Should You Consider Opening an Eatery If You Love Cooking? #restaurantownership #followyourpassion #cookingcareers

Right now, we're all hunkered down at home during the coronavirus pandemic. If you're like us, you're still enjoying your favorite restaurants at home via takeout or delivery. However, we plan to frequent our favorite restaurants in person once this pandemic ends -- whether that takes weeks or months. Maybe you've even considered opening a restaurant in the future. Today, The Weekend Gourmet correspondent is sharing some factors to consider before taking the plunge! This article may contain affiliate links.

It's surprisingly common to consider starting a business doing something you love. For aspiring home chefs who love to cook delicious dishes, opening your own eatery can be an enticing idea. After all, you get to cook delicious food for people and make money in the process! Sounds like a great idea, right? Unfortunately, turning something you’re passionate about into a career can sometimes make you lose sight of what made you fall in love with the activity in the first place. Many people attempt to become professional chefs -- only to realize they much prefer experimenting at home and cooking for their loved ones instead of for random people. That’s not to say that everyone should avoid turning their passion for cooking into a job. In this post, we’re going to take a look at some important things to consider before you take the plunge and decide to become a restaurant owner.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/nmpW_WwwVSc (CC0)

What Idea Do You Have In Mind?

All eateries offer some kind of theme. Some restaurants are all about home-cooked meals in a small, comfortable location In contrast, other restaurants are all about bringing together unique flavors from different countries. The ideas you have in mind, dishes you want to cook, and theme you want to create will greatly affect the path you take to opening a restaurant.

Are You Being Too Optimistic?

Do you have plans to become a famous "celebrity chef," get on TV, and cook with celebrities? If so, you should take a step back. Starting a restaurant is a definitely a passion project, not something you do for fun! You’re serving real food to real paying customers...and you’ll have lots of bills to pay and staff to take care of. Don’t go into restaurant ownership thinking you’ll be rich after the first few months! Ground yourself in reality and understand how daunting it is to open a successful restaurant business.

Can You Provide the Right Resources?

Starting your own eatery is going to involve a lot of resource planning. Whether it's a free menu template you found online, a logo, brand name, or even interior decor, you need to prepare a coherent plan that can be executed as soon as you find a location to rent. Your location will also be a huge consideration when you start your restaurant -- you certainly don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere! Do your research early in the planning process, and begin collecting resources to help you open your restaurant.

Do You Have Enough Money?

Let’s face it, starting a restaurant is expensive. If you don’t have thousands of dollars in savings, you simply won’t be able to start a business. Funding can come from a variety of different sources -- including from your savings, via a partnership, or a loan if you can convince lenders that your restaurant idea is solid and deserves investment.