Why Most Restaurants Fail

Deciding to open a restaurant because you make great chili and love to cook is the reason why most restaurants fail. Seriously! Everyone who has a dream to open their own restaurant needs to take heed that there is much more needed than the great taste of their chili and the love of cooking to succeed. Much, much more.

When opening your own restaurant, you must decide how much your time is worth to you and how much time you can afford to spend in your restaurant. If you are working 60 hours a week in your restaurant you will burn out and not be very productive in making it succeed. Most new restaurant operators get so caught up in being and working in their restaurant that they can't seem to think clearly about what is best for their operation. You need to step back and take an honest look at your operation and see if it is running to its fullest potential. If you have to be there, all the time, realize that you have bought yourself a job, not a business.

How about a "solid" business plan? Everyone thinks that they can make their plan up as they go along. How can you do that if you are working so many hours and are burning yourself out? How can you think clearly when you are overtired? Your plan has to be right from the beginning, before you do anything else. It should be what you base everything on. If you don't have a solid business plan your restaurant will fail.

Most budding restaurateurs want to design their menu and find their location first. Though these are important, they are not the most important facets of the business. They want to decorate and they dream of all the customers that will be lined up outside their door. They believe that by the power of the universe their restaurant will be special. Yes, it can be. If it is well thought out and it has a solid business plan to back it up, because without a business plan and some reserve capital new owners will soon find out why most restaurants fail.

Remember how important it is to have "reserve" money in the bank to carry you over until you start to make a positive cash flow? Money to pay for those set backs that you never dreamed would happen, yet always do. (Like a blown water heater or a deep fryer that just won't work)? Most new restaurant owners have limited resources, and that that is a major factor in most restaurants fail. Not enough money to carry you over until the money starts coming in.

So remember, when deciding to open your own restaurant consider everything that has to be done before you take the plunge. Start with a solid business plan first. Have your accountant and lawyer check it over for you. Know it like the back of your hand and do not deviate away from it.

Most new restaurants close their doors within the first year. That is a horrific statistic. Too many hard working individuals are losing their money, and their dreams, due to a lack of specific information.

If you are thinking about opening your own restaurant, or struggling to make your current restaurant profitable, please read this FREE report: "The Restaurant Industry's Dirty Little Secrets.

One particular restaurant failure caused me to write down this information. I knew there was just one or two things I could have told those rookie owners that would have made a difference. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance. To read more about that incident, click here

Today's Independent Restaurant Business Tip

for . Before opening to the public make sure you test your restaurant with ALL the equipment running. It is not uncommon for there to be electrical issues when all the equipment is running. Your Grand Opening is a terrible time to find out that you can't have the meat slicer going at the same time as the toaster! If you have made changes to your kitchen, try testing the electrical capacity of the renovated space.

Testimonial

Hello Patricia
I read your information in one sitting. I understand that many of your insights are simply common business sense. After reading your book I realize that most restaurant owners simply aren't apply these principals to their businesses. Thanks for the perspective.
Sincerely,
Gabby P.