3.
Re: Possibility of opening the Restaurant. Jun 2, 2008 4:10 PM
Hi,
One thing that I have observed from many years of working with entrepreneurs and business owners, is that the excitement of starting (or buying) their first business overtook some of their common sense and they failed to do some basic things before they started or bought the business.
First you should consider the starting point. That would be you.
Some questions you should ask yourself:
- Will becoming self-employed meet my goals?
- Am I willing to work long hours each day?
- Do I have skills or experience in the restaurant business to enable me to effectively manage my own restaurant?
- Does the business I am considering effectively use my skills and abilities?
- Am I a good planner and organizer?
- Can I make my own decisions?
- Does my family support my desire to start or buy a business and to put forth the effort to run the business on a daily basis?
- Can I afford the financial and emotional risks if the business fails?
If you've answered the above and find the answer acceptable enough to pursue further; next you need to give some thought to the demand, the market for a Thai restaurant in that area.
The worst thing you can do, and a common mistake among people starting their own business, is to open the business without being reasonably sure that they will have long-term customers. Its not uncommon for new restaurants to go through a burst of business when they open (many people like to "try" out the new place). But its your ability to turn them into repeat customers that will dictate whether you succeed or fail.
Some questions to ask about your market:
Is it a residential or commercial area or a mix? If its at least 50% commercial then you will probably want to serve lunch to get the business crowd but you will have to really promote the business to local businesses, office buildings etc. as many office workers may be on 'auto-pilot" and go routinely to the same lunch place. You'll need to get their attention to make your restaurant a new lunch destination.
If it is 50% or more residential demographic ... you may want to consider adding a delivery service (this would be a value add for business lunch delivery as well but do not add a delivery service solely to service your lunch customers ... lunch ticket averages are usually lower than dinner so you will not be able to absorb as much cost purely on lunch business).
Don't spend a lot of time at this point thinking about the internal operations of the restaurant or equipment etc. You need to focus your thoughts and research on determining how well your Thai restaurant would be received by your customer base. You could have the best restaurant with the best equipment and management around but if the market isn't there for your restaurant, all of that won't keep your doors open for very long. If you determine that your market should support your restaurant if you do a good job and provide tasty meals at a fair price. Then sit down and plan out your idea on paper, operations, equipment, management ... evertything ... do your homework and develop a solid and professional business plan and that will help set a good foundation for you to build your business on.
Just some thoughts for you. I hope they help. Good luck and best wishes if you move forward with your restaurant.
Dennis Lowery
Adducent, inc.
