A well-conceived, professional restaurant business plan is your greatest single asset for turning your restaurant dreams into reality. It's the key to convincing anyone to invest money, make a loan, lease space, essentially do business with you prior to opening.

Your restaurant business plan is also the roadmap for the future of your business. Not only does it provide direction, it requires you to consider all the pitfalls and opportunities of your prospective venture, well before you open the doors. Your business plan is the script of how your restaurant will look and function when it's done. In short, many restaurateurs say that having a sound business plan was the single most important ingredient in making their new business a reality.

So why do so many restaurateurs forsake this critical step, without which many entrepreneurs wouldn't even open a lemonade stand? For one, restaurateurs often want to get the ball rolling quickly. Too many operators put all their planning into simply getting financed. They then want to open the doors as fast as possible to create cash flow.

Unfortunately, some operators don't understand how crucial a well-planned opening is to not only securing the capital to open but also to the success of their concept. Hard work, great food, and the will to succeed are not enough. You need proper training, established operational procedures, and a creative marketing plan, before you open. These may be more important to a successful opening than menu design or table and chair selection.

In our Restaurant Business Plan department you'll find an assortment of business plan resources all pertaining specifically and totally focused on creating a winning "restaurant" business plan. That includes in-depth, how-to articles, downloadable templates, detailed instructions, financial models, complete sample plans and more.

Also, when questions arise, as a RestaurantOwner.com member, you can get answers and insights from our staff of experienced restaurant professionals and fellow owners and operators on our members-only Discussion Forum.