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Do You Want to Put Your Restaurant Business for Sale?

Everyone knows that the restaurant and food business
is one of the best industries there is. This is one industry that is relatively unhurt by the ups and downs of the economy because even when people are down, they like to go out and eat. So, if you are ready to put your restaurant business for sale, you must have a very good reason for it.

Here are a few tips that will help you earn the best price from your restaurant business for sale.

First of all, do not be overwhelmed by the idea of selling your restaurant business. Keep in mind that the preparations you underwent while buying your restaurant is similar to the preparations when you are selling your restaurant business. With this in mind, try to remember the things that you looked for when you first considered opening/franchising your restaurant. Your buyers will be considering these options as well. So, these factors will greatly affect how fast your restaurant business will sell and how much it will sell for.

You must put in at least 12 months of careful planning into the sale process. In other words, groom your restaurant for the upcoming sale. If you own a group of restaurants, consider whether you will be selling these as a group or offering them on a unit basis. This will help you get the best price. Have a plan of action in place and consider who your potential buyers could be. This will help you estimate a fair price. Decide on how you want to sell your restaurant. Do you want to franchise it, or sell it as a going concern? What are the outstanding liabilities? What are the tax repercussions?

Aside from these factors there are also some requirements, documents and other pointers potential buyers look for when you advertise your restaurant business for sale:

1. Bookkeeping- Potential buyers like clean, organized and understandable books. Before listing your restaurant business for sale, check all your books for inconsistencies and other problems you might’ve let “slide”. These books also show your potential buyers what you are spending on and how much you are earning. It is recommended that you hire an accountant for this.

2. Good location – Potential buyers need to see where your restaurant is. Keep this in mind when placing an advertisement for your restaurant business for sale. Describe the location well (do not exaggerate) to attract potential buyers. Place a picture of the location and a vicinity map if you must.

3. Looks – Contrary to what most people believe, looks matter a lot. Before presenting your restaurant business for sale, repair any damages to the restaurant, repaint everything, clean the restaurant etc. You want the restaurant to look its best when you present it to the public.

4. Money Matters – Your business should have the potential of making a lot of money even if it isn’t making much at the moment.

5. Documents – Prepare all required documents such as summaries, financial statements, business statements, etc. Have these ready for potential buyers who will ask for copies of these for evaluation.

If handling all these requirements seem overwhelming to you, as it does to most people, then it is highly recommended that you hire a business broker to manage the sale for you. That way, you have an experienced hand to guide you through the entire process.

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Can Blueprints of Restaurant Kitchen Designs Really Help?

Alcohol What the common thread that links a pulsating restaurant, a delightful quick serve café, a cozy little coffee shop or an action-packed sports bar? They may seem diametrically different entities to ignoramuses like you and me, but for impeccably schooled interior designers and architects, flawless blueprints of restaurant kitchen designs lay the rock-solid foundation for a successful enterprise.

Ignoring Them Could Land You In A Soup

A cursory glance at immensely popular restaurants is enough to tell you that it's all about infusing a sense of passion, creative zest and a supreme sense of proportion. The blueprints of kitchen design aim to achieve all this and much more. They are created in a manner that makes judicious use of the verve and enthusiasm displayed so keenly by all the chefs and cooks.

But that's not the only reason why relegating them obscurity is often regarded as a preposterous proposal. Here's more:

• A certified designer ensures that plans are drawn to cater to the size available and number of guests that can be accommodated.
• Brilliant blueprints eliminate all chances of any blunders in the floor plans, integration of kitchen equipment and utilization of precious work space.
• Specialized cabinets, hi-tech products and fittings and other storage options are explored threadbare.
• Elevation and drawings for correct clearances are taken care of in this stage.
• All concerns about seating arrangements find perfect settlement.
• Above all, they provide a digital representation of all your cherished dreams in 3-D.

Fully Geared-Up

With our appetite for hi-end technology turning insatiable with every passing day, the deluge of online tools for creating spectacular blueprints does not come as a surprise. Easy, efficient and extremely user-friendly, they give you the unrestrained freedom to give a definite structure to your dreams, even while simply sitting pretty on your sofa.

If you don't really consider yourself tech-savvy, then your interior designer is your only beacon of hope. The designer, after taking into consideration your high-octane ideas and suggestions, will create a set of blueprints that match your requirements perfectly. Now it's time for you to put your estimable, first rate intellect to task and choose the one that you can explicitly identify with.

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Restaurant Start Up Business Plan - A Roadmap to Success

Resources for writing a Restaurant Business Plan

In the early 90's I wanted to create a business plan to open my first coffee house in Charlotte NC. I did a lot of research and found many different types of plans that could be written. After going to the library and looking at many books and SBA information about writing a business plan, here are some of my thoughts on writing that first business plan.

1. If you address all of the areas of a standard business plan, you will probably have uncovered all of the information that you need to find to start your business.

2. Work on one small part of the business plan at a time. If you think about writing the entire plan, you will get overwhelmed. As with any project in life, the longest journey begins with the first step. Take one small section of the plan, do your writing, do your research, check your work, and move on to the next section.

3. Use friends and acquaintances to read over the plan as you are developing it. I asked a variety of friends to check my work for various reasons. The first was a banker. Enough said. The next was a Research Physician. He pointed out anything that I said that i did not substatiate. The next was an English Professor. Enough said on that one too. The last was a friend who was not a business person, just to make sure an average person understood what I was trying to do.

4. Tell everyone what you are doing. You are not "opening a restaurant" you are simply writing a business plan for a restaurant idea to see if it could work. I can assure you that a well written plan will clearly let you know if you are able to fulfil this dream, or do you need to "scale down" your dream to something more realistic. One note here, I never had to go to investors. I talked to so many people about my ideas that I had people volunteer to be investors before I ever had my plan finished. (I thought i was done, however, they made me finish my business plan).

5. You never know who can be a resource. You will develop relationships with many people in the process who are in the Industry. Pricing from Food Vendors, Lease and Sale prices from a Restaurant Broker, Equipment from a Food Service Equipment Vendor and your accounting or banker friend when you ask for advice. These relationships carry over into your business. Since you are a small business person, most people take an interest in you, and your business venture. Most people with whom I had discussions with kept up with my progress, and were some of my first customers.

6. You will gain knowledge and assistance from many sources. My desire to open this Coffee House was to provide a safe environment for people away from bars and clubs. Remember, this was P.S. (Pre-Starbucks). I went to a used furniture store, and was picking out what I wanted. When I told the manager what I was doing, he told me to pick out whatever I wanted, and gave it to me for free. While this may not happen to everyone, you never know who is willing to help you and in what ways they can help.

Since that initial coffee house, I have gone on to start up and sell three more restaurants since then. This was all done from starting with nothing but an idea.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Doug_Marranci

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Top 10 Starting a Restaurant Mistakes

Having your ideal blueprints of restaurant kitchen designs is but a step towards materializing the physical structure. Business proposals and business loan, should you need it, are easier to do when you have the material and the means. Starting a restaurant business, however, is the most critical stage in the whole set up. This is where you need to be wiser in your decisions because once the business is started, you can never simply step back. Unless you are willing to waste a good amount of capital investment, you must take into consideration the following top ten mistakes. These are the major mistakes committed by some restaurant owners:

Here are the common mistakes done by new business start-ups:

1. Disregard in coming up with an ideal business plan before pushing through with the business.

2. Lack of desire for perfection and what is considered to be the best.

3. Self-possessed and deaf to others' ideas and opinions.

4. Negligence to procure sufficient funds to last until the business is already self-liquidating.

5. Putting too much confidence and reliance in profits earned during the coming-out period.

6. Unavailability of operational system or organization and training materials for trainees.

7. Too pleasing towards every customer's demands, forgetting the identity of the company.

8. Incapability of looking beyond personal wants and likes.

9. Unrehearsed towards possible catastrophe during the launching period.

10. Absentee owner and too much reliance on employees

If you are set on making a complete success on your restaurant business, run it personally. Seek advice and be open-minded. Strive to achieve the best and not simply what is acceptable.

Starting a restaurant business is extremely hard in the beginning especially during this economy downturn. Being an entrepreneur in this restaurant business, you have to take risk at certain times. But, there are some risks can be overcome if you understand the common start a restaurant mistakes. For more information on starting a restaurant business, visit http://openrestauranttips.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J.J._Yong

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What You Need For A Restaurant Start Up

We all know that in order to start a restaurant you need to find a good location with an existing building, or a building lot in a good location if you are building a restaurant from the ground up. You will also need to determine whether you are going to lease or buy your restaurant. The determining factor in the size of the restaurant will be the amount of money you have to work with for remodeling or building when you figure your restaurant startup.

When you design your restaurant, there are certain areas you will need to include in the layout.

Customer Service Area– Located near the entrance, this area would include:

1. A hostess station, which is usually a small area with a podium where the hostess will stand to greet the customers when they come in the door. There should be an area to store menus and a reservation roster.

2. A Cashiers Station, with a cash register and a credit or debit card machine. There are usually toothpicks and some sort of mints available here, free of charge for the customer.

3. A Sitting Area, that is furnished with comfortable seating for customers who may need to wait for a table.

Kitchen Area– This is an important project in your restaurant start up, and where all the food is prepared, cooked, baked, and where the food storage, dishwashing and sanitation take place. As a matter of fact, this area doesn’t need to be large, if it is arranged in the proper order. The servers should present the order at one end of an assembly line type of design, and the completed order will be picked up at the other end.

The 4 main areas of a restaurant kitchen are:

1. A cold prep area– To put together appetizers, salads, and desserts. A counter and several shelves to place equipment, utensils, dishes, spices, and other essential ingredients to prepare the food. You will need to make this area large enough when you plan your restaurant start up.

2. A cooking station– This area is used by the cooks or chefs. It will include prep tables, steam tables, fryers, cooking range(s), griddle, oven, smaller refrigerators placed under prep tables, freezer, ice bin, broiler, exhaust fans, etc.. This area will need to be roomy enough for cooks or chefs to get around one another. This is an important consideration when planning a restaurant start up.

3. The dishwashing area– You will not want this area too far from the cooking area so that large pots and pans can be reached easily. You will need two separate sinks for washing and sanitizing the cooking equipment that is too big to place in the dishwasher. You will also need a commercial dishwasher for dishes, glasses, utensils, and any other cookware that will fit in the dishwasher.

4. The food storage area– Will need to include a large walk in cooler, and a large walk in freezer, a scale, a table, a pantry for canned and dry goods, shelving for the freezer, pantry, and cooler. A small room for clean and dirty linen. When planning your restaurant start up, you will need to make sure the rooms are big enough for the storage you will need for the size restaurant you are planning.

Office Area– This area would be for a desk, filing cabinet, computer, phones, and any office and business equipment.

Break Room– This is an area where your employees can place their personal items, and an area for them to take their breaks.

Dining Area– You will need to figure about 12 square feet of space per customer when you plan your dining area. You can choose tables, booths, or a combination of both for customer seating. You will most likely choose which type of seating you prefer when you are planning your restaurant start up.

Public Restrooms– You will need to furnish at least one restroom for your customers, most establishments have one for men and another for women. Make sure they are ADA compliant and well ventilated. You should pick a design that will be easy to clean. The restrooms will need to be kept stocked with paper towels and toilet paper at all times.

Patricia Farnham - Restaurant industry veteran, owner/operator, author and enthusiast. She recently put her considerable expertise (gained from many years of managing other peoples restaurants), to the test. She purchased a failing operation and turned it around quickly. If you're considering starting your own restaurant, or buying an existing operation, there are vital concepts you need to know to make it profitable. Check out her opinions regarding opening a restaurant on her website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patricia_Farnham

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How to Start Restaurant Businesses - 6 Steps to Starting a Restaurant

Want to know how to start restaurant businesses? Owning and managing a restaurant is fun, interesting and very rewarding. There are six steps to starting your successful restaurant business.

Step #1

The first and most important step is to take a series of business courses. These courses will teach you book keeping, payroll expenses and deductions, supply and demand, and tax filing. Marketing courses are also important.

Step #2

Study other restaurants in the area. Learn what is already available and decide how you will make your restaurant unique. Reading restaurant reviews and talking to people are both excellent ways to discover what people are looking for.

Step #3

Choosing the type of restaurant you want to have is the third step. You will need to decide if you want an atmosphere that appeals to families, to children or to adults. Ask yourself if you want the dining experience to be a formal or casual affair.

Step #4

Do some research. Decide upon an appropriate menu for you restaurant and be sure there are suppliers who can deliver. If your food will be imported, learn the reliability of carriers before contracting them. You will also need to make sure that you are able to hire the employees you will require. Staff shortage can quickly diminish your restaurant's reputation.

Step #5

Finding a serviceable building is your fifth step. Ensure that it is easily accessible to the customers you wish to attract. Be sure that you have both a building inspector and a fire inspector thoroughly check the building before purchasing or leasing.

Step #6

Advertise widely the grand opening of your restaurant. Offer special discounts and door prizes for this opening. Newspaper advertisements and business cards will also let people know that your restaurant is open for business. Starting a successful restaurant requires research, hard work and determination. The six steps listed here will get you on your way to realizing your dream.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Hughes

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Managing a Restaurant Business - Turn Challenges Into Opportunities

In the day-to-day management of a restaurant you will encounter numerous challenges. While some are general problems that will be unique to your business, other problems are more general and are faced by everyone in the industry. To be successful you have to look at ways of turning every problem into a new opportunity. Let's look at four examples.

Downtime

It is a fact that the restaurant trade has busy periods during typical mealtimes where you will be rushed off your feet and quiet times like mid-afternoon when your tables are all empty. To increase your chances of success in this business you should look at ways of getting diners in during off-peak periods. One solution is to offer a special menu for these quiet times with discounts, smaller meal sizes and free items such as coffee. Another way is to promote your establishment as being a great place for brunch or afternoon tea.

Weather

When the weather is too hot or too cold restaurants will often notice a reduction in diners. Creative restaurant owners will come up with promotions that tie in with the weather. In some of the hotter US states restaurants offer a discount when the weather reaches a certain temperature and they increase the discount by 1% for every degree after that point. Some choose to promote certain menu items that appeal to customers in warm or cool weather.

Maximizing Seating Space

If you are challenged due to limited floor space but still want to maximize your seating capacity you will undoubtedly have tables in areas that are not so desirable such as close to bathrooms, near the entrance or close to the kitchen. Rather than risk one of your customers having a bad experience at one of these tables you can offer people sitting at those tables a free item off your menu or some other kind of special deal. Soon you will have people requesting to be seated at your worst tables, leaving your best tables available for other more discerning guests.

Selling out of a Menu Item

Have you ever sat down at a restaurant table and had the waiter or waitress tell you that certain menu items have sold out? It can be enough to make some customers walk out or not want to return. If this happens you should apologize to the diner and take some time to highlight your other menu items that are available. Thank them for their patience and offer them a voucher to get the menu item that they wanted for free next time.

You will encounter numerous problems as you start-up and run a restaurant. Look for ways to make these lemons into lemonade and set your business on a path to success.

For reviews of some of the top restaurant startup guides visit - http://www.startarestaurantbiz.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_Sutherland

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Where Can I Find Blueprints of Restaurant Kitchen Designs?

In your steps to open a restaurant, one of the major things you need to consider is having a blueprint of restaurant kitchen designs. You can easily hire a kitchen designer to produce several sketches for you. You could also design it yourself and have it put into perspective by an architect.

There are so many kitchen designs you can browse through both in magazines and online. Deciding where you can get a good kitchen design takes a thorough search on your part. You can easily check out the designers registered online. Try to go over their finished designs and inquire whether it would be possible to have another drawn from your imagination.

Where can you find a blueprint of restaurant kitchen designs?

You can broaden your search by visiting the different search engines and designer directories online. It would be ideal if the designer's website contains blueprints for you to look over. Be aware though that every design depends on the actual area of location. If the building is already standing, then the layout depends on its ready structure.

A good kitchen designer must know how to make the kitchen properly ventilated. This is very important in creating a good working atmosphere. Before you settle on the designer, make sure that you are given the description of every layout. This is to prevent future difficulties if you decide to rearrange the kitchen area.

An expensive kitchen designer will be good but remember that practicality must also be observed. Search as many kitchen designers as possible so you can compare works and professional fees. Remember that the design must cost reasonably. There is no need to spend outrageously on the kitchen and cut on the rest of the expenses.

A good kitchen design able to increase productivity of producing good quality of food before you serve it to your distinguish customers. It is practical to have a blueprint of restaurant kitchen design based on your preferences. For more information on starting a restaurant business, visit http://openrestauranttips.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J.J._Yong

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