Whether you are an owner, supervisor, or manager of a restaurant, one of the most important things about running things in the foodservice industry is ensuring the business has ongoing success. Of course, everything about running a restaurant in the midst of a pandemic has become even more fraught in the past year. From ghost kitchens to price gouging delivery apps, restaurant owners have had to navigate it all during a, particularly challenging year.
Even when you’re not a business owner in the middle of a global pandemic, there are several components to a restaurant’s success that you have to keep in mind. Plus, as consumers continue to live in the digital age, many of these tactics have evolved as technology has. From security cameras to online shopping, the restaurant industry is booming with different ways to build and maintain a successful business. As you work to transition out of the pandemic as vaccines continue to be released, here are some tips and tricks to help you and your business have continued success.
Find places to rein in your budget.
One of the ways that many restaurant owners have been able to find success is by keeping their cash flow as streamlined as possible during the pandemic. These sorts of austerity measures can stay important as you transition to more in-person dining since restaurants still have razor-thin margins even without a deadly virus spreading across the globe. One way to rein in your budget is to be careful about big expenses like new equipment. Rather than purchasing new restaurant equipment outright, it may make more sense to look into equipment lease options instead.
Restaurant equipment financing is a great way to help you get the restaurant equipment you need to operate without costing you an arm and a leg at the outset. When you take out a restaurant equipment lease, you pay for expensive ovens, refrigerators, and other kitchen equipment monthly, meaning that whether you’re outfitting a new restaurant or upgrading your existing one, you don’t have to absorb the costs from the get-go. There are plenty of restaurant equipment financing options out there‚Äîincluding ones for new customers with bad credit or a lower credit score‚Äîso you can still take advantage of monthly payments on a new piece of equipment without having to take out a full working capital loan.
Protect your premises with security cameras.
If part of your pandemic-era protocol involved limiting when your restaurant was open, it’s important to protect your physical building while you aren’t visiting it every day. This is when investing in cloud-based security cameras can give you the peace of mind you need. In addition to offering those in the restaurant business a way to monitor their property with a video surveillance system locally, many IP cameras or cloud-based cameras even sync their video footage feeds with mobile apps and your web browser for remote access. This means you can check in on your business wherever you are and whenever you want.
Find ways you can use online shopping to your advantage.
Online shopping and e-commerce are booming after customer behavior has changed due to the pandemic. While you probably have different online delivery platforms you use, Shopify and other e-commerce options could still be a way for customers to support your restaurant now and moving forward. If you have t-shirts, hats, or other merchandise that doesn’t fit the protocol of GrubHub or DoorDash, consider setting up a Shopify account and making sales through your website. If you’re not the most technically-savvy restaurant owner, that’s okay. The good news is it’s easy to search Google for a guide to integrating with Shopify so you can get your Shopify integration handled in as little as a few hours. Once you have your online marketplace up and running, you can start making sales immediately to increase your profitability!
