Entrepreneurship - How to Start a Restaurant - Term Paper Example

Entrepreneurship Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose of the Report 3 Theory that Underpins the Analysis (Entrepreneurship) 3 Research Methodology 4 Conducting the Interview 4 Tools for Analysis 5 Ethical Considerations 5 Analysis 6 Conclusion 8 References 9 Appendix: Interview Questions 11 Introduction The changes in the lifestyle of the consumers and shifting demographics are identified to influence the overall performance of a restaurant business. Notably, there lay certain people who do not prefer to cook or do not get time to cook because of their busy work schedule. These people generally like to intake readymade food, which is hustle free. Therefore, in order to fulfil the needs of these sections of people, restaurants serve as the best means and thereby influence the business owners to establish this business (1Entrepreneur Media. Inc, 2015) Purpose of the Report The prime intent of this report is to analyse the entrepreneurial behaviour of a restaurant owner who is running a restaurant business by conducting face-to-face interview with a predefined set of questions. While identifying the rationale of preparing this report, it is to be affirmed that today, food industry is one of the growing sectors and therefore encouraged the business owners to establish restaurants with the aim of earning more profit (Palo Alto Software, 2015). Therefore, there exists a high competition amid the restaurants, as this appears under the category of ‘perfectly competitive market’. It is thus necessary for a restaurant owner to select the target customers and try to fulfil their necessities as per their demands. Theory that Underpins the Analysis (Entrepreneurship) Entrepreneurship denotes the readiness and the ability of an entrepreneur to establish and manage a business along with the risks involved in it with the intention of earning maximum profit (Harvard Business Publishing, 2015). An entrepreneur is responsible for developing a business model and procuring necessary resources that are required for running a business in an efficient manner (2Entrepreneur Media Inc, 2015). Entrepreneurs are duly considered to be the leaders who always desire to take risks and implement the opportunities derived from the market by means of improving existing products/services (Brooks, 2015). In relation to a restaurant business, the entrepreneurship theory or model fundamentally represents certain skills including the management and team building skills that are considered as the leadership attributes, which deemed to be quite essential for the entrepreneurs to obtain greater success. However, one of the major elements of entrepreneurship theory in the context of restaurant business is the passion for conducting business and remaining self motivated throughout the business or operational process (Kuratko, 2013). In relation to the restaurant business, the entrepreneurship theory represents the fact that the entrepreneurs must possess proper analytical and decision making abilities that help them to implement effective strategic decisions, which ultimately helps in growing the business (Liberty Fund Inc, 2008). Research Methodology Conducting the Interview In this particular research study or report, only primary data collection technique has been used in order to obtain better, accurate and reliable data (Institute for Work & Health, 2009; Modell, 2007). The primary data collection method used in this report included face-to-face interview, which has been conducted to a restaurant business owner (Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2015). A set of questions were prepared that consisted ten questions, denoting varied factors considered by the entrepreneur while starting the restaurant business. In this regard, a restaurant owner was chosen for the interview who carries out his business in small scale. A specific time, as convenient to the restaurant owner, was fixed during which the interview was carried out at his place. The owner was assured of the fact that the information that is being disclosed in the interview would be kept confidential and thereby will not hamper the business. Questions were asked in sequence and there was no time limit for answering the questions in order to restrict the limit of answers being delivered by the owner. An estimated time of 1 hour was taken in completing the interview. Tools for Analysis In this research, only qualitative method has been used in order to ensure maximum reliability as well as validity. This particular approach i.e. qualitative method provides a greater understanding about the subject matter of the research. Moreover, it also serves as a reliable source of information and at the same time, a broad range of data related with the subject matter can be easily obtained. By using the qualitative research in this report, it has been possible to explore other areas of research that helped in carrying out the overall research in an effective manner (WebMD LLC, 2015). Ethical Considerations There are certain ethical rules that are necessary to be considered while conducting any research study. This may be owing to the reason that the ethical considerations greatly influence the validity as well as the reliability of a particular study. However, in majority of the cases, considering the ethical means often creates obstacles for the researchers in collecting essential data required for the research (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2013). Similarly, in this research, the ethical issues have been fully considered and based on which, the required and relevant data were gathered. While taking the interview of the restaurant owner, the confidentiality of the responses provided by the owner was ensured. Moreover, the procedures based on which the interview will be conducted was also clearly defined to the owner before starting the interview. Another ethical issue that ought to be considered while conducting any research is to obtain permission from the respective person to whom the interview would be taken. In this regard, prior permission from the restaurant owner was taken prior to the conduct of the interview. Analysis Interview method was considered as an instrument of primary research, which was conducted with the owner of a restaurant. However, in this section, a descriptive analysis of the results of the interview questions was made for reaching into a valid conclusion of the study. The first question asked to the owner was regarding the motivational factors that led him to start the restaurant business. The owner responded that the factors concerning the increase in demand of the customers towards fast foods and expectance of high turnover associated with the restaurant business motivated to establish this business. Justifiably, in this modern day context, a majority of the people do not want to cook at their home and prefer restaurants to have foods in order to overcome the hustle of cooking and washing of dishes. In relation to the second question, it was ascertained that the owner used capital funding and short-term loans as the financing modes for starting the restaurant business. The third question was regarding the challenges faced by the owner in establishing the restaurant business. In responses, the owner stated that the main problem was lack of adequate funding for setting up the infrastructure of such business. Moreover, the existence of other restaurants in the locality also created difficulty for the restaurant to attract customers at the initial stage of the business. The fourth question was mainly concerned with the areas of the business in which improvement is required. In this similar context, the owner emphasised improving the customers’ satisfaction level in terms of providing better quality of products of wide variety according to their requirements. Analysis of the results regarding the skills required for conducting the daily activities of the restaurant business deciphered that interpersonal and good communication skills are necessary for maintaining customer relation, which will ultimately help the business to prosper. The sixth question was regarding the future identified opportunities in the restaurant business. In response, the owner stated that improving the goodwill of the company will certainly help in increasing the business value, which will in turn, attract more customers in future and raise the profitability level at large. The next question asked to the restaurant owner was about the goal of the restaurant business. In this regard, the owner stated that the goal of the business is to maintain long-term sustainability by maintaining the quality of the goods and providing the same to the customers according to their demands. The next question was regarding the strategies being adopted by the owner to compete with the competitors. In order to compete with the competitors, the owner took the initiative of keeping the prices of the foods quite low in comparison with other restaurants. The ninth question was to identify the business areas that mainly focused by the owner to serve the customers efficiently. The owner responded that utmost attention will be paid on providing good quality foods and services, thereby serving the customers effectively and also enlarging their satisfaction level at large. Finally, in the last question, the owner holds a positive perception that the restaurant business will attain greater success in future by meeting the expectations of the customers in terms of providing them with quality products. Conclusion From the overall research analysis and interview results, it can be concluded that the entrepreneurial success of the restaurant business can be assessed from the factors being considered by the owner while starting the restaurant business. The owner strongly believed that the consideration of the factors such as effective leadership as well as communication skills and offering quality products/services to the customers will ultimately help the business to prosper in future. By analysing the overall results of the interview, it can be affirmed that even though the restaurant owner carries out the business in a smaller scale, the concepts and the ideas that have been considered at the initial starting phase will certainly help the business to ensure long-term sustainability and attain superior competitive position. Finally, it can be affirmed that the research may have been improved by the ways of escalating sample size i.e. considering more than one restaurant owner and also including certain other questions in the questionnaire that determine the future prospect of restaurant business. References Brooks, C., 2015. What is Entrepreneurship?. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2642-entrepreneurship.html [Accessed January 25, 2015]. 1Entrepreneur Media Inc, 2015. How to Start a Restaurant. Starting a Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/73384 [Accessed January 25, 2015]. 2Entrepreneur Media Inc, 2015. The Definition of Success, According to 5 Entrepreneur Superstars. Success. [Online] Available at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234888 [Accessed January 25, 2015]. Harvard Business Publishing, 2015. Entrepreneurship: A Working Definition. Entrepreneurship. [Online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/what-is-entrepreneurship [Accessed January 25, 2015]. Institute for Work & Health, 2009. What Researchers Mean By Primary and Secondary Data. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www.iwh.on.ca/wrmb/primary-data-and-secondary-data [Accessed January 17, 2015]. Kuratko, D., 2013. Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice. Cengage Learning. Liberty Fund Inc, 2008. Entrepreneurship. Article. [Online] Available at: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Entrepreneurship.html [Accessed January 25, 2015]. Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2015. Methods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. British Dental Journal. [Online] Available at: http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v204/n6/full/bdj.2008.192.html [Accessed January 17, 2015]. Modell, M. E., 2007. Interviewing Guidelines. The Interview and Other Data Gathering Methods. [Online] Available at: http://www.martymodell.com/pgsa2/pgsa07.html [Accessed January 17, 2015]. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2013. What is Ethics in Research & Why is it Important?. Research. [Online] Available at: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/ [Accessed January 17, 2015]. Palo Alto Software, 2015. How to Start a Successful Restaurant. Business Planning. [Online] Available at: http://articles.bplans.com/start-successful-restaurant-guide/ [Accessed January 25, 2015]. WebMD LLC, 2015. Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. [Online] Available at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/731165_3 [Accessed January 17, 2015]. Appendix: Interview Questions 1) What motivated you to start the restaurant business? 2) What are the financing modes you have considered in your business? 3) What are the challenges that you faced in establishing the business? 4) In which areas of the business do you need improvement? 5) What are the skills that are required by you for conducting the day to day activities of the business? 6) What are future opportunities that you find in your restaurant business? 7) What is the goal of your business? 8) What are the strategies that you have applied to compete with your competitors? 9) In which areas of business are you mainly focused at for serving the customers effectively? 10) Do you think that your business will attain greater success in future? Read More