Owning a restaurant is a unique and exciting challenge. The hours are long, and the competition can be fierce. If you have delicious food and a plan in place, you need to pay attention to the following tips to keep those orders coming in and follow your dreams.

Ensure you have proper insurance coverage.

Starting a restaurant means putting your hard-earned money into a new endeavor. After all the planning, arranging, coordinating, hiring, and delicious taste-testing efforts have been made, you must ensure that your establishment is properly insured. 

Having the right amount of restaurant insurance coverage for your business will protect your assets should anything unfortunate occur. You need to research and find the best insurance company to do business with along with the best policy for your needs. If you overpay for your insurance policy, you are wasting money that could go to other things, such as furthering your food goals.

Do not wait until you have more money in your proverbial pot or have checked a few more items off your to-do list. Look into insurance today so you are not left unprotected and out of luck in case something happens.

Have a functional and active online presence.

While your customers may be coming into your restaurant to eat, they are also ordering online. You need to give them a pleasant and easy-to-navigate website. Include enticing, full-bodied photos of your establishment and a variety of foods and drinks fully plated. Otherwise, they will tire of trying to use a dull and frustrating site to order food and move on to the next establishment. 

Along with a website, consider outsourcing the creation of an app for easier menu access and ordering. When something is easy for consumers, they are more likely to remember the experience fondly and come back for more. You want them to find your app and website quickly with minimal searching, download the app for free, and then make it seamless to use.

In addition to the website and app, having an active online presence is necessary in the ever-competitive digital age. Create a variety of handles on commonly used social media platforms. This way, you can engage the masses where they are. Post photos and descriptions of daily specials, new cuisine, and fun events to entice and foster interest.

Offer sustainable options for dining in and delivery.

In today’s climate-conscious world, your customers want to see you behaving responsibly towards the environment. After all, if you do your part, they are more likely to support you with their dollars and patronage.

To serve your food and drinks responsibly for a positive dining experience, rethink your approach. Replace paper napkins with cloth ones. Eliminate straws or replace them with high-quality paper straws. Serve your food on washable dishware instead of single-use items. If a customer wants to take their leftovers home with them, opt for biodegradable or compostable take-out containers.

The same methodology applies to restaurant delivery. Only use environmentally-friendly napkins, containers, and bags. Ensure your customers know that you are sourcing responsibly and give them instructions on how to dispose of the containers when they are through. When you think of everything from start to finish, including the receipt, your efforts will be appreciated and remembered.

Be the leader you wish you had.

Being a boss is akin to being a leader. Your employees follow you and see how you act with every interaction. Your staff takes notice when you are willing to dive right in and get your hands dirty (both literally and figuratively). And, they see you when you refuse to do the work that you do not deem worthy of your status.

The people who show up to work every day to represent your restaurant, brand, and everything you are trying to build deserve to be seen and respected as much as you. They want to know that their hard work, overtime, and dedication matter to the person in charge. When you pay your staff fair wages and schedule their shifts with respect to their overall work and personal life balance, they appreciate that and are willing to work harder for you. This mutual respect flows over into how your employees serve your customers – it is a win for everyone.

Watch this video for insightful information on how to be a better leader and why you should give it a try.

Take these tips to heart when moving forward with your new restaurant endeavor. Protect your assets and your delicious future today.