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The ultimate guide to starting a restaurant

If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of starting a restaurant, it’s totally ok and normal especially if it’s your first time!

I know, because I’ve been in your shoes and I was just as scared to start mine, called Café Media Luna, which I founded on a small Caribbean island with my husband after leaving a job on Wall Street.

It was a crazy decision at the time, but also one of the best ones I’ve ever made. I hope you’ll feel the same way about your decision to start a restaurant when you look back on it too!

Here is everything I wish I had known when I started as a first-time restaurant owner. I hope it helps you get ahead of the biggest problems and challenges that typically come with starting a restaurant. Watch this video for an overview of the exclusive freebies and other resources that I wish I had when I started Café Media Luna…

1. Gotta Have a Plan

I learned the hard way that the first step in starting a restaurant is to have a plan. Trust me, having one will definitely help you feel less overwhelmed and better able to manage the uncertainty of starting a restaurant. Since the biggest risk in any new business is that you won’t have enough cash to meet your expenses before you have enough customers to generate the revenue to cover them (this is called “breaking even”), having a Plan starts with understanding:

What upfront costs you can expect in order to make it to opening day
What your monthly costs will be once you open the restaurant
When you will need to make these payments so you can plan out the cash you have available

To help you out, here are a couple of Free resources

I built these resources for you based on my experience trying to understand and stay on top of my restaurant’s costs.

I wish I had these when I first started Café Media Luna…

To help you plan out what you need to do and when, so you can feel less overwhelmed and uncertain.

To help you get a handle on how much money you’ll need to start your restaurant.

2. Gotta Have a Financial Plan

Because you’ll also have Customers soon and need to keep track of your expenses on an ongoing basis, a Financial Plan for your Restaurant lets you answer all these questions too:

How much money will I need on an ongoing basis to keep my restaurant running and pay all the bills?
How many customers will I need to serve in the restaurant every day so I can break even (meaning I can cover all our expenses)?
When can I start paying myself a salary?
Can I afford a Chef?
How many Kitchen and Wait staff employees can I afford and when could I hire them?
When can I expect the restaurant to make a profit (meaning that we’re making more from customer sales than our total expenses)?
What are my busy seasons and how much cash can I expect to have in the bank during the slow months so I’m sure I can still cover my costs?
If I work hard and the restaurant is successful, how much money could my restaurant make?

Here are a Few Affordable Options

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Simple Financial Plan

Allows you to forecast all the basics of setting up your Restaurant, how much money you might make and when, what your costs will be, and when you might start generating a profit.

$149

$29

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Includes: Excel File and Video Walkthrough

Intermediate Financial Plan

Includes everything from the Simple Financial Plan, plus the ability to add alternative funding sources like loans or equity. It’s also designed to accommodate seasonality in your restaurant business.

$199

$39

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Includes: Excel File and Video Walkthrough

Advanced Financial Plan

Includes everything from the 2 other Financial Plans, plus additional features for managing complex loans and developing advanced strategies to ramp up your covers or customers over time towards a maximum.

$249

$49

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Includes: Excel File and Video Walkthrough

*Downloadable immediately and anytime after the purchase.

Need the Google Sheets File? Email hello@numberly.io after purchase and we will send it over within a few hours.

Need help or have questions? Feel free to use the chatbot on the lower-right or email us directly at hello@numberly.io.

Unsure what your next step is?

Schedule a FREE 30-min chat with Monica!

"This plan is a MUST for startups"

We’re at 350 happy startups…and counting. Check out our all 5-star reviews on

"Wow! This is the most sophisticated and flexible plan I have ever seen."

"The financial plan was a work of art.”

"It is critical that you have such a well thought out plan when seeking institutional investment."

"An exceptional plan that advanced our team’s decision-making."

"If you need a 3-statement projection plan for your start-up, this is the one you need."

"The financial plan was meticulously crafted, showcasing not only precision but also an intuitive design, which made it effortlessly comprehensible for our team and potential investors."

3. Don’t overspend upfront on equipment and remodeling

This is probably the most common mistake among first time restaurant founders because it’s so tempting to build a dream kitchen and restaurant space. Sourcing second-hand equipment can save you thousands and stay modest with your design and decor, these costs can add up quickly.

Be very conservative in your budgeting, because not only do restaurant startup costs add up quickly but things often cost more than we think. Make a budget and stick to it, keeping some funds aside for contingencies. You’ll be very glad you did!

4. Choose Your Location Carefully

A location can really make or break a restaurant. When you open a restaurant, you’re selling an experience, and, simply put, you’ll have better access to customers in locations with greater foot traffic. But because high-traffic locations also mean higher rent, you’ll need to balance access to customers with cost to find what’s right for you.

Also, make sure that customers will be able to find you easily.

5. Define A Clear Restaurant Concept

It’s important to have a clear idea of what your restaurant will offer and the brand identity you want it to have so that you can stand out from your competition. Think about the type of cuisine, the atmosphere you want to create, what you want the restaurant to be known for, how much you’ll charge and who your target audience is.

Having clarity in these key areas will help you focus on the right objectives from the beginning and target your spending accordingly, so you don’t waste the limited startup funds.

6. And finally... Get Ready To Work Harder Than You’ve Ever Worked Before

Owning and running a restaurant sounds pretty glamorous, I know, and over time it can be extremely rewarding too! But you also need to go in with your eyes wide open about how much work is involved in starting and running a restaurant.

Comparison Table

Items you Can forecast	Simple	Intermediate	Advanced
Standard Loan Borrowing	✓	✓	✓
Buildout Expenses	✓	✓	✓
Upfront Inventory and Other Initial Expensess	✓	✓	✓
Core Team Headcount and Costs	✓	✓	✓
Kitchen Staff Headcount and Costs	✓	✓	✓
Front of House Staff Headcount and Costs	✓	✓	✓
Operating Expenses	✓	✓	✓
Equity Funding		✓	✓
Adjusting Customer Demand based on Busy vs. Slow Months		✓	✓
Customers Growing Over Time by Months Since Opening			✓
Advanced Loan Borrowing (Interest Only Loans, Delayed Principal Payments, etc.)			✓

Restaurant Guide

The ultimate guide to starting a restaurant

1. Gotta Have a Plan

To help you out, here are a couple of Free resources

2. Gotta Have a Financial Plan

Here are a Few Affordable Options

"This plan is a MUST for startups"

3. Don’t overspend upfront on equipment and remodeling

4. Choose Your Location Carefully

5. Define A Clear Restaurant Concept

6. And finally... Get Ready To Work Harder Than You’ve Ever Worked Before

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