Business Plans

Is your rent too high? Four questions to consider
Whether you’re a new or seasoned business owner, paying rent for your commercial space is likely to rank as one of your top expenses. And if you’re just starting out, you may be lacking the initial cash flow to…

Maximising your next trade show event is about a shift in approach
Trade shows are, to many, a necessary evil. I compare them to walking the game aisle at a carnival with a half dozen independent operators shouting at you to ‘pop a balloon’ or ‘throw a ball’.

Seven rules to successfully open a restaurant
Opening a new restaurant from scratch is a lot more complicated than you think.  My parents had a restaurant together and later on, my mother opened a small bakery. From my years of helping…

Five principles in creating a business plan
Plans bring thoughts and people together. Without a plan, a business is a little like a driver without a map: at the end of the day, a destination will be reached, but it may not be the intended one.

A legal overview of dealing with food delivery aggregators
The restaurant industry has no shortage of food delivery aggregators to choose from when operators want to embrace innovative methods of getting more products to more customers in less time.

Legal aspects to consider when your restaurant is running a contest
Contests and sweepstakes are great promotional tools for your business, but if your restaurant is running one, there are some things you definitely need to know.  Under the Criminal Code of Canada…

Top 10 tips for effective retail product development
Taking a recipe from concept to commercialization can be a long, ambiguous and expensive process, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses. That’s why the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary…

The cost of catering
In this article we’re going to look at how to correctly price a menu for an off-site catered event. It’s the No. 1 way restaurant owners lose money when catering. But, before we do, let me emphasize how important…