Thursday, December 13, 2012

How To Use Competing Vendors In Your Restaurant Business


Regardless of the type of restaurant business you operate, you are likely to want to reduce costs and maintain quality at the same time. One way to do so is to let your suppliers compete with each other for your business. Competing vendors want to maintain the volume of sales made to your establishment. When you understand that many of them are willing to adjust prices in order to keep your business, you can make the type of small but consistent savings that improves your bottom line. Here are some tips in finding and using the principle of competition.

Identifying a new restaurant supplier may be a benefit in terms of cost of supplies. It is hard to break into a new marketplace. A vendor moving into a new geographical location or product line might offer price savings on items that you need for your operation. The vendor might just want to encourage local entrepreneurs to improve the economic picture of the region.

A vendor might offer price breaks if he is looking for the volume you can provide. Vendors make money with volume sales, just as you make money by selling more meals to patrons. The vendor might be willing to shave pennies off a price in order to get your business and promote your good will. A specific route followed by a vendor can be a cost savings for him that can be used to benefit your cost.

Part of the ability to get your supplies at the best price is to have a good knowledge of a baseline price. You can let a supplier know that a competitor can supply the same or similar item at a lower price. This should be done in a professional and courteous manner. The vendor is more willing to work with you if he is treated politely.

There is one caution that applies when using competition as a price tool. The price should not be reduced because you are getting an item of lessor quality. Your customers will notice the difference. It's important that you have the knowledge of quality standards that you want your eating establishment to maintain. The products you use are part of those standards.

Making use of competition between your vendors and suppliers will help you to maintain your profitability picture. Competition is a healthy part of doing business, both for you and for the businesses that supply your products. Competition in a regional market benefits the economic picture of the entire region.

Friday, August 17, 2012

The Importance of Opening Checklists For Restaurants


If you're thinking about opening a restaurant, there are many items to consider beforehand. That is why opening checklists for restaurants are so important. These checklists are created with your main goals, preparations, and expenses in mind to ensure you have a successful opening day.

The purpose of these checklists is to define what is necessary before the restaurant officially opens. The opening stage is what is crucial to the future success of the restaurant. If things are disorganized in the beginning, it will be much harder or nearly impossible to remedy the issue later on. By making these ahead of time, you can plan ahead for the unexpected.

These restaurant opening checklists entail various sections that serve different purposes. Each plan differs, but they include the same basic elements. Near the beginning of the list should be a business plan that outlines goals and how it is intended to run if it makes it past opening day. A marketing plan is required since people will not know about it if its not somehow advertised. Items that affect the appearance of the restaurant, like floor plan, overall layout, and interior design, are crucial since many customers will judge a place by how it looks. Another important step is to create delicious recipes and menus that will keep your customers coming back. Tasks need to be outlined for your staff so that everyone knows what they have to do. Include a realistic financial plan that will take into account that you will not be made rich overnight. For that plan, consider things like cost of food, equipment, and anything else you want to include in your restaurant, along with where you'll get your funding from. Lastly, make sure all necessary licensing and paperwork are filed, along with having copies of those and the state or local codes since failure to ensure these can negatively affect your business later.

As you can see, keeping a comprehensive view of what is essential to your restaurant's opening day can ensure your success later on. With so many things that can go wrong in this business, it's always best to plan ahead. That is why opening checklists for restaurants are necessary business elements.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Restaurant Opening Checklist For A Successful Restaurant



There are many people who want to open a restaurant of their own but only a few become successful. Why does it happen? Is it because they did not have the determination or is it because of not following the correct method? Anyway there are people who set up restaurants but the venture is not successful. This is because they don’t have the checklist. There are many more reasons why it is very much important to have a checklist for opening a restaurant.

1. There are people who start a business with the precision and planning and there are people who just go by instinct and do whatever they think is requirement of the time. But it is seen that in most cases a planned business is the best business where every pros and cons are checked and you don’t need to search for things when you are actually in need. A checklist for opening a restaurant will make sure that obstacles are limited.
2. A restaurant opening checklist can be prepared very easily or can be downloaded from a website. Once you have the checklist you can give it to the co planner and the detailed checklist can be given to those working with you to make sure everyone is on the same place.
3. If you have a checklist and mark each of the point when it is completed then once you are in the final stage you can look back on it and if there is anything that you have forgotten you can do that before the start of a restaurant.
4. In many cases people require to take business loan for the project. The approval of the project largely depends on the planning and execution. The financial organization also measures the profitability aspect. A checklist will impress them.
The are many people who don’t have the checklist handy but if you actually have one it will make the process easier and ultimately derive positive result.