Restaurant management, Food lawyer, Molecular Gastronomist, Health Coach and Restaurant Consulting are just some of the services that are offered within the Restaurant Industry. The Restaurant Industry is full of innovators and strategists who always try to thrive more given any circumstances. And aside from restaurant owners and staff, there are individuals who aim to empower the success of a restaurant business and its brand, they’re known as restaurant consultants.
This Coronavirus pandemic may have affected your restaurant and takeaway business, but what matters now is how you’re planning to come back and to keep thriving, not just surviving through this uncharted and uncertain times. This is where restaurant consulting services can help you. It is a service that helps you, a restaurant owner, to formulate an actionable and effective strategy for your restaurant business.
Now that you have a bit of an idea on what is restaurant consulting, it’s time for you to know how it can help your restaurant business, and who knows, it might help you with your career in the industry as well. Read along and dig deeper into the business of restaurant consulting services.
WHAT IS RESTAURANT CONSULTING?
Restaurant consulting services are services offered by an industry professional or expert that provides helpful insights about a restaurant business. It often begins by identifying and understanding the goals of a restaurant business, checking out the areas of a restaurant that needs improvement, and providing a comprehensive plan to lead the restaurant and takeaway business into success.
The size of your restaurant business doesn’t matter, as long as you seek ways to improve the success of your business, checking restaurant consulting services should be on the top of your list. And it is not just about providing a plan, it also produces operational performance reviews, menu development, and new concept creation.
WHAT DOES A RESTAURANT CONSULTANT DO?
If you’re wondering if it would be worth it to hire restaurant consultants for your restaurant, here are some of their main tasks and see if it would be beneficial to the current situation of your restaurant business.
- Operational Assessment. Provides different approaches to improve operational efficiencies.
- Strategy Development. Turn those approaches into strategies that provide long-term success.
- Staff and Service Training. Shares training tips to ensure that your workforce can support the longevity and success of your restaurant.
- Concept Development. Delivers a dynamic, practical, continuing approach that includes concept design, financial projection, brand analysis, and business development.
- Menu Engineering and Development. Trains your chefs into working a new and well developed restaurant menu.
- Restaurant Industry and Market Research. Conducts research about the local and global standing of the industry and its customers.
- Restaurant Turnaround Assistance. Identify the challenges for your restaurant and provide viable solutions.
There may be different reasons why you’ll need the services of restaurant consultants, be it you want to pivot your operations and turnaround your entire restaurant business, or you’re planning to launch a new concept or for some expansions. Here’s a list on what a restaurant consultant does in the mentioned circumstances.
Let’s say that you’re now convinced to try restaurant consulting services, your question now would be how to know if you’re getting services from the right restaurant consultant. Here’s a detailed guide on how to hire a restaurant consultant and what are the characteristics to look for.
STEPS ON HOW TO HIRE A RESTAURANT CONSULTANT
Step 1. Conduct research within the industry, and start a preliminary search. Seek for referrals from your colleagues.
Step 2. Discuss the project with the top contenders.
Step 3. Request written proposals about your project.
Step 4. Study and analyze the proposals given by your finalists.
Step 5. Choose the best consultant.
QUALITIES OF AN EFFECTIVE RESTAURANT CONSULTANT
Look for the following attributes to ensure that you’ll employ an effective and efficient restaurant consultant.
- Strategic
- Visionary
- Entrepreneurial
- Cross Industry Expert/Professional
- Result Driven
- Resourceful
- Socially Skilled
WHAT ARE THE COMMON RESTAURANT BUSINESS AREAS THAT NEEDS CONSULTING SERVICES?
As a restaurant owner, you should know your restaurant well, especially your Epos system for takeaway restaurants. Conducting a daily business health check up helps you to identify what are the areas that are not performing well, and through restaurant consulting, you can also have solutions to these problems. Here’s a list of the common areas in a restaurant that needs professional check up.
- Branding
- Marketing
- Concept Development
- Recruitment Management
- Menu Development
- Financial Planning and Development
- Restaurant Turnarounds
- Business Planning
WHY DO YOU NEED RESTAURANT CONSULTING SERVICES?
Asking for help from an industry expert is not something you should be ashamed of. If you think you’ve tried all the tricks and tips that you learned and still seeing no results, or if you don’t want to risk the health of your restaurant business, it is now time to ask for assistance. Another set of fresh eyes can be a huge help for your business. Here are some signs that your restaurant might already need a restaurant consulting service.
- You’re planning to expand your restaurant business.
- You want to try something new for your customers.
- Your restaurant is not profitable enough.
- You lack management expertise and knowledge in operating a restaurant despite your experience.
- You’re not using your location to its maximum potential.
BENEFITS OF HIRING A RESTAURANT CONSULTANT
Here’s how restaurant consulting services help your restaurant to be and stay on top of the competition.
- They are industry experts who gained professional knowledge and experience.
- They have a better observance and understanding of the latest trends in the industry.
- They have expertise in menu engineering and management.
- They know how public relations, business relations, and customer relations works.
- They can craft an effective recruitment process, and help with the training of employees.
- They study and analyze the market before presenting expansion plans and ideas.
WHY RESTAURANT OWNERS SHOULD CONSIDER BEING A RESTAURANT CONSULTANT?
If you’re starting to wonder what’s the next step for you as a restaurant owner, why not try being a consultant? You’re technically doing the job for your restaurant business already, why not challenge yourself and try to expand your career in the Restaurant Industry. Extend this to your food delivery app, too.
Here are some of the advantages of what restaurant consulting can offer for your next career step.
- Great pay for services. An average restaurant consultant charges £50 to £300 per hour, depending on the type of services asked.
- Job security. Be it the industry is doing great or not, restaurateurs are always looking for ways to improve their business. This is the main reason why consulting jobs are secured, there’s always demand available.
- Flexible time. If you’ll start to have your own restaurant consulting firm, you’re your own boss. You can work part time or full time, it depends on how you want to run your business.
- Freedom to choose your clients. In running a restaurant, you don’t have the luxury to be selective when it comes to the people you’ll work with, especially with customers, but with restaurant consulting you have the right to choose your clients.
- Diverse community. Restaurant consulting offers diversity for consultants, mainly because each restaurant business has unique needs and challenges.
SIMPLE HELPFUL TIPS TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL RESTAURANT CONSULTANT
Are you already convinced that offering restaurant consulting services can also be your next step for your career in the Restaurant Industry? If yes, here are some simple yet useful tips on how to become a successful restaurant consultant.
- Be hands-on with your restaurant operations and gain knowledge and experience in the field.
- Get additional Hospitality Education.
- Track and record your work as you gain experience in the industry.
- Learn and understand the laws of every state, city, and county for restaurants.
- Build your professional network.
- Invest in marketing your services, and consider making your own website.
- Don’t be afraid to start with small consulting services, slowly grow your network.
- Gather reviews and recommendations from your clients and colleagues.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP!
In the Restaurant Industry, it does not matter how you fail and stumble, what always matters is how you’re going to make that fall help you get successful. And whatever life throws at you, be it a pandemic outbreak or an economic fall, be still and know that help will always be provided in the industry.
