7 Step Business Plan for SBA Funding

 

 

Free Sample Restaurant Business Plan



Quotable

"Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."
Julia Child, Chef Extraordinaire

 

 

 
FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

A free sample restaurant business plan will bring the banker a little bit closer to your kitchen.

KEY CONSIDERATION

One of my very favorite restaurants is a small mom and pop that seats about 40 people and offers one prix fixe dinner each day.  It is hugely successful.  And I pass by about six hamburger joints on the way to the best one.  Even truckers frequent the best greasy spoon.   

Moral:  You don't have to be big to be successful.  But you do have to offer excellent cuisine.


STRONGEST ADVANTAGE IN YOUR RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

Having a meal out is an international custom.  That's not going to change anytime soon.  

STRONGEST DISADVANTAGE IN YOUR BUSINESS PLAN FOR A RESTAURANT

In spite of what we said above, knowing how to cook is not the secret to success.  Marketing is.  Nobody is going to find that great little restaurant, or even the hamburger joint, without some serious promotion.  It doesn't have to be freebie coupons or full page ads, but there must be a way of getting word out about your business.  Without that, you will have a tough time.

It's a lot easier promoting a business in a smaller geographic area than in larger ones.  For instance, a new restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, has a better chance than a new one in New York.  It just costs so much more to advertise and promote in big cities.  If you're in a smaller town, you've got a head start.

You've also got a head start if you can tie your restaurant to a defined ethnic group or specialty.  People from all over the world stop at the Giant Artichoke in Castroville, California.  It's not a great restaurant.  But it's got a great niche.

OVERCOMING THE DISADVANTAGE WITH YOUR  FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

Focus your efforts on a defined geographic area.

Unless your restaurant will be on Chicago's State Street, or the Golden Triangle in Beverly Hills, not a lot of people are going to drive very far to visit you.  Find out all you can about your potential area, such as

  • Number of people
  • Income level
  • Educational level
  • Ethnic hubs nearby
  • Family composition
  • Number and location of existing restaurants

... and anything else you can dig up.

Prove restaurant business plans that you have the marketing background and skill to make the store successful.

Hit the decks running with a full blown marketing plan ready.  More than anything else, this is what will demonstrate to the lender/investor that you have what it takes to successfully operate a restaurant.  Your lender may not especially enjoy Taiwanese cuisine, but she will recognize a great marketing plan.

Devote a minimum of 5-8 pages of your free sample restaurant business plan to your specific marketing plan.  

  • Identify your core clientele.  
  • Identify the number of your core clientele in your immediate area.  
  • Have some initial ads or promotions developed to demonstrate your skill in this area.  
  • If you have any celebrity endorsements, flaunt it.
  • Present menus that you have developed.
  • Detail how you will get free publicity -- this will be essential for your success.

Base your projections of valid, provable statistics.  No pie in the sky here -- it just won't fly.  Business plans for restaurants need to be on solid footing.

OTHER PLUSSES FROM YOUR FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

This is a business that demands a broad spectrum of knowledge and experience, from health department regulations to parking and signage issues, and your business plan for a restaurant needs to demonstrate your knowledge.  There is no on the job training.  If you are going to successfully operate a restaurant of any size, know your stuff before ever approaching a lender or investor.  

A free sample restaurant business plan can provide the outline.  But you need to dig for the local rules and regs that will affect your business.  Prove that you have done so, and that your business plan takes these rules and regs into consideration.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR YOUR FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN AND A RESTAURANT MARKETING PLAN

If you are locating in a retail center, contact the owner/manager of the retail center for demographic information.  Also go to your city or country planning department where you can get traffic counts and information on housing and construction in that area. Restaurant business plans need all the documentation they can muster.

For statistical information for your marketing plan for your restaurant, go to BizMiner.  

At the home page, look on the bottom of the page.  You will see "Restaurants" as a general industry.  Click on that.

On the next page, choose from

  • Casual dining
  • Drinking places
  • Food services or
  • Specialty restaurants

Depending on which option you choose, you will have the choice of Financial Analysis and Marketing Research on literally hundreds of different types of restaurants.  BizMiner gathers this information from thousands of existing businesses, and presents its findings in these reports.  Your lender/investor will use these reports to see if your projections are on target, so it's a good idea for you to review them as well.

Some of the types of restaurants that BizMiner provides business plan statistical information for include:
Retail bakeries Bagels
Cakes Cookies
Coffee shop American restaurant
Delicatessen Lunchrooms and cafeterias
Luncheonette Family restaurant
Cafe Diner
Fast food restaurant and stands Carry-out only
Chili stand Coffee shop
Grills Hot dog stand
Pizza Restaurant Cajun restaurant
Chinese restaurant French restaurant
German restaurant Greek restaurant
Indian/Pakistan restaurant Italian restaurant
Japanese restaurant Korean restaurant
Lebanese restaurant Mexican restaurant
Spanish restaurant Sushi bar
Thai restaurant Vietnamese restaurant
Pakistani restaurant Seafood restaurants
Oyster bar Seafood shack
Steak and barbecue restaurants Chicken restaurant
Dinner theater Health food restaurant

There's a huge amount of information to choose from.  If one category doesn't quite fit, get the information on two related categories and compare them.  This is exactly the kind of information your free sample restaurant business plan needs to really punch it up a few notches.

Be sure to look in the left hand column of that page for the LOCAL BUSINESS VITALITY reports compiled from US Census statistics.  You will find a wealth of information on your area, with age, income level, housing type, educational level, etc. -- everything you need to target your customer base in your free sample restaurant business plan. 

YOUR LIKELY LENDER/INVESTOR FOR YOUR RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

The SBA is usually your best bet.  

If, however, you are planning on regional or national expansion, or if this is NOT your first restaurant, check out appropriate venture capital groups in your area.  And be sure to check out the newest development in venture capital:  venture lending.

YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

Odds are that you will want to promote your business online.  Potential guests, as well as lenders/investors, want to see what you can do.  So strut your stuff.  See the best web host for more information on my preferred web host.

ONE STEP FURTHER IN YOUR FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

Your 7-Step Business Plan for a Restaurant will get your doors open in a hurry because it uses MS Word and Excel for your templates, programs that you already know.  It is worth every penny that you spend because it has all the information you need, right in one place.

Click on the book cover for more information.

You may need to customize this plan for your specialty restaurant, and that's fine.  Use the information from BizMiner, and from your own background, to create your own

  • baker business plan, 

  • breakfast care business plan, 

  • burger stand business plan, 

  • cafe business plan, 

  • cake decorating business plan, 

  • ice cream parlor business plan, 

  • Indian restaurant business plan, 

  • Italian restaurant business plan, 

  • jazz cafe business plan, and 

  • many other restaurant business plans.

THE LAST WORD ON YOUR FREE SAMPLE RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN

Restaurants have one of the highest failure rates of all businesses.  Your lender knows that.  It is your job to convince your lender that you know what you're doing, and a strong business plan is just the ticket to get you there.  Start out with a free sample restaurant business plan, then continue to demonstrate your own strength as an entrepreneur.

 

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You CAN Get The Funding Your Business Needs -- And Get It NOW!!


Your 7-Step Business Plan, with ...

Dozens and dozens of businesses
Templates in MS Word and Excel, two programs you already know
Templates and examples for all sections, INCLUDING FINANCIALS!
Over 100 pages in all, with loads of step by step directions
...  And Lots, Lots More.

Click on Book Cover TO FIND OUT MORE!

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