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Exploring your passion for food and turning it into a new business is an ambitious dream to have. It’s an amazing way to blend your love of food with your business acumen, helping you create a new career path doing something you love. However, the journey to a successful food business isn’t always easy, and it is often considered one of the riskiest industries to start in. However, according to Restroworks, this sentiment isn’t entirely false, and around 60% of new restaurants in the UK fail in their first year. This is due to multiple factors, including competition, rising costs, and a lack of innovation or unwillingness to adapt.
However, focusing on the negatives never gets anyone anywhere, and if starting your new food-based business is something you are actively pursuing, these tips can help you ensure it is as successful as possible from even before the moment you seat your first diners.
Research
As exciting as it is to get moving forward, you shouldn’t skip over the research aspect of your new venture. From researching competition in the area to demand, the type of clientele you can expect or want to attract, the median income of the location you are choosing to changes the industry, trends in the food sector, costs scored with running a business,, and there a lot that you need to know before you do anything else to drive the right decisions to aim for success.
Finances
Setting up a new food business is not cheap or easy. Not only do you need finances to complete the setup of your new venture, but you also require sufficient funds to cover at least 12 months of operational expenses. If you get into this thinking you won’t get any returns for around 1-2 years, you will relieve some of the pressure for yourself, enabling you to build the business without focusing on needing to make money from day one.
Best Equipment
When it comes to setting up a new food-based business, starting with the best is the way to go. You want high-quality commercial catering equipment to equip your kitchens and food preparation area, and you want the best in furniture, technology, and skilled staff. It’s not just about spending money; investing in the best quality equipment and resources you can afford can save you from the hassle of frequent replacements and help you keep operational costs down. For instance, newer equipment will be more energy-efficient, reducing your utility bills and enabling you to modernise your operations without the need for further upgrades.
Training
You will be hiring staff for your new restaurant, and before you even get to this, you need to know how you train everyone, what standards and qualifications you will be required to work towards, how to implement training, and the type of person you need because you can have the best food in your area but if your team is letting you down, people won’t come back. Therefore, you need to focus on the restaurants as a whole and ensure that everyone is working on the same page towards the same goals, delivering the same standards across the board.