Delis: A High Steaks Business Idea

So, it’s finally happened. Your passion for delis has led you to start your own deli business – great! Few people are lucky enough to do something they love, and fewer are still motivated sufficiently to build a business around their passion. The fact that you are serious enough about pastrami to throw your hat in the ring is impressive. But it would help if you deliberately move forward with your dream. You can establish a successful deli business, but you must take the right steps on your journey to build a firm foundation.

Tips for Starting a Deli Business

1. Get specific about what you want and what your market needs.

Although the general idea is pretty well understood, there can be much delis variation from region to region and even within the same area. You probably have a certain type of deli in mind for your business – if you don’t, you should brainstorm and try to identify what you want most in your restaurant. Once you have a good idea of what you want, you must determine your intended market wants and needs. They may be dying to get what you are going to offer. If they aren’t, you might want to experiment with variations on your idea to find some overlap in the market needs and what you want to do with your business.

2. Write a business plan.

Once you have a business idea ready, it’s time to write a business plan. Learning about your market is one step in writing a business plan. Others are just as important, like determining how much it will cost to open for business and how much it will cost to keep the deli operating over the coming months. You also want to estimate how much you can expect to earn and find out when you think you will break even. You need to know these things to plan for the future and ensure your business idea is right.

Creating a business plan tells you if your deli idea will work. If you find out that your current view isn’t working, it’s okay. Although it can be frustrating, it’s better to find out before spending money. Chances are, you can make some alterations to your idea and figure out how to make it work. Even if you have to scrap it entirely, you will be happy you did when you eventually build a successful business.

3. Consider forming an LLC.

LLCs are not right for every business – but they are right for many small business owners. Forming an LLC offers several benefits that are worth considering for your deli business, including:

· The corporate veil. Operating as an LLC separates your assets from the assets of your LLC. If something goes wrong with your business, like you lose a lawsuit and have to pay extensive damages, only your LLC’s assets could be lost. Your assets would be off the table if you did a good job keeping your business finances separate from your finances.

· Legitimacy. Your business will look more legitimate if you are an LLC. This improved look can be useful for seeing business investments and applying for loans with lenders.

· Pass-through taxation. LLCs can use pass-through taxation, meaning that your business profits pass through to your taxes and are taxed at your income tax rate. You don’t have to do separate corporate taxes like you would if you were a C-Corporation.

4. Get business insurance.

Serving customers delicious deli products will generally lead to happy customers and great profits – but there is always the chance that someone could sue your business. It may be because they get injured on your property, think your product caused them injury or for some other reason. When you are sued, your business must immediately hire an attorney and fight for your good name. Of course, hiring a lawyer is expensive, and losing a lawsuit can be catastrophically expensive.

Business insurance is designed to protect your business from these types of situations. You can get insurance coverage for various things, such as product liability insurance, that will kick into action and pay your legal fees – including damages if you lose a lawsuit – as long as they are within the limits of your policy. If you get sued, you contact your insurance company, and they will usually take care of the rest.

Hopefully, you never get sued, and your business is never held liable for an injury. But to be safe, you should carry business insurance.

5. Know the regulations that apply to you and strive to adhere perfectly.

As a food service company, you must adhere to certain regulations concerning food safety and several others. You will need specific permits to serve food and be subject to inspections to verify that you are operating a safe establishment. You must take these requirements seriously because failing to do so can lead to your business being shut down – which means no profits while you are closed and can tarnish your reputation.

It would help if you did sufficient research to know what regulations apply to your deli business long before opening your doors for business. That way, you can design strategies and systems to keep you and your employees within your business requirements. If you can establish a compliance culture, you can often avoid getting into situations where you break the rules and deal with the fallout.