Small Business

Starting a Restaurant Business?

March 25, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Being a fan of cooking and preparing three healthy meals for your family every day of the week is one thing, but doing that professionally for dozens of people all the time is something completely different. But, if you think cooking is your true calling, this is something you have to invest all your time and money into. Starting a restaurant business can be hard and challenging, but it’s probably the most exciting thing you’re ever going to do, so here’s what you need to look into and how you can become the best restaurateur you can be.

Why are you doing this?

There are lots of reasons why people open restaurants – from wanting to be in a charge of a successful business and trying to invest their money into something lucrative, to actually trying to make a difference in their community and sharing their passion with the world. So, you need to understand what you’re doing and why you’re looking into this idea in the first place.

Once you define this, all the other crucial things – the scope, the size, the location, the menu, the design, etc. – are going to come to you naturally. In the end, if you don’t know what you’re doing and what you’re trying to achieve, your restaurant won’t be successful and you’ll just waste your time and money.

How big a restaurant do you want?

Depending on your ideas and desires, you can either start a small restaurant that’s going to prepare only a handful of different meals daily, or a huge place that might be able to accommodate dozens and dozens of hungry guests. Ultimately, it all depends on your level of skills and dedication to your new career. [Read more…] about Starting a Restaurant Business?

Running a Successful Restaurant Business

February 26, 2019 by Guest Contributor

Owning a successful restaurant is hard because of the competitive market. With so many restaurants opening, it can be hard to find your unique niche. Common wisdom has it that 90% of restaurants fail in the first year. But actually it isn’t quite that bad. The actual number is is about 26%. But another 19% fail in the second year and 14% more fail in the third year of business for a total of 59% failure rate in the first 3 years. So obviously there is more to running a successful restaurant than just knowing how to cook grandma’s famous baked beans. If you have a desire to succeed, you need to study the secrets of successful restaurateurs. [note: the proper spelling is without an “n”.]

Location is Everything

Legendary marketer Gary Halbert used to ask his students this question, “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?” The students’ answers vary. Some say “superior meat from which to make their burgers”. Others say “sesame seed buns”. Others mention “location”. Someone usually wants to be able to offer “the lowest prices”. But Halbert says the one advantage that trumps them all is “a starving crowd”. Now some may say this is actually a function of location. But without keeping this factor in mind you might misjudge what makes a good location.

When it comes to choosing the perfect location, you have a few choices. For example, it’s always great to find a property near colleges because students love reasonably priced meals (and always seem to be hungry). On the other hand, if you want to run a high-end restaurant, you may want to think about the business quarter and try to attract people during their lunch break or business meetings. But be sure to keep Halbert’s advice in mind and find the location with the “starving crowd”.

Getting Started

Starting a restaurant can be a very expensive proposition. According to Restaurant Engine “the median cost to open a restaurant is $275,000 or $3,046 per seat. If owning the building is figured into the amount, the median cost is $425,000 or $3,734 per seat.” So if you are on a limited budget (and who isn’t?) you might want to start small. Unless you have a lot of restaurant experience and a Culinary Arts degree, consider getting a food truck and visiting events (this will put you in front of a starving crowd) and give you experience preparing food and dealing with customers. If this small venture succeeds you can consider looking for opportunities to expand into things like catering, etc. and then when you do open your restaurant you will be prepared and experienced.

Mowing Grass to Earn Green: Things to Consider Before Starting a Lawn Care Business

February 19, 2019 by Tim McMahon

Lawn care can be a profitable entrepreneurial opportunity for those who are willing to work hard and consistently network for more clients. Just like any other kind of business, though, there are a few factors and challenges to consider before heading out to buy equipment. Here are a few things to consider before starting a lawn care business.

Managing Startup Costs

Perhaps the most prohibitive aspect of launching a businesses in this industry is relatively high initial startup costs. It’s possible to start with minimal equipment, but this limits the number and type of projects you can work on. Starting a proper lawn care company requires an arsenal of equipment, including chemicals, tools, and vehicles. This is particularly challenging, as it can take a few years before earnings rise to a significant margin over costs.

Demanding Work Environment

Anyone working in lawn care spends a lot of time outdoors on job sites. Even owners and supervisors are often doing as much physical work as their employees as the company gets off the ground. That’s why you should consider talking to a personal physician to assess your personal fitness and physical health before starting a physically-demanding business. You don’t want to invest in your business only to discover your health won’t allow you to continue with it. But if you enjoy being outdoors a lot this could be a great option for you. [Read more…] about Mowing Grass to Earn Green: Things to Consider Before Starting a Lawn Care Business

Organize Your Home Office for Better Productivity

January 21, 2019 by Guest Contributor

The number of people working exclusively from home has increased steadily over the last few years with over 5% working from home in 2018 up from about 3% in 2000. But as many as 24% work from home occasionally according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many of them have home offices and are therefore constantly on the lookout for tricks to help them become more productive. Having an organized office is essential to your productivity, so you need to follow a few simple rules in order to create a real home office.

Instead of working in a chaotic and cluttered space, create an office that will help your business grow and provide you with comfort and coziness of a proper corner office. Here are a few hacks to help you with the basics of a fully functional office.

Comfort is Key

No matter what type of business you do, you need comfortable furniture to be able to pull those long hours. Start with finding the perfect spot for setting up your desk and chair, and try working from there. Many people like utilizing corners and placing their table there, but professional designers recommend creating a focal point in the center of the room. That way, you’ll have plenty of space around your table to add everything you need. You can go for a big desk and dedicate some space for your laptop and paperwork. Apart from that, you can choose an L-shaped desk which will divide the space into two little corners giving you a sense of two tables and leaving you with plenty of room for all of your office supplies you need every day.

When it comes to finding a perfect chair, try finding one that’s comfortable and fits into your office. People have a tendency to buy huge office chairs that take too much space, so measure everything twice before making the purchase.

Add a Personal Touch

Although your basic instincts tell you to remove everything related to your personal life from your office, things aren’t as strict when it comes to personal belongings. Hang a few pictures, add some travel memorabilia, find great inspirational quotes and add a couple of artistic details. These will give you a feeling of a relaxed and comfortable space where you’ll be able to work.

In addition to that, [Read more…] about Organize Your Home Office for Better Productivity

Ways to Impress Clients Who Visit Your Office Space

September 19, 2018 by Tim McMahon

Working in a nice office is great for your motivation and it’s something that’s going to keep you inspired and focused all day long. But what happens when someone pays you a visit – is your office really as amazing as you think it is? Different clients pay attention to different things and they’ll spot details that have passed you by, basing their impression of you strictly on your office. That’s why it has to be spotless, professional, comfortable and welcoming, as only this sort of space will tell your clients what kind of a businessperson you are from the moment they walk through the door.

Cluttered Desk

A cluttered desk is probably the worst thing that could welcome your clients and it’s definitely one of the worst ways to show that you’re professional, detail-oriented and meticulous about your work. Take care of the mess as soon as possible, organize your desk and remove all the things that aren’t absolutely necessary. A desk that’s almost empty is still better than a desk that’s full of papers, binders, office supplies and other junk you don’t really need. Opting for minimalism is the way to attract your clients’ attention and make them realize how trustworthy and reliable you are.

Proper Wall Colors

If you work for a company that uses its corporate colors on every wall in every office, there’s little you can do regarding the atmosphere in your office. If, however, you work in an office where you can introduce changes whenever you want or if you work from home, you can do wonders with the right choice of wall colors. Clients respond well to certain tones that make them peaceful and calm, so lots of offices all over the world are packed with different shades of beige, grey, yellow and even white. These colors are

How to Infuse Your Business with Staying Power

September 10, 2018 by Guest Contributor

Everyone starting a business hopes their business will succeed. But you need more than hope to start a successful business. According to the Small Business Association (SBA) 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% fail during the first five years and 66% fail during the first 10. One of the biggest causes of failure is being “undercapitalized” that means you don’t have enough money to live on while the company is getting started. Another is a lack of proper planning. Here are some steps that can greatly increase your chances of success.

Develop a Business Plan

There are a variety of resources available online to help you develop your business plan but it is essential that you do this before moving ahead to other steps. The Small Business Administration is a government agency that can help you get started. They offer assistance from retired business professionals at no cost to you.

They also offer a guide called “10 steps to start your business“. The Guide includes information on how to:

Conduct market research
Write your business plan
Fund your business
Pick your business location
Choose a business structure
Choose your business name
Register your business
Get federal and state tax IDs
Apply for licenses and permits
Open a business bank account

https://youtu.be/F_qXLYuZJpE?t=1s

Be Extremely Frugal During the Early Years

In an effort to fight the problem of under capitalization you should budget and cut costs at every opportunity. Even companies that receive massive injections of capital from Venture Capitalists need to watch their pennies. Often growing too fast can strain a company and actually cause it to fail because processes and procedures have not had a chance to develop and so the company just throws money at the problem which then becomes a cash drain.

Take Advantage of Social Networking

Modern businesses are the ones that do the best nowadays. They’re the businesses that understand the digital world in vivid detail. If you want people to depend on your business time and time again, you need to have an A+ social media presence. People trust businesses that are communicative and responsive. They appreciate businesses that take the time to keep up with advancements and developments, too.

4 Effective Ways to Promote Your Business

September 3, 2018 by Tim McMahon

Building your own brand and making your company stand out from the competition might seem like an impossible task, especially if your business is just starting. However, this is certainly not impossible, and don’t forget that all major global companies once started as small business projects that had the right amount of drive, passion and marketing skills. So, if you too are looking for ways to promote your business at the moment, here are some ideas that might help you do that more effectively than ever.

1. Make a Website Already

Making a website used to be a hard, expensive and time-consuming task back in the day, but now it’s easier than ever. You literally just need a couple of dollars, a few good ideas and about fifteen minutes of your time, to get a basic website up and running. This is a vital part of your entire promotional strategy since websites are more important than people generally realize – from making a name for yourself to keeping track of your visitors, you can’t even start marketing your business without a proper website.

These days if you are a small business without a website many customers don’t even take you seriously. New customers no longer look in the “Yellow Pages” they look online once they’ve found you they might check out your ratings on a site like Yelp. Existing customers check your website for things like the hours you are open, your exact address, your phone number (although if you answer all of the Frequently Asked Questions on an FAQ page you won’t have to answer them on the phone over and over). You have created an FAQ page right? Don’t forget to submit your site to the search engines so they can start indexing your site.

A professional looking website allows you to easily connect with your clients and users and show them how much you appreciate their feedback. Then you can easily turn followers and subscribers into paying customers. Unfortunately, unless you are going for the “small shop” super personalized look, an amateurish looking website might actually do more harm than good. If you already have a website and it isn’t performing as well as you think it should you can contact the professionals at Design Synergy and get a website audit. As professional marketers, web designers and Social media managers, Design Synergy can help you tweak your site to present the image you want and help you expand your reach.

Once your website is live [Read more…] about 4 Effective Ways to Promote Your Business

The Impact of Office Layout on Productivity and Engagement

August 14, 2018 by Guest Contributor

Being productive and bringing your “A-game” to the office is harder than most people think. Some days your employees just aren’t in the mood to be the best workers in the world, but you should still try to do whatever you can to keep them inspired. One of the things that can help you is the layout of your office. A bright cheerful atmosphere can go a long way toward increasing productivity. Here are some other things you can introduce to your office in order to encourage productivity on a daily basis.

Enough Maneuvering Space

No matter how big or small your office is, it should always have enough maneuvering space for every individual worker, because being crammed into a tiny space really doesn’t help you get creative and productive. That’s why you need to give everyone their own personal space and a chance to breathe, especially if you want them to be on the top of their game. So, calculate the amount of space you have and divide it by the number of your employees to see how much every single person is going to get, but try to maximize the space as much as you can.

Personal space is the best space

Once you give each employee enough space for their needs, you should also [Read more…] about The Impact of Office Layout on Productivity and Engagement

Why Business Perception is Important

June 30, 2018 by Tim McMahon

In business, reputation can make you or break you. But it isn’t just how you conduct business that matters, setting the correct image is also important. Dirty business premises, untidy offices and/or reception room, structural defects and signs of damage can scare off customers. Depending on the type of business, often customers won’t even enter your door if the front isn’t clean and tidy. This is especially true if you are running a food business but pertains to other types of business as well. Recently, even car repair businesses (which generates a lot of dirt and grease) have shown that they can benefit if they are able to maintain a clean neat appearance.

https://youtu.be/8hAp2wepAxQ

Finding New Premises

As a new business owner, your first premises are a big deal. It is ultimately where your business sinks or swims, where you hope that your idea evolves into a success that you can grow year by year. [Read more…] about Why Business Perception is Important

How to Know It’s Time to Start Your Own Business

June 21, 2018 by Tim McMahon

The idea of starting your own business can be a daunting one, but for some people, it is the perfect thing to do, especially if the other option seems to be long-term unemployment. It’s far better to try something different and start a business than to wait and see if something will come up in terms of work, assuming you are ready to do so. Here are some of the things to think about when you are wondering whether it’s time to start your own business.

Passion

One of the signs that it’s time to start your own business is that you have the passion for it. It your new venture the only thing you can focus on? Do you find you are daydreaming about it? When you are so passionate about something that it is taking over your life and becomes the only thing you can (and the only thing you want to) think about, then you know that you should start turning those ideas into a business. However, just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean that you can launch straight into it in business terms; take your time and write a business plan first.

According to QuickBooks:

The seven components you must have in your business plan include:

Executive Summary.
Business Description.
Market Analysis.
Organization Management.
Sales Strategies.
Funding Requirements.
Financial Projections.

Decision Making

When you run your own business, you need to [Read more…] about How to Know It’s Time to Start Your Own Business