Many new entrepreneurs end up settling for a food and beverage kiosk because it’s a low-risk option and doesn’t require huge capital. In addition, food and beverages are commodities that are in great and constant demand.
However, choosing a food and beverage business still has its challenges, and like everything in business, it doesn’t equate to success. Because of that, you need to take your time to ensure that you’re completely prepared before launching your food and beverage outlet or kiosk.
To help you out, consider the following things that you may need to do and have before opening your food and beverage business.
1. Establish the Services You Want To Offer And Acquire Key Appliance And Tools
Everything in your business will rely on the type of service you want to offer since there are a lot of different types of food and beverage businesses. You have kiosks, bars, restaurants, food carts, and even something as simple as placing a vending machine.
Once you know the service you want to offer, you need to acquire the core appliance or tool that can let you do business. Some of them are the following:
- Vending Machine: You need to identify the kind of vending machine that you need. You may need a snack, bulk, specialty, or soda vending machine. All these vending machines differ in price. Thus, you need to research and know, how much does a vending machine cost that can meet your business needs?
- Point Of Sale (POS) System: In most food and beverage businesses, a POS system can make business smooth and easy. It can let you accept payments, ring up sales, analyze sales data, and manage inventory, among other uses. Even if you’re planning to start with just one small kiosk, you should make sure that you have a POS system.
- Reservation Software: This application allows your esteemed customers to make online reservations. This is indeed convenient if you’re going to run a restaurant.
- Credit Card Processing: This will require you to partner with a credit processing company so that you can be able to accept and process payments. Look for a company with low rates, transparent pricing, and few fees.
2. Acquire The Equipment You Need
The bulk of your initial expenditures will be for your kitchenware and other tools. Some of them could be ovens, grills, fryers, stoves, meat slicers (which you can learn more about here) and microwaves. However, unlike those appliances, you will surely need to have at least one type of refrigeration appliance in your business. It could be a walk-in freezer, commerical refrigerator, or ice machine.
Also, don’t forget about working surfaces like cutting boards, food tables, and countertops. You should also consider your shop’s furnishings, which include chairs, tables, décor, and a host stand.
Another thing that you shouldn’t forget is tableware, such as napkins, placemats, and tablecloths. Finally, purchase utensils you may need for your store such as sauce pots, frying and sauté pans, cups, plates, spoons, tongs, knives, and baking sheets.
3. Consider The Best Location For Your Business
The place where you choose to set up your food and beverage business should have an incredible amount of foot traffic. And if you can afford to, get a place with a parking space for customers. Having one can let you attract all kinds of customers.
4. Consider Your Target Customers And Your Menu
Research the kind of customers you would like to attract to your restaurant—basically, define and research about your target customers. For starters, be aware of the food trends they prefer to know what you’ll write in your menu.
For example, if your target customers include vegans and vegetarians, make sure that your menu has meatless options. On the other hand, if you’re targeting families, you may want to consider adding more dessert options to your menu to get kids to pull their parents into your business.
5. Consider Your Operating Hours
Unlike other jobs, operating a food and beverage business may require you to work for long hours. Also, you may not be able to take some days off as you’ll be required to spend quality time in your business doing managerial, accounting, auditing, and stock management tasks. Because of that, you need to decide your operating hours according to your capacity.
Also, when deciding on your operating hours, consider the number of employees you’ll have, your capital, and the nature of your business. For example, if you plan to open a pit stop for truckers and drivers, you may think of operating 24/7. However, if you can’t hire a lot of employees yet and you don’t have too many resources, you may want to reconsider operating during peak hours only.
Conclusion
Just like other types of businesses, you need to prepare carefully to launch a business that will pick up and run. Study your preferred customers so that you can prepare the right menu. Procure important appliances and tools for running your business transactions such as a POS system, credit card processing software, and a vending machine. Finally, hire the right kind of staff who can deliver the services you need in your food and beverage business.
