How To Start A Restaurant In Nigeria

If you are an entrepreneur who wants to open a restaurant business but don’t know how to go about it this article is for you. Starting a restaurant can be rewarding but it is also time consuming and requires a high level of self-discipline to maintain and run the business effectively. see hoe to start one in Nigeria.

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1. Choose a Concept

When choosing a restaurant concept, there are various things to consider in order to choose the niche best suited for you. The restaurant concept is more than deciding the type of restaurant but also consist of the branding, how it will be operated.you could decide to start a fast food restaurant, you could even narrow it to sharwarma joint, bakery, etc.

When you hear the phrase MR BIGGS’s you relate it to a feeling of enjoyment, parties and vacations. This is what branding is all about.To gain respect from your customer, you need to have a solid concept and also a unique brand that stands out.After deciding on your restaurant concept and brand you need to create a menu list

You must put what is in your head down on paper and ensure that each of your stakeholders understands the concept.

2. Create a Menu List

This is very important to starting a restaurant. A menu list is a list of food and beverages offered to customers and the prices. When creating your menu list, ensure those foods on your menu list are food you can prepare in your restaurant. Creating a menu list might not be important for restaurants with just one menu. An example is a pizza restaurant, etc. But having a menu list is a good approach because you might offer different types of packages for the same food. Your recipes should be yours (or your chef’s) and should be unique.

3. Choose a Location

Once you have developed your concept and your menu, you should have a pretty good idea of the size of the space required to execute the concept properly. And, once you know the size of the space, you can begin looking at tenancies in the neighborhood or neighborhoods that you have selected. Working with a commercial real estate agent who specializes in retail space will save you time. 

This is the perfect time to stop, take a deep breath, and prepare the business plan and financial forecast that will accomplish all of the following:

• Complete your market research to confirm that you have selected the ideal neighborhood and location.
• A competitive analysis will give you a good feel for the competitive landscape. Remember, in the restaurant business competition can be a good thing because it is evidence of demand. In evaluating your competitors, see if you can determine what competitive advantages you might bring to your business that will benefit both you and your patrons.
• Prepare a financial forecast that will include at least a revenue model based on your assumptions of the number of customers per day, average ticket, cost of goods sold, operating expenses, debt service (if any), startup costs, and staffing costs. Again, don’t guess. Know your numbers.
• Communicate the business and/or investment benefits that would accrue to an investor or lender.

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Include a marketing plan and a marketing budget in your business plan. Given your concept, menu, and location, who is your target customer? This will determine your marketing strategy. How will you create awareness for the restaurant before and after it opens? How can you take advantage of social media?

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5. Interior/Staffs

It’s time to get your architect or interior designer started, especially if there is a great deal of work to do on the interior and you have the budget to create something unique. By the way, not every new restaurant concept requires hundreds of thousands of Naira in tenant improvements and equipment. Remember that there is a huge used furniture and kitchen equipment market where you might be able to find just the right items for your space.

There are many other details to attend to in starting a restaurant. Just a few might include hiring and training staff, getting permits and licenses, creating a logo, menu design, signage design, finding the best POS system, buying insurance, and so many other details. If you are running a small business like a road side restaurant, you might not need more than 2-5 workers to help you with day to day activities needed to be carried out. But when running a big restaurant, like fast food restaurant, family restaurant, you might need workers, ranging from 10 to 50 workers and many more depending on your needs and how big your restaurant is.

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6. Financial Factor

Once you have completed your restaurant’s business plan and financial forecast, you will know how much funding will be required. Now is an excellent time to determine where the funds will come from. Perhaps you have saved for this business and have the necessary capital to launch the business. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs do not. If the money is not in your savings account, where will it come from: friends and family, a bank loan, credit cards, investors?