Expanding your restaurant can be an exciting opportunity to grow your business, increase revenue, and reach new customers. However, a restaurant expansion also comes with significant challenges and risks. Before you begin the process of expansion, it’s essential to ask yourself some critical questions. Our top 5 questions to consider before expanding your Minneapolis/St. Paul restaurant are:
- Do you have the resources?
- Is your brand strong enough?
- Are you meeting your current demand?
- Is your team ready?
- Do you have a plan?
Let’s look at each and identify the answers you need to arrive at before taking this next big step.
Do You Have the Resources?
Expanding your restaurant will require additional resources, including capital, staff, and equipment. Do you have the financial resources to support your expansion? Are you prepared to invest in new equipment, marketing, and advertising to support your growth?
If you don’t have enough capital on hand, have you considered your options to find the financial support you need to make a restaurant expansion a reality? There are many financial programs and resources available to Minneapolis small businesses that you should review as you assess your current position. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the costs associated with expansion before moving forward.
Is Your Brand Strong Enough?
Expanding your restaurant means expanding your brand. Do you have a strong enough brand to support your expansion? Make sure your brand is well-established and has a strong following in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market before considering expansion. This will help ensure that you have a loyal customer base to support your growth right from the start.
Are You Meeting Your Current Demand?
Before expanding your restaurant, it’s essential to ensure that you’re meeting your current demand. Are you consistently busy and profitable in your existing location? Do you have a strong customer base that is willing to follow you to a new location? Make sure you have a solid foundation in your existing location before considering expansion.
Is Your Team Ready?
Expanding your restaurant requires a strong team that is capable of managing the additional responsibilities and demands of a larger business. Make sure you have a capable and experienced team that is prepared to handle the challenges of expansion. Consider hiring additional staff or promoting from within to ensure that you have the right people in place to support your growth. Keep in mind the challenges that can accompany staff expansion, particularly in areas like payroll and benefits management. Have you considered the additional HR challenges that will come along with growing your team?
Do You Have a Plan?
Expanding your restaurant requires a detailed and well-thought-out plan. Have you created a business plan that outlines your expansion strategy, goals, and milestones? Have you considered factors such as location, menu, and pricing for your new location?  Part of building that plan is having a clear picture of your current and historic financials. Are your balance sheet, profit & loss and cash flow statements up to date and accurate? What kind of a picture do they paint? Make sure you have a clear plan in place before moving forward with your expansion.
Working with Haworth & Company
If you are considering a restaurant expansion, give us a call and we will work with you to assess your current financial position and help you to develop a plan for how to make that expansion a success. We help Minneapolis/St. Paul restaurant owners improve their operations by assisting with financial reporting, bookkeeping, payroll and more. Let us bring our expertise into play to help you grow your business the right way.
