14 questions about starting a restaurant

Starting a business, taking over a business or franchising?

To run a catering business as your own boss, you don't always need one Setting up a business. As is well known, other routes also lead to Rome.

If you do not have sufficient financial resources to set up a new company, you should also use the model of Business takeover consider. In doing so, you take over an existing business and thus minimize your personal risk, as you save yourself the time of market launch, for example. In addition, you can draw on an existing customer base.

Another alternative is franchising Dar. With franchising, you can adopt a proven business model for a fee. You'll also get help with location search, set-up, marketing, and more. For example, one of the best-known franchisors is McDonald's, but also smaller companies such as Hans im Glück rely on franchise models.

Although business takeovers and franchising limit the risk, both models naturally significantly limit your creativity and independence as a founder. If you still have the financial resources and the courage to start your own business from scratch, read our further tips carefully.

Are you reaching people with an innovative catering concept?

Before you start your own restaurant, café or similar, you should have a structured concept and be aware of which guests you want to attract and who they actually are.

Simply offering a variety of food and drinks doesn't set you apart from your competition and gives people no reason to stop by you. In addition, it makes little sense to open a tapas bar if there are already three more on the same street. It is therefore important to offer people added value or something new in order to differentiate themselves from other catering establishments. In doing so, include food trends such as Superfood into your plans.

As soon as you have a clear concept in mind, you should define your target group, i.e. your guests, so that you can optimally address them. Do you only prepare vegan dishes or do you call yourself a grill house? Don't you serve alcohol or do you offer fine whiskies from all over the world? Both you and your potential guests must be aware of this.

It is also important to note that although your target group should be limited, it should not be too small. If you also want to run a luxury restaurant, for example, parking spaces should be available for guests and suppliers, whereas a small snack does not require this.

How do you find a suitable property to become a restaurateur?

As soon as you have defined a concept and target group that are compatible with the location, you should find a suitable property. This not only has to meet your requirements, but must also meet a number of requirements.

First of all, the premises should offer enough space and the rent should be affordable. It is not expedient if your company generates high sales, but nothing remains of them due to excessive rental expenses. There should also be the necessary connections for a kitchen or ventilation systems. If you have to have these or the like installed first, this can result in high costs that may not be related to future earnings. The same applies to toilets, which are of course essential for catering establishments. If you also need a lot of storage or cold storage space, you are well advised to make sure that there is enough space and whether you have access to cellars.

If you also want to operate not only indoor but also outdoor catering, sufficient outdoor space should be available under favourable circumstances. A sewage treatment plant or a noisy industrial area in the neighborhood is probably not contributing to the well-being of your guests.

What are the legal regulations when setting up a restaurant?

It should be clear that running a catering business involves administrative procedures. However, exactly which regulations apply and which registrations are required vary between the federal states, which is why many new restaurateurs are overwhelmed by this.

First of all, a business registration is of course essential, as you are ultimately selling food and drinks. You must also comply with regulations regarding fire safety, hygiene, shop opening hours and pricing. Should you serve alcohol in your bar or restaurant, the Youth Protection Act must also be observed.

If you are planning to play music, you will have to pay GEMA contributions similar to what you would pay in a private environment. You can find more detailed information about this at IHK. You can also seek advice from various agencies and obtain further information. These include, for example, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association e. V. (DEHOGA) or the Federal Association of System Catering (BdS).

Where should the money come from to found a restaurant?

Whether it's a restaurant, café or bar — setting up a catering business is not financed by itself.

If you do not have enough equity, which is not uncommon in general, you should consider alternative financing options. For example, you can state Funding for setting up a business applications that differ between the federal states, but are generally open to everyone. In addition, there is also funding specifically for restaurateurs. Loans from banks or other credit institutions are of course still another classic option.

You can also borrow capital, for example, from Business Angels attain. In principle, all financing options require a business plan in order to present an elaborate concept and convince potential financiers. After all, who likes to invest their money in a company without a clear line and plans, which is doomed to failure even before it is founded.

How do you reach potential dream guests?

Even the most beautiful restaurant in the best location with the most innovative concept has no guests if no one notices anything about it. You should therefore use various advertising methods and mouthpieces to attract guests to your restaurant. In addition to traditional means such as posters and advertisements or displays in front of the front door, it is now more modern to attract attention via social media, depending on the target group. Social media platforms such as facebook, instagram or twitter You can use them to publicize current offers or promotions. Online, you can of course also look at advertisements from Google Ads fall back on.

In addition, as a catering establishment, it is essential to have a Google My Business Create an entry, because this increases your visibility immensely. When you feel like eating out these days, you Google “restaurants near me” and click through the top entries including their reviews and star ratings. The better the Google reviews, the higher a restaurant appears in the search results. It is therefore not uncommon for the restaurant of choice to end up among the first in the list.

Ratings and reviews are usually collected after they visit you, but only a few guests bother to visit your site to leave their opinion. In addition, many guests do this especially when not everything goes according to their ideas and they want to express their displeasure.

What do guests particularly value?

It is no secret that every restaurateur aims to be successful and known for their delicious dishes. But how do you do that?

The first thing a guest looks for in a restaurant is personal reviews to get a first impression. They can easily read them on the Internet on various platforms. The online presence of your restaurant should therefore be overflowing with positive reviews.

A little tip about this: The WiFi marketing package by Socialwave guarantees that only positive reviews are publicly visible. The main advantage of this is that the new guest has an immediate positive impression. Personal guest reviews inspire a high degree of trust among readers, as they have been written by people who have had their own experiences in your restaurant.

How do you meet the right taste of guests?

Now the guest has already noticed you, now all they have to do is get a positive impression of your restaurant.

Nowadays, a restaurateur must pay close attention to what is currently trending in the food trend and is well received by people. A trend is triggered by society, all you have to do is post a picture of a full plate on Instagram that attracts a lot of positive attention. From this point on, everyone expects to be offered exactly this plate in a restaurant and if that cannot be implemented, they are usually already wrong. A trend lasts a few years and is not uninteresting from one day to the next.

A good example of a Foodtrend Is the changeover from Burgertrend on healthier food. It's not like a posh restaurant today when you serve fries and fries. Now there is much more to it, there must be something for everyone, from vegans to meat-eaters.

A little tip: Follow the trend in your own way and offer well-known dishes that suit everyone individually.

What role does the right atmosphere play in a restaurant?

Offer your guests a wonderful atmosphere in your shop; visitors should have a change from their everyday life.

Why this is so important is explained by the fact that people are severely restricted by their work anyway and barely have time to eat at home or inside. Most people eat on the go, for example, they quickly buy a pretzel from the bakery on their way to work or buy something from the doner kebab man. In the long term, this not only means that people live ever more unhealthily, but can also suffer from psychological problems as a result of stress.

What can remedy this? A varied visit to your restaurant, where everyone should be able to relax and be served by friendly staff. It is also important to have a restaurant with spacious seats and light background music, where guests like to be and come back again.

How do you find out what restaurant visitors want?

Find a way to connect with new guests.

Half the battle with a restaurant is knowing what the guests really want. No expense or effort should be spared to obtain this information. Carry out surveys, whether it's just a street survey or a large online survey doesn't matter. The quality and quantity of answers is important; the more people express their opinion about the right service in a restaurant, the better.

Remember the SMART method from business administration. The questions must be specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and timed and specifically aimed at obtaining data. Before you start a big survey that costs a lot of money, think about the most effective content and package the questions as simply as possible.

One option would be to distribute short questionnaires to your guests before or after your visit. You can also do this online through platforms such as Survey Monkey send or carry out old-fashioned with flyers.

How can you greet your guests?

The guest wants to be warmly welcomed to your restaurant right from the start.

Therefore, greet each new guest personally with a friendly “hello” or a “hello”, this gives the guest attention and makes them feel at ease right away. There is nothing worse than not being noticed by guests. As a result, guests get negative emotions and feel uncomfortable. What is the reaction to this? They will leave your restaurant as quickly as possible and with that, a good review will disappear.

Since the first impression counts the most, you attach particular importance to a friendly greeting to the incoming guests. You can make a positive impression by providing a reception area with friendly staff. A guest will invest more in a pleasant evening than in a cool atmosphere.

How does a restaurateur gain the trust of his guests?

Every restaurateur wants society to have a positive image of their restaurant. The only question is how can you convey a good image of yourself?

The answer lies in society's perspective. It is important to know what today's society places great value on. In the catering sector in particular, it is becoming increasingly important that animals receive fair treatment from birth to slaughter.

The authenticity of the origin of your food is very important in this topic. You must tell guests where you get your food from and how the animals are treated. It is best to wrap up this topic in a story and go to your supplier in person so that you can record the situation there. You can package this in the form of a short video or with information sheets.

This approach has many advantages, some of which are mentioned here:

• The guest immediately develops trust in your cooperation with suppliers and your credibility increases
• You get positive feedback about Google
• Your reputation increases as a result of positive reviews
• Your restaurant's image is improving immensely
• Guests recommend your restaurant

Transparency in all areas always leads to success and you should take advantage of that.

How important is Internet access for your guests?

Most guests get a free WiFi access expected, especially in an industry such as catering.

The guests want to be online before or after the meal, for example to send emails or messages. Internet is essential even in the most relaxed environment. With our WiFi marketing package, you can offer free WiFi to your guests and also do effective marketing at the same time. Free WiFi is also beneficial for your staff. It increases employee satisfaction and you yourself always have the option of being able to work freely, even thanks to Internet access.

What role does the use of social media play?

As has often been mentioned, digitization/social media plays a huge role in today's world.

Your restaurant's online presence says a lot about your services. You can build up a strong image by constantly maintaining portals such as Facebook and Instagram. Post pictures of beautifully arranged plates more often and show how much effort you make for your guests. Pictures of this type give a nice impression of your restaurant and invite new guests.

Imagine the following situation:

A group of people is looking for a café or restaurant. What do you think is the first thing you do? They use the Internet and are looking for the next best way to get something to eat. Coincidentally, you're the first owner in the area and people have found your website plus your Instagram account and can already look forward to the meal. Because of your online presence, your restaurant will be found more quickly and the new guest will be strongly influenced, so make the most of today's opportunities and show yourself only from your best side.

In addition, using social media platforms also means that you can keep up with larger restaurants and can be found just as quickly on Google.

What does the WLAN marketing package from Socialwave bring?

The WLAN marketing package not only has the considerable advantage that you can do effective marketing without effort, but also that your guests can use the free Internet through various login options.

The guest can log in free of charge as an anonymous person or by 1-click login, through their Facebook, Instagram or e-mail account. The former login method does not generate any added value for itself, as you have neither the name nor e-mail address of the guest. The other login methods allow you to contact the guest personally using their contact details. This is done because automatic newsletters are built into the package, which can be sent to your guests after their visit.

Our service also offers you the option to write individual newsletters. Login methods via Facebook, Instagram and email are always recommended, as they give you optimal conditions to remember your guests about yourself. You also have access to your own customer portal, where you can see how many guests have logged into your WLAN and left a review. You can get all this and much more from us at a reasonable price.

WLAN marketing package from Socialwave for more positive Google reviews

If you want to speed up the process of collecting reviews and only receive positive reviews, then this is WLAN marketing package from Socialwave ideally suited for you.

On the one hand, it offers your guests free WiFi with a simple login, which increases your attractiveness enormously. On the other hand, the system offers you as a restaurateur numerous marketing functions as well as the opportunity to generate excellent Google ratings. This works by asking your guests to rate you after their visit.

If they were satisfied, their opinion flows directly into your Google reviews. If, on the other hand, they were dissatisfied and would express themselves negatively, these opinions will be forwarded to you as a feedback form. Your Google listing and reputation are therefore not damaged and you, as a restaurateur, still benefit from suggestions for improvement and constructive criticism.

conclusion

There are several factors involved in the process of attracting regular guests. These factors make it necessary to know what today's guest expects from a restaurant and sees it as standard. In order to obtain this information, you must overcome small or even major hurdles. However, success will not be long in coming and they can look forward to positive feedback.

Use social media platforms in particular to be able to present yourself from your best side. Try to put yourself in the visitor's shoes and find out what they really want. With the 9 questions that every restaurateur must ask, you are very well prepared for the future. Find your own way to get answers to the questions, this is the only way you can become a successful restaurateur.

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