The starting point for many people who want to do business or open a restaurant may start with a good location, capital to start, or a great menu or recipe that they think will make their restaurant survive, sell well, make a profit, and be popular. But do you know that there are many more details that you should take into account in order for your restaurant business to survive and make a profit as planned?
We invite you to come up with a checklist of 10 things that shop owners must carefully consider before opening a shop.
1. Good location is half the battle. But if the location is not good, you must have a highlight.
Every guide on opening a restaurant or doing business gives location as one of the first things to pay attention to. But what can you do if the location is good but you can't afford it, or if the good location is already snatched up by others? The answer is to create other distinctive features for your restaurant, such as being a hidden Thai restaurant that people will follow to take pictures and check in, and serving delicious and unique menus that people will have to travel out of their way to come and eat.
2. Know your customer group or target group. Customer survey must be done at the same time as competitor survey. You must know who the people who walk into your competitor's restaurant are, their gender, age, occupation, when they come to eat, and what they usually order. The more you look at these things in detail, the less chance of making mistakes will be reduced. Because some customer groups will have different thoughts and decisions from your tastes. For example, you have a location in front of a high school where kids like to eat simple but modern food at a reasonable price. But you open an old-fashioned Thai fine dining restaurant. You may have to do a lot of marketing to attract customers from outside the area instead. Because the target group close to you doesn't like your food. Therefore, get to know your customers or target group well so that you can serve according to their needs.
3. Know your opponents. Fight a hundred times and win a hundred times.
Explore nearby shops in the area where you will open. What do they sell, how much do they sell, when are there a lot of customers, what is the decoration and atmosphere like? Especially the shops that sell well, these things will help you know what people in that area eat and what they don't eat. No matter how good our shop is, it will still lose to competitors who are stronger and more complete. Therefore, we need to know who our competitors are, what are the strengths and weaknesses of our nearby shops, and then find a way to fill those gaps by making our shop better.
4. You must know and truly understand what you are going to sell. Some products follow trends and then go away. People queue for only a short period of time and then they disappear. This type of selling may be good for those who do not expect long-term profits. But if you want your shop to last a long time, you must create your menu to have its own unique features. Know and truly understand what you are going to sell. Have consistent tastes and be meticulous in every step to make customers addicted and come back to eat repeatedly.
5. Cost and selling price
Delicious recipes are something that everyone must have, but deliciousness must come with a selling price that customers can accept and a reasonable cost. Researching the selling prices of competitors to set your own price is a good thing and should be done, but don't forget to calculate your own food costs. Are the costs and selling prices in the same direction? Don't forget that when you look at competitors, you only see the front-end prices, but behind the scenes, you have no way of knowing how much they buy their ingredients for. Because passion alone is not enough to make your business survive. But what will make your shop survive in the long run is knowing the exact costs, both fixed costs and raw material costs, including the money used in the shop's circulation, and then setting the selling price to be appropriate, worthwhile, and profitable.
6. Plan your expenses well. Everything must be auditable and measurable.
Before opening a shop, one thing that many people must do, but neglect, is to calculate the break-even point and plan income and expenses in advance. There is no plan for how much food we should sell for when renting the shop with this much rent and hiring this many employees, and how much the variable costs, such as food cost, water cost, and gas cost, should be. When there is no planning or forecasting in advance, starting a business is like being blind. When there is no profit, you don't know which way to solve the problem because there is no map for the right way. You should manage the financial system behind the shop well. Everything must have bills that can be checked. Otherwise, you will definitely face the problem that "no matter how well you sell, there is no profit left when you check the balance." Paying attention to details in terms of raw material prices and daily expenses is something that shop owners should not overlook.
7. Shop decoration style
In this era where everyone has media in their hands, it can help promote our restaurants for free. In addition to delicious menus, the decoration of the restaurant is equally important. The more prominent the restaurant is, the more customers it will attract, which is a great helper in generating income.
8. Preparation of promotions
It is undeniable that when you are in the real business field, there must be times when sales may not be as desired. Sometimes, promotions must be organized to help. Therefore, when you calculate food costs, you should leave some gaps for promotions because sometimes, doing promotions does not always mean releasing a new menu. Just pairing the old menu or reducing some prices to attract customers can be done and it works well. Special promotions during festivals or when there are few customers and organizing promotions to attract people to buy are always popular and get good feedback. Or you can use the method of organizing a set menu that is easy to order. Even though the profit per bill is a little less, sales will definitely increase.
9. Marketing plans must be clear.
Delicious food can't speak for itself. As the restaurant owner, you have to announce your marketing and promotion plan to people. It has to be clear before you even open the restaurant. Nowadays, you can do marketing both online and offline. You can hand out flyers or run ads on Facebook. It depends on what reaches your target group better. Most importantly, don't forget to set a marketing budget. If you run your restaurant well, there will be many reviews from real users that can help promote your restaurant without spending a lot of money.
10. Have a good team.
A good team can be achieved by either accidentally getting good people or by developing them in the crucible that you want. Clearly dividing the work duties, providing training, and providing good compensation will help you have employees who are willing to work hard to serve customers. Ultimately, this will have a positive effect on your sales. Having a good service mind will create a good first impression, which is another factor that determines that customers will definitely return to your store.