Looking For Some Advice On Opening A Small Restaurant

[rossy1704]

My partner and I have been invited by a friend of ours to enter into a business agreement but I really need some advice and I hope that someone can help point us in the right direction.

Im sure there have been previous posts regarding this but Im getting bogged down by search results so please forgive me if this ground has been covered in the past.

A little information -

Our friend owns some land which is situated in a very good location and we are all interested in opening a small restaurant (the idea being to start small and if things go well to develop the business over time).

My partner is Thai and she would be running the day to day operation (as such I am not interested in work visas regulations etc.) and between us we have enough capital to invest. This is where we need some advice.

How do we even begin the process? Who do we have to speak to to see if we can go ahead with the project?

I do realise that Im asking a lot but if someone could just point us in the right direction I would very much appreciate the help. Thank you all in advance.

[richardt1808]

Starting a business like this can be very easy if you are not aiming high; and in which case you probably wont be making much profit on it. On the other hand, if you want to do it well, you will need to come up with a clever marketing plan & dynamic menu and be prepared to invest some money making your place look good (or some other clever ways to maximise your product mix and services). You don't give much information other than a very broad concept of an idea, so I don't think it is fair to ask us to come up with your business plan for you. Well, I could do that, but then I'd have to charge you a lot of money.....

Seriously, you need to head to the bookshop and find yourself as many books as possible on the subject. Anything on setting up small businesses or specifically restaurants would be great. Don't be lazy. Do some research. There is also the internet. Have you tried Googling "Ideas for setting up a restaurant" ?

Do your research and when you have some of your own ideas, then feel free to ask us to comment on those.

Edited January 23, 2010 by richardt1808

[Colabamumbai]

Is this a matter of you friend needing money by asking you to open a restaurant? Ultimately who may benefit from this you and your lady, or only your "partner". Who came up with this idea? Im not sure that it was yours.

Therefore it may not be a good idea.

[thaibutty]

My best advise is not to open another restaurant...Go for a bar! Or build a shophouse, there is certainly not enough of them!!

[filingaccount]

It really depends on the area.

If you give an indication of what kind of area (residential, inner city, highway, commercial, business, red light, mixed) it is then the resulting suggestions will be more accurate.

There is a metric ton of variables to run a successful restaurant, and the most important is always location.

[Thongkorn]

My advice is don't open a restaurant or bar, there are to many now and many for sale , Unless you cater for the Korean or Chinese, Indian, because thats where Pattay going,

[raro]

the OP asked what to do to open a restaurant. He did not ask for advise whether to open a restaurant or not. Please keep that in mind for further replies to this thread, one post with inflammatory nonsense has been deleted.

What you (the OP) should do is enter a company or partnership with your business partner and put down in writing who does what and hpw profits will be split etc. If you are not used to draft contracts like this, get a lawyer.

Along with that make a business plan and stick to it. Key is your target group and how you want to reach them. Review your plan from time to time and adjust it if necessary, but in general, stick to it and do not lose the plot.

As for restaurants in Pattaya, it is location location and good quality at reasonable prices.

[Chaimai]

There is not enough information in the OP to form a judgement. Somebody assumed Pattaya - Why ?

OK, let's get drawn in -

Stake

Liquidity

Profit

i.e. How much are you putting in (risk capital) to get the business up and running. Is it enough ? Good, double it to cover your cash requirements.

Liquidity is cash, it is working capital - it is what you need on top of the capital investment (unless you have sensibly built in a year one loss and a resultant cash call).

Profit ? Interesting. Please understand (not wishing to teach Grandmama to suck kai) that turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. If you go to a warehouse/Makro and buy Coke at 10 Baht and sell for a 5 Baht mark up you may not actually make a profit. A 50 % mark up = 33% GPM. If you have have expended more than 5 Baht in making that sale (wages/fuel/time) then you have made a loss.

raro is spot on. Make a business plan. It is road map of where you are going and how you are going to get there. It is your BIBLE. It should comprise a commonsense test of your predictions with a manifestation of the cash implications of your plan.

In a prevoius life I received a business plan from a corporate client showing a GBP 50k loss. I sent it back asking for the figures to be re-cut showing how HE was funding the shortfall - because my bank was not going to.

Good luck to the OP with his venture - keep your eyes (and bowels) open and put your trust in God/Buddha.

Addendum

I have recently opened a coffee shop/restaurant/bar which is performing ahead of Plan

[raro]

In a prevoius life I received a business plan from a corporate client showing a GBP 50k loss. I sent it back asking for the figures to be re-cut showing how HE was funding the shortfall - because my bank was not going to.

....amazing that they dared to submit it!

[lazygourmet]

Honestly, in more than 25 years within hospitality industry, I learned more from restaurants that did not work than from all the ones that were successful.

[rossy1704]

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my post - especially those who have sent me private messages with some very sound advice.

My initial post was indeed very general and if that caused anyone distress then I have to say sorry. My partner and I are proceeding very slowly with our plans - looking at all the costs involved - taking legal advice etc. before we decide whether or not to proceed.

Once again - thank you very much for your help - I hope this finds you all healthy and happy.