers, etc., helps make the most of what you have. By sharing your imagination and ideas, you can tell them your expectations and work towards alternative restaurant layout, concepts, and plans.
6. Not Giving Importance to Location
The restaurant business is a service industry, and its location matters a lot. Don’t let high rentals or high competition compel you to select a sub-prime or secondary location. Know your clientele and select a spot that is visible and accessible to your future customers. Make sure your restaurant has ample parking space and is well-connected by public transportation. A restaurant located at a spot that attracts a potential customer opens up business prospects. Make sure that the demographics of the area match your restaurant’s target market. Research the labor costs in your desired location.
7. Underestimating Startup Cost
Many restaurants fail due to a lack of proper financial planning. From the planning stage to the opening day to the first quarter, maintain a bank balance to account for contingencies. The fluctuation in the price of raw materials, construct delays, labor costs, commercial furniture, permits, etc., are seldom under your control. Even after opening your restaurant, business is uncertain for a couple of months, and operating costs, staff’s salaries, rent, bills, etc., require funds. Make sure to keep a portion of your total investment aside for such unplanned expenditures.
Conclusion
Starting, operating, and managing your dream restaurant is rewarding but it is a large task. Running a profitable restaurant that offers a complete dining experience requires you to avoid several pitfalls. Running your restaurant, like any other business, requires you to master several aspects. More importantly, it requires you to understand your limitations and taking professional help.
This article mentions some of the most common mistakes you could make as a restaurant startup business owner. Hopefully, by learning from others’ mistakes, you will be able to plan, research, and execute to fulfill your dream. Avoiding these mistakes enables you to run a profitable restaurant with smiling and satisfied customers.
