How to Start a Small Business
How to Start a Food & Beverage Services Business
Starting a food and beverage services business can get you on the path to a secure financial future but it's important to plan out the business in detail before you start. We provide a friendly, comprehensive guide that demystifies what it takes to be successful.
Thinking about opening a food and beverage services business? We tell you what you need to know to get started.
Business Plan Mechanics for Food & Beverage Services Businesses
Haven't created a business plan for your food and beverage services business yet? You could be in big trouble.
At Gaebler, we advise new business owners to keep your business plan simple. Length and polish aren't as important as consistency, accuracy and thoroughness.
Instead of investing countless hours in a lengthy business plan, put pen to paper now and document the essentials with the understanding that your plan will be revised as you move forward.
Don't Overlook Competitors
Prior to opening a food and beverage services business within your community, it's a smart move to see what the competition looks like. We've provided the link below to help you get a list of local competitors in your city. After clicking on the link, type in your city, state and zip code to get a list of food and beverage services businesses near you.
Before you open up shop, make sure you know what you will offer to your customers that provides a significant advantage over your competition's offering.
Learning More About the Industry
If you are interested in starting a food and beverage services business, the next step is to speak with somebody who is already in the business. If you think your local competitors will give you advice, you're being overoptimistic. The last thing they want to do is help you to be a better competitor.
But, a person who owns a food and beverage services business in another town can be a great learning resource for you, once they realize that you are not going to directly compete with them in their community. Indeed, many experienced entrepreneurs enjoy offering advice to startup entrepreneurs. In my experience, you may have to call ten business owners in order to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.
Where do you find an owner of a food and beverage services business that lives outside of your area?
No problem! Just use the link below and try a random city/state or zipcode. Then start dialing for advice until you are successful.
Why You Should Buy (Instead of Start) a Food & Beverage Services Business
It's no secret that entrepreneurs have a strong impulse to build companies from the ground up.
Yet a healthier and safer strategy may be to purchase an existing food and beverage services business.
Existing food and beverage services businesses are proven operations with dependable revenue streams. When you buy, you also gain the ability to sidestep all of the trial-and-error that comes standard with any food and beverage services business startup.
Explore Franchising Options
The odds of doing well with your venture are greatly increased if you go the franchising route rather than going it alone.
Before you consider starting a food and beverage services business, you would be wise to assess whether buying a franchise could alleviate your startup process.
The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.
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