Should You Start A Restaurant Business? 7 Probing Questions To Ask Yourself First

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Whether you should set up a restaurant business is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make in your life. It’s naturally a significant investment. But it also comes with all sorts of other responsibilities, including hiring and firing staff. 

That’s why it’s critical to ask yourself the right questions before you take the plunge. Are you really ready for what running a restaurant entails? 

So, what questions should you be asking? Let’s take a look. 

Is My Business Plan Clear? 

Start by checking that your business case is clear. It should be obvious to you why your offering is better than anything else in your area (for a specific niche). 

Restaurant saturation is a significant problem in many locations, but you can often find opportunities. For example, you could focus on healthy food if all your competitors are providing their customers with junk. 

Similarly, you could offer a fine dining establishment if there’s nothing else like it nearby. 

What Is The Foot Fall Like? 

You also want to check the footfall numbers. Some restaurants can thrive in isolation, but most benefit from being near shops, stores, community hubs, places of work, and so on. 

These days, you can get maps that show you the average footfall in specific locations. You can then use this information to determine how much you should be paying for specific sites. 

Do I Understand The Financial Demands? 

Of course, it is also critical to ensure you understand the financial demands of running a restaurant. It’s not easy to make a profit and you’ll be constantly searching for new diners. 

Make sure you put proper restaurant payment processing so you aren’t relying on cash. Also, ensure that you make it easy for customers to pay, perhaps using QR codes and so on. 

The more you can do this, the better off you’ll be. 

What’s My Marketing Strategy? 

You should also design a comprehensive marketing strategy for your restaurant. You want to ensure that you’re touching all bases and not leaving anything to chance. 

Most restaurants split their marketing into two parts: online and offline. 

For online marketing, focus on SEO and social media. You need to make sure you can get found on Google whenever people search for “local restaurants near me” in your location. 

Social media is also critical for showcasing the quality of your creations. The more you can make people feel hungry, the better the job you’re doing. 

Finally, you want to ensure that your marketing strategy highlights your USP and is different from anyone else in the industry. There needs to be something unique about what you do, whether it’s your enormous naans or the way you bring dishes sizzling to the table. 

What’s My Exit Strategy? 

Of course, you should also think about how you’ll tie up the business when you eventually run out of road (which is a common occurrence). 

Ideally, you want to be able to sell it. 

Your options here depend on the size of the enterprise you build. If it’s large, you could simply list it on the stock exchange. But you should always have the idea of packaging it up and selling it to a local venture capital fund in the back of your mind. 

Remember, things don’t always work out in the restaurant business, and 4 times out of 10, there’s nothing you can do about it. As such, you need some way to back yourself up and get out of a sticky situation. 

How Will I Retain My Staff? 

Furthermore, you’ll want to think a little about how you hold onto your staff. It’s worth remembering that they can be fickle and leave at any moment, making life harder for you. 

Restaurants can usually retain staff if there’s a prospect of progression. If employees feel like they can continue moving onwards and upwards with you, they are far more likely to work happily. 

Am I Prepared For The Long Hours? 

Finally, you should ask yourself if you’re prepared for the long hours. Running a restaurant often requires being in the building from early in the morning until late at night. 

When you get up, you’ll prepare the majority of the food for the day, making sauces, chopping vegetables, and preparing drinks. Then, when lunchtime hits, that’s when things usually get going. By the evening, you may still have customers coming in late into the night. Therefore, you’ll want to ask yourself whether you can stick it out long-term until you have someone to come in and manage it for you. 

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