Restaurant Owners Information is Key to Success

This series of articles is designed to give you all the restaurant owners information you will need if you are considering opening your own restaurant. This is the first installment in the series, so we will be discussing if you have what it takes.

They say all you need to open a restaurant is money, and lots of it, and that’s true. But, to have a successful restaurant it takes much more than just money. The restaurant is like no other business in the requirements for ownership.

The Restaurant Mentality

Some 90% of all restaurants that open fail within the first three years of operation. They didn't get all of the restaurant owners information they needed. What are the major reasons for these failures? First is lack of true knowledge of the business. Do you like the thought of being a restaurateur? Think it’s a sexy business? Looking forward to elbowing up to the bar and be the man/woman, chatting with the who’s who of your city? If so you may want to think about another place to invest your hard earned money. The restaurant business is not like it’s portrayed on television in shows like Hell’s Kitchen.

Restaurant ownership does not buy you a free ride; it buys you a lot of work. You had better be planning on getting down and getting dirty. You are the new dishwasher the new cook, bartender, server, and hostess. You are now the plumber, electrician and contractor. You are an accountant purchasing agent and controller. Did I mention your salary for your new positions? Nada!

Show Me The Money

Still with us? The second cause of failure in restaurants is under capitalization, everything always looks good on paper, but when the real world hits that budget things get out of whack quickly. The plumbing needs to be changed, the hoods need to be moved, and the Fire Marshal insists the area be sprinkled. More additional expenses than you can count. Then there are the delays, that opening date keeps being put off and put off. Yes, you want things right first, as you should, but those delays are costing you big bucks. From the loss of revenue to the labor costs that keep adding up.

If you have thought about your opening budget at this point in your process pull it out now. Whatever your expected cost estimates are at this point double it. Will it cost that, oh, how I hope not, but it the new figure brings knots to your stomach and turns you green then you’re not ready to make that jump. I’m not telling you to squash that dream, but I am telling you that the risks involved could very well have you bring that cost to the table. There is nothing worse than to spend months of planning, months of construction, and then find out you have nothing left to open properly. Have a plan in place so you don’t find yourself begging for investment dollars at the end just to get open. In this position you will be forced to give away more than you bargained for.

Planning is Everything and Getting All the Restaurant Owners Information you Can

The third source of failure is poor planning. With all of the restaurant owner information that we will give you here you will hopefully jump right over this one, but in the real world most restaurant owners do not gather all of the restaurant owners information they need prior to jumping into it. This learn on the job mentality can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, trust me, I know. I went in without all of the restaurant owners information I needed once too.

I’ve been doing my best to filter through all of the readers that shouldn’t think about opening a restaurant, but if your still reading maybe you do have what it takes to open your own restaurant. Keep reading this series of articles and we will bring you from concept to reality and give you all the needed restaurant owners information you need to succeed.