How to get your restaurant up and running in 7 steps
Starting a restaurant is not as complicated as it seems. As long as you follow the right steps and in a precise manner, you will be able to have your gastronomic business up and running in no time. To do so, it is necessary to follow the following step-by-step guide, and thus avoid failure before starting.
- Prepare an adequate business plan: First of all, you should investigate the market around the next location of your future restaurant. With that, you will be able to define the specific style of your restaurant.
It is important to define a style so that it is oriented towards a certain type of customer. At this point, you also enter the menus that will be available, as well as the brand, logo, and images that will identify your restaurant.
- Choosing a robust point of sale system: The choice of a system can define an upcoming success or failure. By selecting the best system for your type of restaurant you will be able to optimize a great deal of time and resources. Here a list of possible Restaurant POS systems.
At the same time, you will have all the devices and hardware best suited to optimize the quality of service to your customers. A customer who leaves satisfied is likely to be a customer who will return.
- Location and financing: Location is one of the most important aspects of your restaurant. Not only does it have to be in a central and well-known place in the city, but it also has to be easily accessible.
Also, financing can be obtained from various sources. Some of these are bank loans, help from the government, investors or partners, or simply from friends or family. Funding is the starting point to begin to realize the business plan.
- Designing your restaurant: The layout of the tables, kitchen, bathrooms, point of sale devices, and decoration are important. On the one hand, the decoration must be related to the type of restaurant you want to create.
Besides, the atmosphere and decoration should be pleasant for as many customers as possible. Some POS devices can enhance the customer experience.
An example of this is the mobile devices of the waiters. These devices allow the order to be taken and sent to the kitchen at the touch of a button. This avoids the old shouting of the waiters to the kitchen and vice versa.
- Suppliers: By selecting the right suppliers you can guarantee the quality of your meals. This is one of the most important aspects because, in the long run, you could create an excellent steady clientele.
To start, you can look for the suppliers with the most positive feedback. Next to the quality, you should find compliance with delivery schedules as well as a set of food safety standards.
- Permits and licenses: Every country, state, and city are different. You should find out about the requirements, permits, and licenses you must comply with and obtain. Note that some of these requirements take months to acquire.
- Employees and advertising: Hiring the best employees will be a great resource on a day-to-day basis. Here, not only experience counts but the personality of each employee. You should also hire waiters, chefs, managers, accountants, among others.
Finally, you should advertise your business. In this case, your business plan should include marketing. This will be the way to get the customers for the first months.