Let's begin with a stipulation. You've been working in restaurants for years and have tons of experience and knowledge of all phases. You've watched and taken notes. Now you want to open your own place. Let's further stipulate you feel you have enough money to get started, but you're wondering, "Are there are cautions for restaurant businesses that are different from other businesses?"

My answer is: "Yes, and No." There are some seemingly different aspects of restaurant businesses, but most are just adaptations of those used in other busnesses. However, there are three major review points you need to investigate before you spend a nickel, and five must-do segments to control as you begin operations.

SUCCESS CHANCES
The success rate for restaurants is abysmal. The Small Business Administration (SBA) says over twice as many restaurants fail as do any other type of business. This trend is reflected in the SBA's requirements for a loan guarantee. Before they will even consider guaranteeing a restaurant loan, the SBA wants you to have somewhere around 50% to 60% of the total amount of required equity. This is compared to the 25% to 30% equity required of other businesses. (Your banker operates on this same principle.) These facts indicate that you probably should not start a restaurant on an idea and a shoe-string. You may lose the string, the shoe, and the rest of your wardrobe.

FINDING MONEY
As indicated, you'll need more than half of the capital required to start and operate your restaurant before you even think of asking a money lender for additional funds. If you don't personally have this much, you can raise the required sum by forming a small private corporation or starting a limited partnership. In either of these cases, other people put up their cash for equity in your restaurant. The big advantage for you is the money is called an investment, and unlike a loan, there is no obligation to immediately pay back the money. The disadvantage is that someone else owns part of your restaurant.

WHERE TO LOCATE
As they say in the real estate business, "It's location, location, location." A restaurant's success or failure often depends more on location than it does on food, so spend some time looking for the absolutely best spot. Hire a professional to do a market survey to determine whether the locations you are considering can economically support your restaurant. Start by locating where diners want to go for food, not where you want to start! A great place is often near other successful restaurants--check this out the next time you do a drive-around survey. Your name may be a drawing card to an out-of-the-way location at some future time, but not at first. Also, beware of locating where another restaurant failed. The location could be a failure for you as well.

PORTION CONTROL
Nothing can economically destroy a restaurant faster than unintentionally giving away food. Purchase ladles, scoops, scales, and other portion control utensils and absolutely insist they be used under pain of dismissal. Your customers expect standard portions. If they receive less one time than they did previously, they may feel cheated and take their business elsewhere.

CHECK THE CHECK
The customer's check (or ticket) is part of your financial control system. Both servers and customers could occasionally walk away with your money, so control over this important area is mandatory! Begin your control program by issuing numbered ticket books to all servers and hold them financially responsible for missing tickets. Calculate the average cost per ticket, and charge the server this amount if they lose or misplace a check. Alternatively, use duplicate tickets and compare kitchen copies to cash register tickets at the end of the shift. It is your money, watch over it. There are probably 47 ways you can lose money through dishonest or forgetful help, so set your controls from day one!

SCHEDULE YOUR STAFF
Insist your employees start on time and go home after their shift. You don't want them hanging around on your dollar. If you don't need them, you don't want them on payroll. For example: have clean-up crews come in towards the end of the meal when dishes are dirty, not at the beginning when everything is clean. Payroll is expensive, but it is under your control. Exercise that control.

BACK ROOM STORAGE
Keep ALL supplies under lock and key, and audit your inventory often. Schedule deliveries so you can personally check them against invoices. Maintain a neat and orderly storeroom so you can quickly determine the status of your inventory. Food is expensive, don't permit it to accidentally disappear.

OTHER TIPS
One great idea to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge is to apprentice with a successful restaurant for a month. You shouldn't expect to get paid, and the owner is certainly going to take advantage of your generosity, but by becoming a 'shadow' for 30 days, you'll learn things you would never learn any other way.