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December 9, 2010 at 3:53 am #971088Up::0
Hello,
I am researching and planning for a restaurant business in Victoria. I have no restaurant business but have been involved with food business indirectly for a while.
I would like to ask for those of you who are experienced in setting up a restaurant. I try to work on the Cash flow forecast and other financial balance sheet, break even point, etc. Unfortunately with no previous experience, I am not sure how I can estimate the cash in/out. Any suggestion?
I have been doing some research online and get some very useful templates for writing up my business plan but when it comes to some details, I am not sure how to go ahead.Thank you so much for any suggestion. Other suggestiona for new starter are very appreciated.
December 9, 2010 at 4:18 pm #1047641Up::0Not sure about Victoria but here in WA we have the Small Business Development Corporation which is run by the government and staffed by successful business people who volunteer their time to help out with things like business plans, budget forecasts and risk analysis etc. I would give your local Centrelink office a call – I know not savoury – but they can put you in touch with the relevant department in your State. For business critical stuff like cash flow and projections I would use a professional and if your state provides free advice I would make use of it.
Here’s a link to the WA Gov site, they may be able to point you in the right direction for Vic.
December 9, 2010 at 11:30 pm #1047642Up::0Feasibility Studies are really important before starting a business, too many businesses fail because they were founded on a hunch, a dream or a guess. You need to be realistic about so many aspects and disciplined. We have a manual that will show you the whole process complete with check list. You can download a free sample here>
How To Conduct Feasibility Studies For Tourism ProjectsDecember 13, 2010 at 8:48 am #1047643Up::0Starting a restaurant business
Hi
This is a very common problem when starting a new business. Trying to estimate the forecasted sales and expenses for the next two years is a challenge causing most businesses I know of to miss by over 200% error rates within a few months.
- Start with working out your expenses for the year
- What number of seats [covers] do you have in your restaurant
- divide the number of seats by 3. This will give you a realistic number of sales for first 3 months
- The number of customers is closely based on how much advertising you do. So how much do you plan to spend on advertising. Hint: new businesses need at least $5,000 to start and up to 10% of turnover
Then find out what your slow seasons are and reduce sales by half again. The busy period I would increase sales by 50% if you have also increased advertising in the lead up period.
If you need specific help send me a PM as I help new business owners do exactly what you are trying to do.
December 13, 2010 at 8:30 pm #1047644Up::0Hi,
I started a business recently and was in a similar situation like you. I decided to use common sense and simplicity and come up with logical reasoning to estimate sales/costs of sale, purchase etc. My experience with the small business advisory setups is that they are not really useful, though they are nice people ! The less bureaucracy, paperwork you get yourself tangled in – and focus on selling your services/products and maintaining good relations with customers – the chances of your success multiply.
Hope this helps, good luck with your venture.
December 15, 2010 at 8:28 pm #1047645Up::0Unfortunately running a business does involve large amounts of paperwork and ‘bureaucracy’. The suggestion to focus on product and sales is why a large number of businesses fail in the first year of starting.
- High turnover of staff in this industry will involve employment paperwork
- Compliance with Food Act and Health standards involve audits
- Keeping track of plate costs involves detailed budgeting records and stock inventories
- Setting up safety training and inductions for all your staff involves documents
- Payroll involves systems
These are just a few of the functions that most businesses need to manage well of lose the business. No matter how perfect your product or how charming you are for customers: a single fine for breaching OHS act or employment conditions can cost you a years profit.
In my experience it is the food industry that are audited by several agency investigators the most often because of the risk to the customers from dodgy kitchens. The Herald Sun published a two page article not long ago showing the results of neglecting the paperwork side of restaurants.
November 9, 2011 at 1:22 am #1047646Up::0Hi everyone. I have few questions on opeing a restaurant. If someone could pls let us know the details we would appreciate ur sincere response.
My husband and I are seriously looking into opening up a small indian restaurant of about 30 people capacity in Melbourne.
However, we wanted to find out how much would be the initial cost of renovating and the opearting cost (approx the rental etc..) as we are stuck on this information and dont have any one to enquire about this. The rest of it like council permit and stuff we are familair with.
We could appreiciate if someone could help us out with the info.
thank u
Mona
November 9, 2011 at 9:44 am #1047647AnonymousGuest- Total posts: 11,464
Up::0Hi Mona,
These links should provide some assistance:
- Starting a business – read if you dare
- How to estimate realistic start-up costs for a takeaway
- Starting up a cafe
- Starting a cafe from scratch
- Salad bar help
Good luck with your restaurant, and thanks for joining Flying Solo.
Jayne
November 16, 2011 at 12:57 am #1047648 -
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