12 Grave Mistakes of Restaurant Owners!!!

We see a lot of new restaurants coming up in our cities now a days but the worst is when a lot of them shut down their operations owing to the losses they incur due to some really nasty circumstances. These include staff issues, lack of sales, sudden quality deterioration, overall lack of management and many other reasons. To be honest, in the true sense the reason for the failure of these businesses is not as Macro as we think it to be, rather mostly the reasons for the businesses shutting within say 24 months of the launch is largely owing to some mistakes made by the owners of the business, some really GRAVE Mistakes to be precise! Well, I have compiled some 12 major ones to start with, you can also give your inputs as the more we understand the problems the better we find the solutions.

Hi, I am Rohan Bhatt. A Professional Business Consultant and Startup coach based out in Surat, Gujarat with a passion for business and especially the ones that make good money for my clients. This is my way of getting my thoughts out into the market and getting the hype and feel of the people who comprise of the most important and essential part of the entire activity of doing business. Join me in my journey from Problems to Solutions. You can visit our website: http://www.squareconsulting.in or email us with any of your feedback, doubts or queries: info@squareconsulting.in

12 Grave Mistakes of Restaurant Owners!!!

1. We don’t need professional staffing – It’s a fair kind of argument put up by most of the restaurant owners, they state that the professional staffing solutions are not for them as there are very less people available in the industry and there is a lot of snooping and poaching (pun intended).

 2. Who needs marketing? I don’t need to market my startup – Well. The most common reason for restaurants not faring well in recent times has been not being able to market the restaurants to the target audience. Going deeper, we see that the marketing segmentation and targeting is absent from the businesses from the initial stage itself and this leads to lack of correct marketing efforts and finally, the fall of a freshly started business.

3. The Customer doesn’t know anything – This is a common misconception that is prevalent in the industry and almost all the startup restaurant owners suffer from this delusion. As a result, they start up with business models that do not have a market and the same leads to the closure of the business. 

4. I don’t have to communicate with the customers’ ­– The biggest and most successful restaurateurs also make it a point to talk and interact with their customers and take their feedback, the customers are the life of the business and communication is everything. The lack of communication in a business as dynamic and competitive as hospitality and food service can be lethal to the business.

5. I don’t need to collect consumer data – Most of the restaurant startups do not realize the importance of the customers in building the decision around a concept for the business. This is more like setting up the foundation of your business on a swampland. The future of a baseless business is doubtful even before the business starts. You can avoid it! Try and analyze what is the need of the market and build a business in accordance.

6. We are truly original! (And utterly rigid) – Being original is a different thing but being rigid about the products and innovation part is not cool. The reason I am saying this is because it is not at all bad to learn from competition and being inspired is not directly copying and pasting some products from competition on to your own menu but to get a concept and give it your own twist or creativity. Ideas are always welcome for a business that wants to stay updated and fresh for a longer part of its life. Even big restaurant chains have cross referenced menu lines and look for cutting into each other’s product development with a little sense of creativity and flamboyance.

7. I am not concerned or bothered with my numbers, that’s my accountant’s job ­– Come on! This is one of the lamest ways of saying “I don’t give a Damn!” which is the worst thing that the owner of a business can do to the business. Checking up on your numbers and making some calculations doesn’t make you any less of a visionary; instead, it will give you a far more clear picture on the performance of your business (Like Cost of goods sold, ROI, Gross : Net Profit ratio etc)

8. My business doesn’t need promotions, offers or loyalty programs – Forget the times when word of mouth used to be everything, those are medieval times in comparison to now. Today’s customer is smart, choosy, moody and above all – Looking for a great deal! Yes, The customer is more powerful than ever and the result of this phenomenon is that the customer now looks for more and more reasons to critique your strategy, your methods and your business. Let’s try and give him fewer reasons to be against you and more reasons to be for you. Tools like promotions, offers and loyalty programs will definitely help you get things straight with your beloved customers. 

9. I am in the Food business when I run a restaurant – FALSE! You are not just in the food business, you are in the customer service business, you are in the hygiene and safety business and above all - You are in the glamour business when you run a restaurant. Nothing else takes as much of a toll on an individual than running a restaurant, but never forget that it is one of the most profitable and fulfilling business too!

10. Blah! Who needs social media ­– This is the information age and the impact of social media has never been more. Even in a country where there is lack of basic infrastructural facilities, they have social media. The impact of social media is something that simply can’t be ignored. Instead of that, the power of social media should be harnessed in the correct way (creating engaging and interactive social media campaigns and communicate better with the customers)

11. Reviews! Who reads them? – Reviews, whether good or bad, have a definite impact on the business so the simplest way around is to revert and respond to criticism (good or bad) in the most composed and practiced manner and make sure that the communication gets an impact.

12. Competition is the enemy – We are not on the battle front with our competition, and it’s a good thing to know your competition and discuss mutual avenues for growth and development for the overall business. You might be surprised to see the results of small steps like monthly competition meetings and strategy formulations on the basis of discussions and talks with other restaurant owners in the neighborhood. Tools like cross promotions and offer clubbing also work big time.

If you are an existing restaurateur or planning to open one yourself, do consider these as somewhat of a heads up for yourself. Further, if you have any requirements for developing your brand or expand an existing brand through franchising, do feel free to get in touch with us.

Web: www.squareconsulting.in

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India -- The Road Ahead!!!

Whatever happens to you, don’t fall in despair. Even if all the doors are closed, a secret path will be there for you that no one knows. You can’t see it yet but so many paradises are at the end of this path. Be grateful. It is easy to thank after obtaining what you want, thank before having what you want

What Young India Wants is the question raised by eminent Indian author and famous youth icon Mr Chetan Bhagat, today this holds a very sharp edge on the minds of the world as this is the question everyone is asking. 

What India really wants is to be Indian... We love pastas, pizzas for food. We love shopping at International Brand's Showrooms, We love hanging out till late, getting drunk, partying, having girlfriends and behave like a citizen of USA or Australia but at the end of the day... We all want a decent living, a stable job or business, good family values, a decent home, love, peace and prosperity!! Brotherhood and mutual respect and admiration. 

Let us put forth a clear picture of a small town boy who travels to a big cosmopolitan city with the dream of making it big with lots of money, fame and fortunes.... Reminiscent of the times when we used to travel outside India a few decades ago (some of you NRI Readers will agree with this). Times are changing... We have grown from small country citizens travelling to bigger countries to a truly independent economy where we are free to explore the opportunities across different locations and work hard towards our future. We have defined our new mentality and state of development where we do not need to go to USA to employ with Major Corporations of the world like IBM, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Walmart or Ikea.... We have all of these biggies right in our country in our major cities. This is Growth!!!

We have grown from being recognized by Delhi and Mumbai alone... Today the world is aware of the small and not so small cities as well... The Tier II Indian cities and the Indian Middle class is the most happening market in the world. We have seen the immense development  in the last decade and the best part of it is that this is purely due to the hard work and dedication of the Indians that we have achieved this. We don't owe our success to anyone what we have achieved in the last decade is purely our hard work and dedication. And the best is yet to come...

2008 was a year when the world economy was sinking under the waters of recession and India was one of the very few countries that not only faced it with grace but gave a stunning example of how the values of being less flamboyant with our incomes made our economies relatively stable even in the tough times. In spite of ineffective government administration, huge power grid failures, property mishaps and multi million dollar scams and  what not... India still shines in its glory but is it the end? 

The answer is NO! This is more of a rebooting process that the Indian economy is witnessing. With rise in the global up-scaling of business in India and development across segments the Indian youth truly wants to be ready for the future with their upgraded tools and ancient methodologies. The young India truly wants its identity as a separate type of a youth in comparison to the world youth where the progress and traditions go hand in hand and the values and Indians get recognition beyond being from the land of Tandoori Chicken and Slums. 

The Indian context of the world is also changing slowly with the Indian culture getting to know the concept of Nuclear families and multi-city living with both the husband and wife going to work but Indian women have proved themselves to be better than the global standard working women as they balance the professional and personal ends of their lives with much more ease!

The Road ahead for India is highly progressive and requires a lot of hard work and dedication from our generation... The youth and this makes way for the day when our children will no longer read what we and our predecessor generation has grown up reading "India is a Developing country"

This is my wish for the future and this is also the wish of the millions of Young Indians who, as you read this are working hard to grow and define growth in the most unexpected  ways!!!

Jai Hind :)

Superpower India -- Dream or Nightmare??

India is growing with leaps and bounds, the industrial growth has seen unprecedented and unheard figures since the past few years and the GDP has also seen a drastic growth in the past some time.

The result of this is that India, which was till recently considered a hungry and naked country full of slums and nothing more has now emerged as one of the highest opportunity providers for a superpower country like the US. The Respected President of the US Mr Barack Obama had recently made a trip to India trying to strike a deal with the emerging Indian companies for the business opportunities with the US companies and many such other deals. Prior to that the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010 has also brought a new dimension to the understanding of the World about the Magical country known as India. All Indians take pride in saying the same and are in the position to boast about themselves and their country (India). But let us toss the question here, are we actually ready for it??

India has been one of the prime locations in the World in terms of everything; rich natural resources, strategic location for Imports and exports, weather and climate, human resources, and so on and so forth. When it comes to facts and figures India has got almost everything but the biggest problems are Bureaucracy and Corruption (Rooted Strongly in the country). Our country ranks around 132 - 134 when it comes to the ease with which someone can start a business on one hand and on the other hand, India has got the world's highest Black money stashed up in the Swiss bank accounts (Source: Wiki). With a population of more than 1 Billion people, India boasts of a mere 31.5 million Taxpayers in total (Approx. 3%). (Source: The Economic Times)

We have had a track record of being the most difficult people in the World when it comes to living in India, we take pride in spitting on the roads and doing similar things but when we spends thousands together and go to some other country or we go to seek citizenship of some country we have to obey their rules and we do that as well. That is one of the most fascinating thing about us. The similar attitude doesn't seem to go away from us any time soon and we have already started to dream to become a Superpower country in the near future. Are we ready for it yet? Can we reform ourselves and our ways to adapt to become a superpower in reality or is it just like our political leaders' commitments?

The ANSWER LIES IN EACH ONE OF US!!!
Do comment with the answers... Eagerly waiting!!

Post Graduation, NO JOB?? Planning an MBA!

Completed Graduation and not finding a suitable job? Planning MBA and wishing for a Good Package?? MBA applications always go up during a bad economy. That is because business school generally attracts people who are lost, and more people who feel more lost when the bad job market is lousy.

But let’s be clear: This is not the type of recession where there are no jobs for young people. This is a recession where there are no GOOD jobs. McDonald’s is hiring in management. There is a bank teller shortage and a shortage of actuaries. There is a shortage of insurance agents. It’s just that people don’t grow up dreaming of these jobs. So they don’t take them. Instead, people who are early in their career - in that time when an MBA sounds like it might work - those people are determined to have only a good job. And if they can’t have that, they get an MBA.

The problem is that an MBA makes it worse.

Here are seven reasons why you should take a bad job instead of getting an MBA.

1. Business school won’t help you be a good entrepreneur.

There is no correlation between being a good entrepreneur and going to business school. In fact, according to Saras Sarasvathy, professor at University of Virginia’s Darden Business School, the most important skill for an entrepreneur is that you know your weakness and you can find people to fill in your gaps. So you pay a bundle to go to school to learn what you don’t and how to find people who can do stuff you can’t? Sorry, that doesn’t add up. The ultimate irony: entrepreneur programs are booming at business schools.

2. You likely don’t need an MBA for what you want to do.

There are some jobs, very few, where you cannot land if you don’t have an MBA. These are mostly high-level officer-type positions in the Fortune 500. Even then, though, you probably don’t need an MBA. In fact, Forbes reports that CEOs without MBAs bring more value to investors than CEOs who went to business school.

3. MBAs who are not from a top 10 school don’t increase their earning power.

So if you’re not one of the elite, the degree won’t help you earn more. According to the recruiting firm Challenger & Gray, the degree simply does not separate you from other people in any significant way; it’s too easy to get an MBA from a second-tier school. The cost of the degree is so much more than the combined cost of taking two years off of work and paying for the degree that you are better off taking a job you don’t particularly like and getting a night-school MBA after work hours.

4. It’s pointless after a certain age.

Let’s say you do get into a top-ten school. Don’t go if you are older than 28. You are too far along in your career to leverage the degree enough to increase your earning power enough to make up for the sticker cost of the degree. In fact, it is so important to get the degree early in your career that Wharton and Harvard have started accepting women earlier than men because the biological clock truncates a woman’s ability to leverage the MBA early enough in their career to make it worth the money.

5. An MBA is too limiting.

You can’t take an entry-level job after you get an MBA, so you had better know what you like to do; and can’t take a job in a low-paying industry because you have to pay back the loans. So not only is an MBA useless for most jobs, but it also makes you unqualified for more jobs that it qualifies you for

6. An MBA makes you look desperate

Top ten business schools will not accept you unless you have a clear plan for what you will do with the degree after you graduate. You need to have shown that you have a propensity for some sort of business and that you need the degree to get where you want in that business. Unfortunately, most other schools will take you if you don’t have a plan even though it’s been shown that people who go to business school with no plan for their career graduate with no plan for their career. And then you look not just lost, but desperate.

7. Business school puts off the inevitable.

Look, it’s really hard to be an adult. You go to school for twenty years being told what to learn and what to think and when to show up, and then you get tossed into adult life and there is no one telling you what’s right for you. You have to figure it out, but you didn’t go to school for that. In fact, school is the opposite of that. So it looks fine to be lost in your 20s. This is when everyone is taking time to figure things out. It does not look fine to spend thousands and lakhs to go back to school just to put off the hard knocks of figuring out where you belong in the workforce. Face reality. Join the workforce.

Business Opportunities with a Franchising Company

Did you ever think of having your own business with the complete freedom from the boring 9 to 5 routine, lethargic working conditions, ungrateful clients, uninteresting lifestyle, depressing routine???


If any of the above questions' answer is yes then you are looking for a change in your life, yes and this change can be by starting your own business... But even that has got its own matters to take care of, challenging market conditions, competition, setup of the correct strategy, lack of brand recognition and many many more factors.

What is the solution to this?

In the early 1850's, I.M. Singer & Co., USA created the first network of individuals to distribute and sell its sewing machines to the then-sceptical public. This was the advent of the Modern day terminology of Franchising. The concept is to be able to start up a business with the help of an existing business model with the use of the company's brand name, logos, trademarks as well as the SPO (Standard Operations and Procedure). The Franchise format of Business is the best when you don't want to actually suffer from the risks of being involved in direct application of the raw idea of any business into the market. Franchising works in this way for the best of the advantage to both the Franchisor (Giver of the Franchise Model) and the Franchisee (Taker of the Franchise Model). The win-win situation for both the Franchisor and the Franchisee. This is one model which has even seen the biggest of the growth figures in times of Terrible Depressions (Ref: The Great Depression of 1930's in the US). Franchise Business ensures the standardization of the Business and the same is applicable to the brand as a whole with the best of the options available to the end consumers at lower rates because of an efficient SCM (Supply Chain Management).

Franchising is the best option for people who want to start up some exciting new business in their region without the involved risks of mismanagement or hinderances as the Franchisor takes care of the entire setup as well as the management and operations of the Franchise Outlets through the effective MIS (Management Information Systems). With the advent of time, Franchising has become one of the easiest business working models which can be duplicated or modified and duplicated across any location subject to little modification as well as correction from the company. This is one way which can be one great way to give some space for the talent of the youth and the guts to do business to get on with the fulfillment of the business development and management criteria.

So, stop thinking and GO for a Franchise Business Today!!!!

Corporate Event Management: Time To Grow Your Endeavor

Businesses across the globe are facing severe competition from the competitors and thus they search various ways to explore the opportunities to increase the revenue and customer base altogether. Business experts feel that corporate event management is the best method to organize the customer retention and impact the revenue generation scenarios.







To overcome the corporate wrestle, companies organize the business events small conferences or big corporate events to attract the customers throughout. When you go to organize a corporate event, keep in mind that a professional event management company can do a lot to you. During organizing an event you need to know various things. The very first thing is that make your conference simple and genuine.






The corporate event management should be made in a way that has ability to attract the customers, clients and other business associates. The corporate event management company is one stop shop that takes care of every requirement of corporate event management. Some of the corporate events that need consultation of event experts are launching a product, road show, galas and media event with corporate sponsorship. The companies that organize event management services generally follow the standards of respective nature of the event and the aim of the event for that the event is meant.






They involve the audience by displaying handouts, demonstrations and tasks. The skilled workforce from the expert corporate management company that provide the event management services A good corporate events management is a best guide that offers advice at every step during the event. All the activities including booking the venue, hiring equipment and arranging a schedule to helping run the event on the day itself are taken by the corporate event management companies.






Corporate event management is a very dedicated process seemingly impossible without the help of a professional event management company. These companies are now offering their online software to manage the event from a central location. Whether it's to sending invitation to the guests, selling tickets online, cancelling and allotting passes, these all could easily be handled by the automated software. The process of corporate event management is now getting very easier and flexible with the inception of internet and various online event management tools.

The 5th P of Marketing

In Marketing, we have always learnt about the 4 essential P's of Marketing where in there are various factors like Product, Price, Place and Promotion to be covered but there is a small question... What is the need for all of these without the customers "People"??

Yes, the most essential part of Business is the people and the people who are involved with the business need to be associated with the Business so as to be able to get the maximum out of the way that the Business functions. The importance of the people in the work can not be left unused and should not be considered irrelevant under any circumstances. The reason is that the business is very important if its motive and aim is to provide good customer services. As said my the Father of India the Late Mahatma Gandhi "The Customer is the most important person in our premises, He is the reason for the Business and not a disturbance in the Work"

We shall now discuss all the essential P's of Marketing in detail:

Product – The product or service offered to the customer by your small business. The physical attributes of your products or services, what they do, how they differ from your competitors and what benefits they provide to your potential customers.

Price – Your pricing strategies that will help you reach your target profit margin. How you will price your product or service so that the price remains competitive but allows you to make a good profit. When calculating price make sure you have included both fixed expenses and variable expenses and be sure that your price will allow you to reach your breakeven point within a reasonable amount of time. Also discuss if your price will be lower or higher than your competition and how you can accomplish that while maintaining both demand for your products or services and a profit.

Place (Distribution) – Where your small business will sell its products or services and how it will get those products or services to your customers in your your target market. For example, the percentage of sales you expect through the Internet and the percentage of sales you expect through door to door selling. Additionally, what your delivery terms and costs, and how will you handle the cost of getting your products or services to your customers? When you are writing a business plan you also want to indicate if there any shipping or labeling requirements that need to be considered and how you will meet those requirements. Finally, outline how a transaction takes place and what return policies are in place.

Promotion – What methods of promotion you will use to communicate the features and benefits of your products or services to your target customers. Will you advertise? If so, where? What percentage of advertising will be handled by each advertising vehicle? How much business do you anticipate that each form of advertising will result in? How much is this all going to cost? Also indicate if you plan to offer coupons or other incentives to get customers in the door.
People – How your level of service and the people who will provide that service will be used in marketing your products or services to the customer. Who are the people that will be providing this service and what kind of training will they receive. Do you plan to offer any incentives to your customer service representatives and how do you plan to measure customer satisfaction?
Essentially, the 5 (or 4) P's of marketing will form the basis of your marketing plan. If you want to make your marketing plan a standalone document, you'll also want to include the information you prepared in the Market Analysis section for your business plan.



Your Sales Strategy in making your Business Plan:
If it applies to your business, outline your sales strategy in this section when you are writing a business plan. For example, will there be a sales force? Will sales training be provided? Will your sales team be given incentives to encourage them to increase sales and meet or exceed their goals?