How to Start Your Own Crepe Business

Starting your own crepe business may seem challenging but it can be very rewarding if done the right way. As with any other food business, you have to know how to go about it properly. There are many factors to consider before starting a business, especially one that specializes in food.

Crepes are basically the French version of tortillas; they are similar to pancakes except that they are made very thin. They are easy to make provided that you have the right tools for it. A crepe mixture is usually made of wheat flour that is mixed with butter, eggs and some milk. All these ingredients are relatively low cost especially if you get them from a reputable supplier. Below are some things to consider if you plan to start your own crepe business:

• Consider the location. You have to find a strategic location for you business. It has to be a place where people would want to go to and it should be accessible. You should also consider how much it will cost you to lease the place so that you have all the your necessary expenditures listed down.

• Think about your target demographic. The kind of people you want your business to cater to will, of course, determine how much you will sell your crepes for. This goes hand in hand with the location.

• Create a menu. Crepes are usually desert food, so you have to think of what kind of crepes you would like to have available on your store. If you want to cater to the upper class, then you should sell your crepes for higher prices, this also means that you cannot cut back on your ingredients' costs. Think of the kind of fillings you want your crepes to contain and think of appealing and appetizing names to give each selection.

• One of the most important considerations you should take into account before starting a crepe business is the capital you will need. This will determine everything, from the location to the type of store and to the kind of menu you will have. The bigger your capital the nicer the store and the more expensive the ingredients.

• You should also think of a theme for your store. This will determine the overall design of your store and how it will appeal to your customers. As much as possible, stick to one theme that goes with your menu. It will make it appealing to your customers if you have a theme.

Starting your own crepe business can make you a lot of money if you take into careful consideration the aforementioned factors. It would also help to do some research especially when it comes to the kind of competition you have. If the location you choose has a lot of other businesses with the same nature as yours, you have to be able to provide your customers with a unique menu with a wide selection of crepes, as this will give you an edge over your competitors.

Base Stations For Effective Drive-Thru Communications, Restaurant Management

The drive-thru lane is the heartbeat of any successful quick service restaurant. An efficient, well-managed drive-thru is the key to moving more cars through at peak times, for maximum profitability.

At the center of that operation is the drive-thru base station. Today's base stations have advanced alongside other technologies to embrace the superior clarity of digital sound (over the original analog systems). Digital systems ushered in the age of faster service times and greater order accuracy. In fact, a study published in QSR Magazine found that switching from an analog system to a digital system, helped operators speed up service times by 8-10 seconds per customer.

And whereas the base station used to be simply a device for managing communication between employees and customers at the drive-thru, it has now morphed into a full-fledged management tool.

Some systems give managers the ability to program communications that "greet" the customer as soon as they pull up to the drive-thru. This "Greetings" feature gives QSR's the ability to promote specials at various day parts, and improve check averages. And because the greetings are programmed to play automatically, staff can focus on processing orders, not pushing specials.

Routine tasks like stocking the station, checking the bathroom, and having employees wash their hands, are just part of the day-to-day operation of any quick service restaurant. The problem is, today's managers find themselves spending lots of time reminding employees to do these things. Programming these types of 'Reminders' to play automatically on employee headsets is a feature on some base stations that takes the onus off the manager.

In some cases, the base station can also be linked to key areas of the restaurant, so it will automatically send 'Alert' messages to staff members if there are developments that affect food safety and employee security. For example, if someone leaves the cooler door open, or the back door open at night.

From communication coordinator to management tool, the base station is command central for running an efficient, profitable drive-thru.

The Effects of Your Restaurant on Your Family

It's common for a person to place more emphasis on the opening of a restaurant than the effects of the restaurant on the people involved. By "people", I mean your family. Adding a restaurant to your family is similar to adding a child to your family. It will not only affect you, but it will drastically affect everyone in your immediate family and everyone that you know.

How in the world can such an important issue go unnoticed by so many? It's a mystery to me, but something that everyone thinking of opening a restaurant should give serious thought to.

Once the restaurant is open, here is what will happen. You will be focused on something besides your family. You will be busy. You will be tired. You will become an entirely different person with different interest in life. If you do not open with enough working capital you will also be poor which will bring even more stress to you and your family.

Wow! Why would anyone in their right mind want to open a restaurant?

While many may think that an unsuccessful restaurant is solely the result of low to no working capital, I offer this. The effect of your new restaurant changes your family and your lifestyle. The net result is a tremendous amount of stress which you and your family are not accustomed to.

In the beginning your family members may agree that they can withstand the temporary changes but in most cases, the changes are not temporary. Suddenly the family is on their own.

If the wife operates the restaurant the home front drastically changes. Now there is on one to wash the clothes, cook the meals, clean the house or keep order in the family. Your home is not a home anymore; it is only a place to sleep.

If the husband operates the restaurant the remainder of the family find that they are alone. Daddy is never around anymore and neither is my husband.

While all of these problems swirl around the household additional stress is placed on the person who is operating the restaurant. When that happens it could begin to effect the operation of the restaurant and the sales and profits of the restaurant could begin to drop. Then more stress is created until finally... Well, you understand what finally really means.

Planning the effects of the restaurant on your family before you open is critical to your success. Once the restaurant is open it as though an uncontrollable whirlwind comes rambling through your life. Lines of communication must be open before and after your restaurant is open. The key word is planning, planning, planning. Even then success is not guaranteed only more manageable.