How To Grow Your Restaurant Business with Equipment Financing
If you’re in a position to expand your restaurant business, congratulations! In a very competitive industry, you’ve managed not just to survive but also to thrive. Now you’re ready to grow your operation with new services, merchandise, or an additional location. When your expansion plan requires new equipment, you have to figure out how to cover the cost. Equipment financing can be a convenient and affordable way to get the restaurant equipment you need. Keep reading to learn why consistency is so important for restaurant expansion, get ideas for additional income streams, and explore your financing options for equipment purchases.
The Essential Ingredient For a Successful Restaurant Expansion
When it comes to expanding your restaurant business, make consistency your guiding principle. Consistent operating procedures make it easier to scale your business. And a consistent experience for diners will help you create a memorable brand, as well as loyal customers who will dine with you again and recommend your restaurant to others. Here’s how to make consistency part of everything you do:
- Brand Visibility: Use the same signage, menu design, delivery packaging, and employee uniforms at every location and for any public events you do outside of your usual location. You can even utilize a white label software platform so that your restaurant’s name and logo are prominently displayed in any digital customer interactions.
- Corporate Values: Why do you do what you do? What is your purpose for your restaurant business? Create a list of values to guide your business and post them at each location, as well as incorporating them into employee and manager training.
- Analyze data: Use the data from your POS system, as well as from customer behavior and reviews to identify areas where you could be more consistent and efficient. For example, kitchen display screens can speed up prep times and eliminate lost tickets.
- Marketing Plan: Create consistency in your physical and digital marketing efforts. This could look like an annual special event, charitable collection, or giveaway. It could also mean posting a behind-the-scenes picture or video on social media on the same day every week. You can also utilize marketing automation software to increase the consistency and efficiency of your campaigns.
- Equipment: Next to the talent of your chef and the skill of your front-of-house employees, good equipment is the beating heart of a successful restaurant. Install the same equipment in all your locations to ensure consistency and quality in how food is cooked and served.
4 Ways To Expand Your Restaurant Business
There are a variety of ways to expand your restaurant business and income streams. From taking the small step of adding branded merchandise to the larger step of opening a new location, here are 4 ways to grow and scale your culinary business.
- Look for new sources of revenue from your existing space through takeout and delivery, merch sales, catering, and events (baby and wedding showers, birthdays, etc.).
- Make your restaurant mobile with a food truck or pop-up option. These can help expand brand awareness among different groups of people and regions. A food truck or pop-up event also provides an additional revenue stream.
- Need more space for more tables? Before moving, try to expand your current space through changes to your layout, renovations, or acquiring the space next to your restaurant.
- Open another location or start a franchise.
Get The Right Equipment For Your Restaurant Expansion
Any plan for a successful restaurant expansion should include the right equipment. Investing in good equipment will help you stay flexible and run your restaurant as efficiently as possible. This also helps you weather difficult periods, as well as take advantage of any opportunities that come your way. Here’s what to consider:
- What kinds of specialized equipment do you need for your specific type of restaurant? For example, a pizzeria with more than one location can maintain the same taste and quality by using identical ovens.
- Train your staff on the same equipment so they won’t have to retrain on new equipment if they move to a different location. This also ensures staff are on the same page with operating procedures.
- Of course, having the same POS system at each location is also a must. That way staff can operate the technology easily regardless of the location. And you can collect data from each location, easily viewed in one system and its reports.
- If you can’t buy brand new for all your equipment, prioritize kitchen equipment to support your chef in getting food out as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality.
- Prioritize investing in strategic equipment such as automated ordering kiosks or anything else that will reduce wait times and improve the customer experience.
- Make sure your equipment investments are suitable for your intended client demographics and chosen growth areas to achieve best usage and ROI.
Explore Your Equipment Financing Options
Expanding your restaurant requires you to make certain financial investments before realizing increased profits. However, it’s not recommended that you cut costs in the area of equipment. Coolers, freezers, ice makers, ovens, and more are all essential to your restaurant. and make monthly payments on your equipment loan. Learn about your loan options:
- Business Term Loan: These general commercial loans can be used for a variety of business expenses, including equipment.
- SBA Loan: Small Business Administration loans can help small businesses get needed funding, especially if they are unable to secure a traditional business loan.
- Equipment Financing Loan: The value of the equipment serves as collateral for the Equipment Loan.
- Equipment Finance Agreement: A great alternative to a bank loan due to the speed and ease offered with 100% of the purchase price financed.
- Land Ownership Program: If you own the land your restaurant is on, you can receive competitive rates and approvals through Blue Bridge’s land ownership program.
- Young and Startup: Equipment financing for new business owners with industry experience, up to 2 years in business, and a stable credit history.
Safeguard Your Investment in Specialty Equipment
Once you’ve purchased the equipment you need to expand your restaurant, make sure you safeguard that investment with insurance and maintenance contracts. This will protect you against losses and help your equipment last as long as possible while providing optimal performance.
Partner with Blue Bridge Financial for your Equipment Financing!
Blue Bridge Financial is your experienced equipment lender for the restaurant industry. We know that you’re operating in a competitive environment with tight profit margins and other challenges. We can help you get the restaurant equipment financing you need for your expansion, with loan terms that fit your budget. Contact us to learn more about our equipment financing options and start the application process.
