Despite that adding catering services can be highly lucrative, many restaurant owners avoid offering catering services. Recognize these issues and perhaps you will be able to take the next step.
1. No Time
Many business owners are too busy managing day-to-day operations, putting out fires, and trying to make ends meet. They simply do not believe they have time to plan and launch a catering operation. The flipside: Perhaps delegation of responsibility is not your strong suit. Look at ways to allocate certain tasks to another person on the team.
2. Financial Uncertainty
If an owner is struggling to make payroll and pay vendors, they may not be able to leverage the necessary resources. The flipside? You have to spend money to make money.
3. Burnout
Some owners are simple fatigued. They have worked for years in the food industry and now they just go through the motions. The passion is gone. They are not interested in expanding operations or assuming more responsibilities. The flipside? Finding a new pursuit will often reenergize passion.
4. Lack of Knowledge
It is difficult to imagine taking on something if you have little or no knowledge about it. Although restaurants and catering are both part of the food industry, there are numerous differences. Managing a successful and profitable restaurant catering operation requires gathering and learning new information. Ideally, the restaurant owner who is interested in offering catering services should in turn seek insights and strategies from someone who has managed a successful and profitable restaurant catering operation. The flipside? There are avenues for education, including next year’s Catersource Conference & Tradeshow in New Orleans, March 12–15.
5. Fear
Some restaurant owners are simple afraid to offer catering services. Let’s face it: fear does play a role. Whether a restaurant owner chooses to offer catering or not, there is always an element of fear that needs to be overcome. Any new business venture tends to come with some risk. The flipside: Does the person embrace the challenge or give into the fear?
With all of these reasons in mind, remember, it’s never too late to start catering. If you’ve been fearful of catering for some of the reasons above, there are always way to work around the issues and start earning more business by catering! Taking action is the key. Build a plan, get started and grow your business through catering.
Michael Rosman is a member of the Catersource consulting team. If you would like information about him coming to your business to address your specific needs, please email Carl Sacks at [email protected]. His book, Lessons Learned From Our Mistakes – and other war stories from the catering battlefield is available through the Catersource store.
You can visit Michael’s website at www.TheCorporateCaterer.com email [email protected].
