A recent survey by the National Restaurant Association found restaurateurs to be hard-working, affluent, and optimistic, but only 50 percent said they would do it all again. Despite the hard work, the restaurant business can be one of the most fickle and difficult businesses to break into. Why? People get into it for all the wrong reasons. Voil`! The Complete Idiot s Guide to Starting a Restaurant, Second Edition, is here to provide the recipe for success. How do you decide how much money it will take? When do you know you re succeeding - or failing? If you re succeeding, how do you successfully expand? Focusing on these kinds of business questions, this book takes a practical approach, giving the readers the nuts and bolts from deciding on a table layout to taking inventory of their bar.
The recipe for a successful restaurant, now revised! In this revised edition, aspiring restaurateurs will find everything they need to know to open a successful restaurant, including choosing a concept and location, creating a business plan, finding the cash, and much more. New content includes information on tips, tip-outs, and reporting for the entire staff, choosing the best POS system, setting up a bar and managing the wine list, and making the bottom line look good long-term. -Restaurants are a high-risk venture, but starting a bar or restaurant is still one of the most popular new business ventures (Cornell Univ/Mich State) -Overall industry sales are projected to hit $476 billion for 2005, a 4.9% increase -The industry employs a workforce of 12.2 million in more than 900,000 restaurants nationwide (National Restaurant Assn.)
Around 90% of all new restaurants fail in the first year of operation. Many owners think they have the perfect idea, but they have terrible business plans, location, or other issues. Idiot's Guides: Starting and Running a Restaurant shows budding restauranteurs the basics of honing in on a concept to gathering start-up capital to building a solid business plan. You will also learn how to choose a great restaurant location, select an appealing design, compose a fantastic menu, and hire reliable managers and staff. In this book, you get: • Introduction to basic requirements of starting a restaurant such as time management, recognizing your competition, choosing your restaurant concept, and making it legal. • Information on building a solid business foundation such as a solid business plan, a perfect location, where to find investors, and securing loans. • Suggestions on how to compose the perfect menu, laying out the front and back of house and bar, and choosing the must-have necessities such as security alarms and fire prevention. • Techniques on how to hire and train your staff, purchasing or renting supplies, understanding costs and setting up your financial office, and using social media as a marketing tool. • Secrets for keeping your customers returning, running a safe restaurant, managing employees, and building your PR sales plan. • Pre-opening checklists to ensure everything is ready by opening day. Operational checklists and forms a successful restaurateur will need to manage their restaurant.
- Everything readers need to know to start up and operate a wildly popular mobile food business - Includes crucial marketing expertise from a successful food truck entrepreneur
Make every hour you run a bar a happy one. You’re no idiot, of course. You know it takes more to run a bar than pouring beer and keeping peanuts on the tables. Whether you’re interested in serving drinks only or adding food or even entertainment, running a bar requires a lot of business savvy. The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Starting and Running a Bar will show you exactly how to build and manage the business of your dreams. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • The essentials of creating a business plan for the type of bar you want to own and operate. • The lowdown on legalities involved in serving alcohol and food—as well as offering live entertainment. • Business-saving advice on dealing with vendors, suppliers, and employees. • Marketing and advertising suggestions based on your budget.
How to thrive in one of today’s top ten “dream professions.” Despite the long hours, arduous training, and grueling physical work, the allure of being a professional chef has made it one of the fastest growing career markets in America today. In this must-have guide, a master chef and baker gives practical, up-to-date advice on everything aspiring chefs (and expert chefs looking for the next career move) need to know, including how to apprentice at a five-star restaurant, connect with renowned chefs and bakers, open their own restaurant, and much, much more. • Expert author with decades of restaurant experience. • One of today’s top ten “dream professions” in America. • Culinary institutes have seen an explosion in their enrollment of between 50% to 100% annually. • Covers gourmet restaurants, upscale hotels, catering, specialty food shops, gourmet takeout, bakeries, and much more.