Introduction
Having your own restaurant business can be very rewarding and profitable. If you don't know what you are doing though you can end up losing profit and running your business into the ground. The restaurant business is one of the largest employers with over 935,000 restaurant based outlets reported in 2007.
Step 1
First thing you will want to do is decide what type of restaurant business you are wanting to buy. There are three types of restaurants either fast food, mid scale or upscale. After you decide which category restaurant you will operate than you must determine the cuisine will it be Asian, Chinese, casual, Greek, Indian, Italian, full service, breakfast, coffee shop, French, Mexican, fine dining, Japanese, deli, steak house, pizza shop or seafood restaurant.
Step 2
Determine the amount of seating that your restaurant will require. You will want to make sure to find a building with enough space to accommodate enough people to dine in. The seating for a restaurant business is figured on per person 12 square feet. This also goes by what type of seating you will use ie., booths, tables, bars and stools, etc.
Step 3
Pricing your menu for your restaurant you should have a cost goal in mind. Once you have your food cost in mind stick by it. Everything should be included when figuring the cost goal such as ingredients, sauces and garnishes.
It is a good idea to have varied prices on your menu and sometimes you might have to adjust your prices according to revenue, the economy or trying to expand.
Keep records of your cost goals in a spreadsheet. A few items that most typical people forget are: a lemon wedge, lettuce garnish, bottle sauces, condiments like ketchup, and mints.
Step 4
Good practice in the restaurant business is to keep a food manual. A food manual will consist of all the recipes and menu items that you serve. Your manual should have how to handle any leftover foods, food safety and storage procedures, food costs, preparation, temperatures and hold times, nutrition for each food item
Step 5
Before purchasing your restaurant business you will probably need to finance it. The more experience you have in the restaurant business the better it will be for when you go to apply for a loan. Take a part-time job in a restaurant or enroll in some classes.
A few places you can turn to finance your business are the Small Business Association, savings, IRAs, credit cards, family or friends, banks, real estate assets, housing and urban development.
Tip 6
One idea is to use an "angel investor" or a private investor. Angel investors can be found through networking with other entrepreneurs. They have a high net worth and invest in a companies early start up stage. You can find more information on finding an angel investor at http://go4funding.com/
Tips
Make sure to schedule your employees properly to ensure adequate service in all areas of the restaurant. Train your wait staff to know every aspect of the menu. Have a proper environment with the right music, lighting and air temperature in the room for the most enjoyable dining experience for your customers.
