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Started By
Message
Starting a small business
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:16 am
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:16 am
I am looking at starting to work towards a long term goal of opening a small business, specifically in the restaurant industry, basically I thought this might be a good place to ask for suggestions on where to research writing a business plan for starters and any other suggestions you all may have with regards to planning for a small business
5
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:25 am to KG
Are you talking opening an actual restaurant? Or a service business in the industry?
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:28 am to Turbeauxdog
opening a restaurant
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:31 am to KG
What's your idea?
Posted on 12/15/08 at 12:53 am to Turbeauxdog
well, this is still in the very early stages in my head, which is why I am just looking for ideas for researching the basics of setting up a business. Basically my idea is for a pizza place (with a few other options for people who dislike pizza) with kind of a sports bar feel (not horribly original sounding, but I really don't want to be too specific right now, there is more to it than that). I've worked at a local pizza place (not in BR), so I have some experience in the basic work, and my last job was at a start-up restaurant, so I know the amount of effort that goes into it. I am not looking to actually open a place for a few years, but I want to start working on a plan so that I can go in well prepared with a good business plan and a good product.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:02 am to KG
quote:
Basically my idea is for a pizza place
don't do pizza. had one. it was very difficult to keep consistency to satisfy customers. the ovens will murder your account on electricity. trust me.
better idea- a steakhouse that is casual with a prime cut of meat. for example, let your customers come as they wish, eat peanuts and throw their shells on the floor, drink beer out of a mason jar, and eat a nice fat steak.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:35 am to KG
Do some googling. Several years ago I was looking up business plan examples and ran across what looked like something based on Jocks and Jills (had a different name but can't remember). It mentioned some of the potential pitfalls with a sports bar like the difficulty maintaining a steady base of everyday customers rather than just gameday customers.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 7:43 pm to KG
Talk to restaurant owners. Most will do so and be very frank. Talk serious notes of the negatives.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 7:59 pm to LSUfannLA
yeah, I know a lot of the negatives from working at the startup restaurant and being good friends with the owner. I know it's not easy and he had to be there all the time 7 days a week for a while. Not to mention the problems finding and retaining good help
Posted on 12/16/08 at 9:14 am to KG
i have owned 5 small business now and one was a sports bar, i will never own a bar/resturant again. it is too time consuming. the money can be good but prep and post , its a time killer. personally retail is just as good & profitable
Posted on 12/16/08 at 9:57 am to Plucked
Stick to basic food that most everyone likes, unrelenting excellent service, fast and efficient and offer some type of catering for parties. You will need this if you are good. Location, Location, Location. Find a good marketing web provider and put any marketing into that and a mailer that will hit the zip code where you are located tying everything back your your website. Any specials, discounts, coupons should only be available on your website only. Of course your website needs to be the vehicle that folks will tell other folks about with a link. Good luck!
Posted on 12/16/08 at 11:08 am to KG
quote:
restaurant
My understanding is that this is one of the quickest ways to lose all your money.
Posted on 12/16/08 at 12:50 pm to TigerDeacon
quote:
How did that work out for Sylvester Croom? He was supposed to lock up all of the elite black athletes in Mississippi and cherry pick some of the best talent in the surrounding states. Being black only goes so far.
Very wise statement. You have to be perfect to succeed. And even then you can still fail. Restaurant owners are the absolute worst at marketing their business. They will spend insane amounts of money on the restaurant but totally ignore marketing and branding their business.
Posted on 12/16/08 at 1:02 pm to TenTex
quote:
How did that work out for Sylvester Croom? He was supposed to lock up all of the elite black short order cooks in Mississippi and cherry pick some of the best busboys in the surrounding states. Being black only goes so far.
Whoops, bad quote, but I fixed it for you
Posted on 12/16/08 at 8:18 pm to TenTex
quote:
Find a good marketing web provider and put any marketing into that and a mailer that will hit the zip code where you are located tying everything back your your website.
Yeah, I know about the mailers. I will work on the web aspect. I just want to thank everyone for the advice, I still have a lot to learn. It is going to be a couple of years before I have the $$ to do this, but I want to start working on the planning now.
Posted on 12/16/08 at 9:16 pm to KG
quote:
I am looking at starting to work towards a long term goal of opening a small business,
Since you have the time, use your experience and the experience shared by folks in the business to develop a good knowledge of the capital required to start the venture and sustain it through the first five years.
You can get certain statistical data from internet resources, but also ask owners to share their experience and opinions. Most small businesses fail in the first three years and the majority of those failures were caused by under capitalization.
Knowing what you face in terms of cash/funding requirements is as critical as knowing how the operations are/should be run.....
Posted on 12/16/08 at 10:18 pm to KG
Anyone can cook a good meal at the house,that is easy. Try to do it and make a profit now that's a different story. Figure this out and your halfway home. Good luck.
Posted on 12/17/08 at 11:04 am to KG
KG, check this site out if you're not familiar with it:
LINK
It's for the national SCORE website which has lots of info regarding business plans (including samples) and you can find a local SCORE chapter if you decide to meet with someone to discuss your idea. They are very helpful and have lots of resources.
LINK
It's for the national SCORE website which has lots of info regarding business plans (including samples) and you can find a local SCORE chapter if you decide to meet with someone to discuss your idea. They are very helpful and have lots of resources.
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