Making the decision to launch a business can be a profitable and attractive venture, as it can give people a sense of autonomy, freedom, and personal and professional success. The ability to work in your chosen industry with your own space to furnish and decorate to your tastes, be your own boss, set your work schedule, and decide the products your organization will carry are some reasons why some people desire and work toward owning a business.
While business ownership perks can be easy to identify, some people may be afraid of acting on their dreams of opening a company and launching their business because they fear failure. Additionally, aspiring business owners may be hesitant to pursue these career plans if they’re uncertain if their goods and services would attract enough consumers to turn a profit. Other hindrances include having little to no experience with marketing or selling products and feeling nervous that they may not make enough money to sustain a living. That being said, one aspect of starting a business that shouldn’t hinder aspiring business owners’ plans is its prospective location.
A business’s location can be critical to how it performs and its sales—whether in a big city or a small town. Don’t underestimate the power of your small town. Some of the most thriving, successful businesses have origins in the middle of American small towns. Small towns are beneficial locations because they can provide aspiring entrepreneurs with lucrative business opportunities and a captive audience for their wares. As noted by Forbes, launching a business idea in smaller cities enables proprietors to reap benefits such as more affordable and larger company space that can take on a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere.
Which Small Town Business Is Best?
Future business owners may be unsure of the best business to start in a small town. Some small-town business ideas that can lead to a profitable business include running a grocery store, car wash, ice cream shop, hair salon, barbershop, bookstore, laundromat, or flower shop. Consider entering an industry where customers will always need your goods and services such as owning a bakery, restaurant, or other food services.
Each year, USA Today recognizes ten small towns with big, thriving food scenes that offer an excellent variety of cuisines to residents, as chosen by USA Today and 10Best readers. This list demonstrates that small towns can be homes to profitable businesses, and specifically restaurants.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented obstacle for new and upcoming small business owners—especially those trying to enter the restaurant business. Between stay-at-home orders enforced earlier this year, restaurants having to indefinitely close their dining rooms from patrons and rely on curbside pick-up and drive-throughs, and more people forgoing eating in public out of fear of contracting the virus, restaurateurs might feel nervous about launching a business. But there are plenty of reasons for future business owners to cast their worries aside and follow the lead of food proprietors in small towns working to elevate the food scene in their communities.
Your Eatery Can Stand Out In A Small Town
Considering the pandemic forced many business owners in the food arena to close their eateries for short-term or long-term or delay openings altogether, moving on and pursuing your opening plans gives you the chance to stand out in your town. With limited competition, your restaurant could be the go-to place for customers to eat and ultimately become the staple eatery in the community that contributes significantly to an elevated food scene. Additionally, providing services to your patrons during such unpredictable times can help you increase your brand visibility and customer trust.
You Could Become A Small-Town Leader In Your Area
Getting over any fears related to starting a new business and beating the odds of launching a restaurant opening during the pandemic not only allows you to make your great business idea stand out, but it also allows you to position your new business to emerge as a leading force. Through hard work, re-strategizing your restaurant plans, adhering to CDC guidelines, and utilizing robust technology, you can demonstrate to your customers, members of your community and neighboring ones, and other restaurateurs that it’s possible to elevate the food scene during this time.
You Can Use Technology And High Quality Equipment To Stand Out
Equipping your business with the right equipment designed to meet the high demand for and the surge in online orders, for instance, can optimize the way you operate a fully functional restaurant. The right technology solutions can increase the efficiency of managing delivery orders and online orders, handling prep times, cancelling orders, and issuing refunds in real-time. Restaurants that utilize the leading digital solutions in food service can emerge with improved reputations as eateries with no delays and make no mistakes as they provide service to the community.
To prevent hard times and failures during this pandemic and in the future, have your own website and an online delivery system that your customers can navigate easily. Ensure that the website is compatible with various computers and mobile devices to avoid interrupting customers’ online ordering experience. This way, you can provide efficient service to customers who may engage in curbside pick-up, as well as your patrons who desire your food but may be unable to or leave their homes.
Furthermore, running a restaurant is nearly impossible without adequate equipment. For this reason, high-quality restaurant equipment is one of the most significant startup costs. Restaurant essentials include barware, flatware, glassware, tables, chairs, barstools, and more. Larger purchases, including refrigerators, walk-in freezers, coolers, ovens, grills, and fryers, are vital to proper food storage and cooking in a commercial kitchen.
When obtaining refrigeration products, consider choosing high-quality, energy-efficient equipment from a reputable brand. One such brand, for instance, is True Manufacturing Company, an industry leader in commercial refrigeration. A True refrigerator and other commercial refrigeration products can benefit any restaurant, bakery, coffee shop, food truck, catering company, or food service business.
Sanitizing equipment, cleaning equipment, janitorial supplies, and disposables are necessary purchases, as restaurant owners must slow and prevent the spread of COVID-19 among their staff and customers.
Offer Newness To Your Small Town Community
Many restaurants offer fine dining, casual dining, family style, or buffet style experiences to diners. Even restaurants of the same type have their own unique feel and ambiance. Ensure that your restaurant is distinguishable from other food businesses of a similar kind. Furnish your restaurant with decor and style unique to you and your brand. Consider creating a menu that blends popular dishes with some of your favorites and recipes that are unique to you and your family.
Poise your restaurant to be a place that offers unique, high-quality dishes and refreshing water and beverages. Rely on reputable, high-quality bottled water suppliers to provide clean water to your establishment that meets safety and quality standards set by Health Canada.
When launching a food service business, aspiring restaurant owners must put in long hours, make sacrifices, and take risks. Putting passion into your ventures can result in a profitable business. If you love and enjoy what you do and put in the effort to give your patrons the best experience and delicious, high-quality food every time they visit, you can have a long-lasting business. Being confident in your passion, making well-informed decisions focused on the market, and being a strong, dedicated leader for your team can guarantee success and gains and few losses.
