Planning To Open A Restaurant? Have You Done A Business Plan?
Would you set out on a long car trip in a vehicle with no instruments, without a map and with no vision whatsoever? Do you have a restaurant business plan? Planning is critical if you want your restaurant to be a success. If you fail to plan you will be planning to fail.
Only one third of businesses will survive after 5 years. Numerous studies have shown that the 2 most common reasons leading to business failure are:
• Failure to plan
• Inadequate capital
Studies show that a business plan improves the chances of survival by 52%. But a restaurant business plan is not just for people starting out! How long have you been in business? Is it time that you sit back and ask why you're in business. It’s never too late to start from “scratch”, re-evaluate your business objectives and put in place a restaurant business plan as though this was Day 1 in your business life.
A business plan informs you and those around you of your objectives and more importantly how they will be reached. Your business is simply a collection of team members who bind together with a shared vision for the good of the business. A professionally formatted layout is essential but keep it simple and concise. What will your business look like when you finally sell it? Undoubtedly, a lack of vision will hinder the profitability of the business.
Your restaurant business plan should therefore include the following:
• Executive Summary
• Marketing Plan i.e. How will the business be structured
• People Plan i.e How many and what type of people do you require
• Technology Plan i.e. What hard and soft technology will you require
• Finance Plan i.e How will you fund the business
• Change Plan i.e.What systems will be used to monitor and respond to any change required
A restaurant business plan is not something you prepare and then leave on your bookshelf to gather dust. It is a continuing function of management and must be reviewed regularly if you are to maximise the results from setting yourself a business plan for your restaurant.
