| If you are working on a restaurant business plan, and | | | | If you are only open five or six days a week, you are |
| the sales just don't seem to be adding up to what you | | | | missing out. Sure, you want a day off, but if you |
| hoped, here are some suggestions on ways you can | | | | haven't set the business up to run without you then |
| dramatically increase the revenue you are pulling in to | | | | you are already doing something wrong. You still have |
| the business that are mostly simple to do and don't | | | | to pay rent and utilities on days you are closed, so you |
| increase your fixed costs while adding nicely to your | | | | might as well open the doors and make some money. |
| bottom line. | | | | Add breakfast or lunch |
| Add catering | | | | People need three meals a day- you might as well be |
| Simply by adding some signage and doing a little | | | | the one to supply them with their calories. It is easy to |
| promotion, you can add hundreds of dollars a day or | | | | create a menu to serve these meals, and the extra |
| more to your sales by offering to do catering. This can | | | | revenue will go more directly to the bottom line, since |
| include everything from simple set menus delivered to | | | | you are already covering your overhead with your |
| an office around the corner to a complete dinner | | | | regular service hours. |
| course served to a hundred person wedding. | | | | Add retail food sales |
| Add pickup orders | | | | Got a great BBQ sauce recipe? Put it in jars and sell it |
| Encouraging people to call ahead and place orders for | | | | to your customers! If that works out, spend a little time |
| pickup is a terrific way to add capacity without | | | | getting it on the shelves at the local store, or sell it at |
| expanding the dining room or making people wait hours | | | | the farmer's market. Not only will it increase your sales, |
| for a table. Although this is usually associated with fast | | | | it will help grow your brand which will bring even more |
| food, more and more restaurants are offering it as an | | | | people into the restaurant. That is a win-win proposition. |
| option, and finding it to be a successful strategy at all | | | | Add outside food sales opportunities |
| price levels. | | | | Rent a booth at the local fair, or set up a mobile |
| Add retail items | | | | location at a busy corner. You already have a kitchen |
| Get your customers to pay to advertise for your | | | | and everything you need to prep the food, all you are |
| restaurant! Put your logo and name on t-shirts, hats | | | | doing here is adding an additional venue to pick up |
| mugs and more and sell them to your admiring | | | | more sales. You'd be surprised- there have been |
| customers. Encourage them to wear the items by | | | | plenty of stories of people who have pulled in six |
| offering a discount on their order whenever they | | | | figures or more in just a few weeks at a busy county |
| come in wearing your gear. | | | | fair selling their special food dishes. That could be you! |
| Add more days | | | | |