How to Start a Canteen Business in the Philippines

Starting a business is a risky venture as they say but if you are really interested in having your very own business, you should start with a business with a steady cash flow and with as lesser risk as possible.  The food industry has been booming in the Philippines because Filipinos love to eat.  Since food is one of the essentials of man, venturing into the food business is not a bad idea after all.  A canteen business is one of the popular choices of novice entrepreneurs.  Usually a canteen is located inside a compound, an office building, school or in any high foot traffic location that is aimed to serve the people within the premises.

Step 1: Choose your target location

Study the target location that you are eyeing for your canteen.   Check out if the area has high foot traffic and most importantly if the lease of the place is worth it.  The lease price of the canteen is one of the most important factor to consider since from that you can consider the prices of your meals.  Canteens are known for their affordability compared to the fast food chains and high end restaurants.  You want to earn that’s why you are building your canteen business, study the terms thoroughly first before plunging in.

Step 2: Ensure that you have an accounting system

Having an accounting system in your canteen business is one of the essential steps that you need to consider first.  This would be your internal control system that would monitor your canteen’s performance and it is also one of the best ways to prevent internal theft.

Step 3: Get the right supplier

Getting the right supplier would save you time from haggling and getting substandard ingredients.  Once you found the best supplier of the freshest ingredients that could give you great discounts since you would be buying in bulk then you can check this from your list and proceed with the next step.

Step 4: Organize your imaginative menu

A canteen is usually the go to place of employees mostly on a daily basis.  If you are looking forward to have repeat customers in the future, you have to create and organize an imaginative menu.  You should prepare a non-repeating menu that would last for at least a month. You have to make sure that the quality of your menu is of great value so that customers would never hesitate to drop by on a daily basis.  If you serve the same food every day chances are you would lose customers since they will get tired of your menu.  Introducing a variety of options to your customers that are of high quality and delicious are the keys to creating a long lasting relationship with your repeat customers and would gain you more customers afterwards.

Step 5:  Set up your dream team

When you hire the right people for your canteen, you would have a stronger chances of being successful in the canteen business.  Hiring cheerful staff who are customer service oriented would gain you popularity among your customers.  In addition, when you hire the qualified people to cook for your canteen, your menu would not only be appetizing but customers would always look forward to eat in your canteen on a daily basis.

Step 6: Organize your thoughts and start with the operations

You need to set your operating hours to ensure that you would not waste food.  Check out how the people in your location build up and start your operations on that time to ensure lesser wastage since food is a perishable item.  Once you have organized your thoughts and decided on your operating hours then the next step would be to start with your canteen business and see the magic happen!