How to Start a Fast Food Restaurant

No matter how the economy changes, many people still enjoy eating out at fast food restaurants, because they are generally affordable. Opening your own fast food restaurant may be something you have always desired to do, but it can be an ambitious venture. To succeed, you need to keep a few things in mind.

Make sure you have enough start-up funds to launch your fast food restaurant or franchise and that you have enough money to sustain it for at least two years. Success isn't always instant and you will need enough income to stay afloat in the event your customer base doesn't grow as quickly as you would like. You also need to be able to pay for building rental fees, insurance, equipment, supplies, food, employee salaries, advertising and more. Since the likelihood is that you will need to take out a business loan, you must be capable of making monthly payments to the cost.

Start getting things into place. Find out about zoning laws and health codes. Incorporate and get a business license. Write a good business plan that outlines the specifics of your long-term and short-term goals, your budget and other costs, your marketing strategies and the like.

Consider buying into a franchise of a fast food restaurant chain that has a proven success record. That way, you will be investing your money into a business that has a bigger chance of earning profits. It will be expensive, but it may also make it easier for you to get a loan.

If you want to start an independent fast food restaurant of your own, decide what the concept will be, what demographic you want to attract and what you can do to make your establishment unique. Realize that you face stiff competition from more well-known, popular fast food businesses, so you need to come up with something that will make yours stand out from the crowd.

Decide what type of fast food you want to serve at your restaurant. For example, do you want the focus to be Chinese food or Mexican food or burgers or pizza? Develop a menu that is easy to understand and come up with a competitive price for each item. You may want to design a menu with "combo" meals or special deals where consumers can buy a combination of items for less.

Begin interviewing employees. If you don't want to manage the restaurant yourself, make sure you hire someone to do the job who has experience and who has had success in this area. While it would be preferable to hire other employees who have had some type of experience in the industry, it isn't always necessary if they are responsible, hard-working and willing to be trained. Let your employees know that you set high standards that they are expected to follow.

Market your fast food restaurant. You can send out flyers, advertise in newspapers or in other media, have promotional events and more. The fast food industry is highly competitive, so you need to get the word out about your restaurant creatively and aggressively.