If you are a budding entrepreneur and are excited to open up a new eatery, you have picked a great industry to invest your money in. People around the world love to eat out not only for the sake of their hunger, but to truly enjoy some good food in a great environment. A well prepared food that has the perfectly scrumptious taste with all the right flavors is bliss in its own. For most people, eating out is a regular source of entertainment even if they can cook well in their home.
The rising customer demands for new eateries make food business a viable business investment, however, a very tricky one to manage and sustain. This is one of the most competitive industries with little barriers to entry and a minor blunder could mean that you will have to shut down your business. This usually happens when food businesses make their feasibility reports like any other business, without factoring in the industry specific dynamics.
If you are planning to start an eatery, make sure you avoid making the following mistakes in order to ensure a smooth take off.
Clarity of Vision
Eateries are not just about food and satisfying hunger. It is about the overall experience that you offer to your customer. Many customers prefer a certain eatery over another one not because of their food quality, but also because of the overall experience that they offer. Decide what exactly will your eatery will offer? What kind of ambiance does do you want to create? Will it be a casual hang out place or an exclusive fine dining restaurant? Will your eatery follow a certain theme? Being clear about your vision will help you set out a direction for your business and will give you a clearer picture of what you need to focus on.
Specialization
Food businesses are all about maintaining standard quality. Your steaks should always be done the same way. Your salt and spice levels should be consistent at all times and that is only attainable if you will bring in specialization in your business. If you will expect every chef to do all kinds of tasks, you will not be able to maintain consistency. Assign tasks to your human resources according to their specialization. There should be a dedicated worker to take care of cutting, chopping, etc. The person who is an expert in preparing steaks should not be asked to cook crabs out of the blue.
Equipment
Many small scale entrepreneurs believe for some odd reason that preparing food at a restaurant is similar to preparing food for your household. It is common for many small entrepreneurs to use household kitchen equipment in order to save up costs. As a business person, you need to understand that your profitability is not all about lower costs but also a quicker output turnover and that too without compromising on quality. This is only possible if you invest in commercial kitchen equipment that is designed to cater to commercial needs. You do not need to buy every single equipment, but buy a few keyequipments relevant to your business such as meat slicer, oven ice machine, etc.
