A New Restaurant

In your business plan, the Company analysis is your chance to talk about your dream and vision for what your restaurant is going to be. You get to talk about why you are going to start your restaurant, and why you think your restaurant will be successful.

I’ve mentioned before the need for any business to be able to establish an area of competitive advantage. This doesn’t mean that you have to be better than your competitors in every area. As a new business start-up with limited resources, it’s a bit unrealistic to think that you will be the best at everything, but you should be able to say, “My competitive advantage is…” Not only should you be able to fill in the blank, but you should be able to clearly explain why that’s true.

This is also where you talk about what your business structure is, and start to introduce your management team. It gives you the opportunity to show your investors how your business is going to operate. Investors want to know that you have give thought to the business operations, and not just the great idea. They want to know that if they lend money to you, there will be a reasonable expectation they will get their money back. You can give them that confidence by demonstrating you understand the business side.

The company analysis gives you the opportunity to share the concept for your business. You should talk about what the concept is, and why you chose to use this concept. Without going too deep into the market analysis, you can mention how this concept will appeal to the customers around your location. You might also want to mention some of the items on your menu. While the menu itself would be better suited in the appendix, you can at least talk about the fact that you have already developed a menu.

Businesses may be at different stages of development when going before potential investors. You should be able to talk about what stage of development you are in, what you are currently working on, and what is coming next. If you are at a point that you need further financing to proceed, let the investors know that. If you have already received partial financing, you should talk about that as well

The Company Analysis is your chance to talk about your idea, and why your idea will work. It is where you start the process of convincing investors that you and your business are worth the risk of investment. Take your time and make sure it’s right before you go on to the next section. A strong opening section lays the groundwork for a strong business plan