Mistakes That Could Hurt Your Restaurant Business

collaborative post // Everybody makes mistakes! We’re only human, after all! But as a restaurant owner, there are some mistakes that you need to avoid to ensure the future success of your business. With this in mind, be mindful of the following mistakes that could hurt your restaurant.

1: Choosing the wrong location

There are some locations that are better than others.

If you choose a location that is off the beaten path and away from foot traffic, the odds will be stacked against you. Opening a restaurant on a street that contains similar food businesses to yours might also cause a problem for you, especially if those other businesses are popular with the locals.

To improve your chances of success, choose a location that is prone to regular foot traffic and don’t locate your restaurant in an area that is already inundated with businesses like yours.

2: Not having the proper licenses

If you don’t have the correct licenses and certifications in place before you open your restaurant doors for business, you could be in breach of the law.

Licences include the Premises Licence, which is needed when serving hot food and alcohol between 11 pm and 5 am, and when showing indoor sporting events. Another licence is the Personal Licence, which is necessary for every member of staff who serves alcohol.

You don’t need to have every license. If you play music in your restaurant, you won’t need a Music License if that music is copyright-free, so you should select your playlists carefully or use the services of a business that can provide commercial-free background music for restaurants.

Make sure you are following the proper regulations within your business by carrying out the appropriate research.

3: Not paying attention to online reviews

Hopefully, the online reviews your business receives will be positive ones. However, you should still check restaurant review sites, even if you think your customers are happy with what you are doing.

There is a chance that some customers will complain about your restaurant online rather than saying something to your face. There is also the chance that your competitors could be trying to sabotage your business by writing false reviews online.

So, go online, check out review sites, and if you spot bad feedback, respond accordingly. You can do this by leaving an apology under negative reviews, making improvements where needed, and reporting any review you think is false to the website owner.

4: Not taking the competition seriously.

With so much competition out there, you need to take steps to give people a reason to choose your business over another. If you don’t, you could make a loss in your business if other restaurant owners steal away your existing and potential customers.

So, find out what other restaurants are offering their customers. Look at their menus and pricing systems and consider the reasons why they might be popular with the locals. And then do what you can to gain a competitive advantage so your business doesn’t suffer.

Finally

According to data online, around 60% of new restaurants fail in the first year and 80% of them go out of business before the fifth year! These statistics are scary but you can take steps to avoid failure by heeding the mistakes we have mentioned here.

We wish you every success with your business!