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Around 90% of all new restaurants fail in the first year of operation. Many owners think they have the perfect idea, but they have terrible business plans, location, or other issues. Idiot's Guides: Starting and Running a Restaurant shows budding restauranteurs the basics of honing in on a concept to gathering start-up capital to building a solid business plan. You will also learn how to choose a great restaurant location, select an appealing design, compose a fantastic menu, and hire reliable managers and staff. In this book, you get: • Introduction to basic requirements of starting a restaurant such as time management, recognizing your competition, choosing your restaurant concept, and making it legal. • Information on building a solid business foundation such as a solid business plan, a perfect location, where to find investors, and securing loans. • Suggestions on how to compose the perfect menu, laying out the front and back of house and bar, and choosing the must-have necessities such as security alarms and fire prevention. • Techniques on how to hire and train your staff, purchasing or renting supplies, understanding costs and setting up your financial office, and using social media as a marketing tool. • Secrets for keeping your customers returning, running a safe restaurant, managing employees, and building your PR sales plan. • Pre-opening checklists to ensure everything is ready by opening day. Operational checklists and forms a successful restaurateur will need to manage their restaurant.

This classic guide has been completely updated, providing would-be restaurateurs with everything they need to know to succeed and profiles of those who have successfully opened their own small restaurants.

Do you enjoy cooking for others? Is your buffet table a work of art? Are your parties the best in the neighborhood? Then catering may be a great career for you! It's all here-from getting licenses and choosing the perfect name to developing menus and getting the word out. Seasoned food expert and caterer Joyce Weinberg covers all aspects of the catering business and shares her secrets to success with you, including how to: Choose a specialty-fancy fundraisers, company and family picnics, or romantic weddings; Learn the ropes before you start your business; Create a marketing plan that gets your company noticed by all the right people; Find clients and generate repeat customers. The Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business is all you need to make your passion your profession!

Ninety percent of all restaurants fail, and those that succeed happened upon that mysterious X factor, right? Wrong! A man of many hats: money-guy, restaurant owner, and restaurant consultant-Roger Fields shows how a restaurant can survive its first year, based on far more than luck, and keep diners coming back for many years to come. Featuring real-life restaurant start-up stories (including some of the author's own), this comprehensive how-to walks readers through the logistics of opening a restaurant: creating the concept, choosing a location, designing the menu, establishing ambiance, hiring staff, and, most important, turning a profit. Opening a restaurant isn't easy, but this realistic dreamer's guide helps set the table for lasting success. From the Trade Paperback edition.

"This book covers all aspects of the restaurant business -- from initial startup, to building up a loyal trade and -- crucially -- putting yourself in your customers' shoes."--Cover.

A 12 month plan for successfully starting a restaurant. The all new edition of The Restaurant Start Up Guide focuses on what to do and when to do it advice for preparing to open a restaurant. This preliminary planner is an indispensable resource for anyone who is thinking of opening a restaurant. Complete with resources, timelines, sample financials, facilities checklists, and more, the would be restaurateur can be up and running in 12 months.