How Sizing Up The Competition Improves Your Business Plan

It may sound like just an excuse to eat out, but experiencing the food and ambience of your competitors is essential to writing a persuasive restaurant business plan. 

Think about it: you can’t possibly know what your restaurant is up against unless you do your research. Research, in this case, involves visiting, eating at, and making copious notes about the other restaurants in your area.

And research is the lifeblood of a restaurant pitch to investors. They want to see that you have researched your market, and your competition is part of that market landscape. When you include data on your restaurant’s competitors, investors see you understand the obstacles to success and how to mitigate them.

So let’s look at a few of the aspects of your competition that your investors will want to see in your business plan.

Menu and Price PointsFirst you need to identify a niche in your local restaurant market: something that is lacking in the local food scene that you could provide. Your…