By Brian Margulis

While you might think your mom has the world’s best marinara sauce and your product should be flying off the shelf, the fact is that there are hundreds of other budding entrepreneurs who have the same thought. Before you make the leap into owning a restaurant start-up, don’t forget to think about these 10 helpful hints.

1. Have a clear vision. A successful start-up requires the effort of a staff pulling together in the same direction, united by a common goal.
2. Focus on what the customer likes, not what you like. What you like doesn’t matter, because you are not the customer. What matters is what your customers like. Find out what people in your area want and the price they’re willing to pay for it.
3. Deciding on a concept. Find a location in a good market with available parking, access, visibility and other positive traits, then determine what the local market wants that it can’t get and find a way to satisfy that unfilled desire.
4. Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Identify an unfilled niche in your local market. You don’t want to end up with too many items on the menu, a complicated kitchen, confused customers and no unique identity in the marketplace.
5. Don’t accept an alternative location to save on rent. Saving money on rent in a poor location often results in spending all that and more on advertising in an attempt to get noticed and bring in more business.
6. Make sure you have documented systems, procedures and training manuals. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) are a MUST from day one! The longer you operate without a documented way of doing business, the longer you will be unorganized and remain in the difficult start-up phase.
7. Understand your capital needs. Many new restaurants with excellent prospects for success simply run out of money. Identify and estimate in detail the start-up capital you’ll need. Then,  add a contingency plan for the host of things that can (and often do) happen in order to add more cost to the project than you plan on.
8. Remember you won’t start making money on opening day. The odds are against this happening. Even the best run restaurants need an allowance for funding operating deficits for up to 2 to 3 months after the restaurant opens.
9. Don’t have your grand opening on opening day. Just remember, the public’s first impression can easily be their last. Soft openings are the way to go. Get your act together before you tell the world.
10. As an owner, act like one. Eventually someone has to manage the business, not just run the restaurant. Owners are Leaders who must be proactive and strategic in thinking. If the owner is constantly “working in” and not “at the business”, guess who’s managing the business? Nobody.