Writing a business plan for small restaurant? All things considered, restaurant business plans are fairly straightforward. You need to present a description of the food and drink items you'll sell, identify your target market (customer profile), review your competitors, and plot out a basic marketing strategy outlining elements you expect to use to get your restaurant publicized. Your restaurant business plan needs to include a five-year financial pro forma (if you're seeking private investment as your funding), or a three-year forecast (if you only need a bank or SBA-backed loan to open). It's helpful to have a logo design prepared as it will make your branding easier and give you a cue for how to format your business plan. Also, you should carefully double-check your projections against the market analysis and the industry metrics. Your plan should be structured like so:
1-Executive Summary (as concise as possible)
2-Start-up Summary (how will you use the money you need?)
3-Food/Drink Description (itemize your menu)
4-Market Section (what are your customers like, the industry, your competitors?)
5-Marketing (what methods make the most sense for your restaurant?)
6-Management (who will help you run the business?)
7-Financial Pro Forma (when will break even occur?)
Your model should also lay out the benchmarks you'll measure your performance against and show the projected profit you'll achieve after three or five years. Comparing this total to what you know your competitors have done (you can access this through a paid subscription to Dun & Bradstreet) is a good method to ensure that your financial model is solid. If you need help developing the financial statements, or are uncomfortable with market analysis or marketing, MasterPlans is the company for you. Our team of in-house experts can take your idea for a restaurant and turn it into an amazing business plan that's ready to get pitched for funding. Call us at 877-453-2011 to learn more!
