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[Justin G]

My business partner and I are wanting to start up a health(salads/wraps) restaurant in Phoenix, Az. We have the concept, the funding(private investor), we have a commercial real estate agent and have checked out some spots. I am really trying to talk to as many people as I can to learn the right way to go about the start up, I would really appreciate any advise regarding how to go about making a good business plan and what steps I should take from here.. Thanks

[mattm]

Location, Location, Location...

It may be an over-used cliche, but it is critical for your survival. The good news is that retail real estate is in excess supply and landlords are ready to cut deals. Make sure you look for a great location and then start low in your negotiations.

Don't be afraid to walk away from a location. You can't make it if you don't have a great location, but you also can't make it if you are paying too much for the location you are in. There was a good article about this topic in the Feb 22 issue of Nation's Restaurant News. I can't find a link to it, but if you send me an E-mail with your address I will send you my copy of the magazine.

Good luck, and make sure to check out some of the other helpful topics that have been discussed on this forum.

[Justin G]

We are really going to focus on location and were gonna take our time. I have wrote a general business plan but not a 20 page detailed one, should I have someone write a professional one or is that just if we need a loan from a bank etc.? We are planning on taking a course at the local CC on small business but for now I kinda feel like a dont know what to do next, I will just keep asking questions and reading articles.. Thanks again

Justin -- Your approach inspires confidence. Too many people in all walks of startup business think that it is enough to be inspired by their idea of getting rich overnight, and don't want to have their ideas critiqued by all the annoying naysayers. There are so many details that will patiently wait for just the right opportunity to kick you to the curb. I think that one area of operations that is especially easy to underestimate is cleaning. If you do it yourself, you have the best chance of the job always being done right; however, now you are at the shop when you are open, as well as when you are closed. If you don't do it yourself, good luck. Think about it: exterior, walkways, windows, doors, (newpaper dispensers?), wate bins, dumpsters, parking lot, interior floors, carpets, chairs, tables (bases), salt & peppers, doors, door handles, bathroom walls, fixtures, mirrors, telephones, spider webs in the corners, cash registers, (need I go on? I haven't even mentioned the kitchen..) Everything has to look good enough for your pickiest customer, all the time.

After you do decide on location and you have figured your fixed expenses for that location, be sure to have a plan. I don't just mean in your head, I mean a well thought out written plan that includes your day to day activities from training your employees down to a closing checklist for your managers (or yourself). Don't rely on people rely on systems put in place that are simple to follow. I have opened two restaurants and this is one thing I did not do and had many headaches as a result. If you haven't checked out this website you should it is RestauantOwner.com. They have many templates, training guides, employee handbooks, and plenty of literature to get you on the right track. It is not a one stop shop but it deffinitely helped me a whole lot.

Hope It Helps
Saul

[mattm]

Justin,

I agree with the previous contributor, you need a business plan. The RestaurantOwner.com has a template for a business plan I haven't used their plan but it looks like it will point you in the right direction.

The main value of the business plan is to force you to answer some tough questions before you get too deep into the process. The failing I see in the Restaurant Owners business plan is that it doesn't appear to touch on marketing. I highly recommend that you have a marketing section to your business plan.

Four months ago I remodeled a former Taco Place and opened an upscale Burger Restaurant (Home Page) and as a former Pizza Parlor owner, I thought that I knew enough about the restaurant business that this would be somewhat easy.

The Pizza experience helped but I can see now that I should have got any job in any burger place for a while. It would have cut down on the experimentation and testing and wasting money on things I really didn't need.

If you have lots of experience in the Wraps business...great. If you don't...work in that business even part time to get a better feel for it.

Only other advice I can give is... it will cost more and take longer than you think.

[mattm]

Great comments Dale. I checked out your site and also looked up some reviews about your restaurant. It looks like the hard work is paying off.

One of the reviews I read said

The best thing I could say about any restaurant is that the owner is creative and industrious, and yet listens and responds to public input.

Dale does both. His menu adapts to client preferences, and the three-cheese problem mentioned in a previous review is no more. I think I counted seven? [...]

I think Creative, Industrious and listening to your customers is what makes the difference. Going back to Justin's question about needing a business plan; the plan is very important, but you also have to be able to adapt on the fly.

Are you out of your mind!!!!! It very difficult for established restaurant to stay in business. Save your money!!! Wait at least 2 years and work for somone else. You'll see how difficult it is to stay in business.

I admire your enthusiasm, and your understanding that you get nowhere alone in any business. I don't like that you are planning to start at the top (leased location, loaned money, employees w/ no stable revenue). Think about what I'm about to list for you; you may not like it, but if you are going to make a living at this and expect to have an immediate income, forget an exotic business plan. Business plans are not for your loan so much as to get you to come to the stark realization your idea is a bad one financially. Banks are not in the restaurant business or the boat business or the car business. They are in the money business and unless you can show them through a workable plan, and more importantly, your overall attitude that you WILL make this work and have a schedule of advancement/commitment to show how you intend to do that, you will be denied the loan. More restaurants fail than any other business; some 500 a day. It isn't that they are bad restaurants, although some are, it is that they are bad businesses. You may love to cook and have a great dish, but unless you can manage the revenue, you will fail.

Here's a workable plan:

Develope your menu
Set up in the cheapest venue in town on the back of a 16 foot flatbed trailer
Develope a crowd
Refine your menu
Get local permits for permanent place
Look for the cheapest ex restaurant location in town
Get all your friends over for the weekend clean up
Get all the free tables and chairs you can
Open up with your crack dishes served perfectly
NEVER FORGET you are a customer service outfit that just happens to sell food.....
and you'll be on your way, and in a minimum of debt and outlay.

All the best