How to Make a Career Change With a Restaurant Franchise

If you’d love to be your own boss in a dynamic and profitable sector of industry, a restaurant franchise could be the perfect investment. Making a career change can be daunting, but knowledge is power. This article will show you how to successfully navigate the transition and make a career change with a restaurant franchise.

In 2019, UK households spent almost £98 billion on restaurants, cafes and other food outlets [Statista]. Though the industry took a huge hit during the pandemic, it’s been mounting its post-COVID comeback successfully since the end of the 2021 lockdown. There’s no better time to open your own restaurant, especially with the full support and backing of a franchisor. Here’s how you can do it.

Why consider making a career change with a restaurant franchise?

After a lot of time spent at home, cooking meals for themselves, the UK public has been thrilled to return to restaurants in 2021, and the industry has seen plenty of demand as a result. This huge industry, which employs almost 500,000 people [IBISWorld], is bouncing back, and the state of franchising in the restaurant sector might be brighter than you think. Even beyond demand, there are plenty of advantages to starting your own restaurant franchise, including: 

• The chance to benefit from an existing brand name and customer base
• The availability of franchisor training, support and guidance
• The chance to build a team of trusted employees
• The dynamic, varied and fast-paced working environment  
• The ability to become a loved part of the local community
• The room to grow and develop down the line
• The option of creating multiple revenue streams (through delivery options, merchandising, etc.)

How to make a career change with a restaurant franchise

Running a successful restaurant franchise won’t be easy, and it will often require a substantial financial investment compared to mobile and home-based franchise opportunities. This means it’s absolutely crucial (to the future success of your franchise and your future financial health) that before you sign on the dotted line and agree to a franchise agreement, you cover the following three bases...

1. Assess the suitability of your skills and qualifications

Most franchise opportunities in the restaurant sector won’t require you to have previous industry experience to your name. You’ll be fully trained and brought up to speed post-investment. For those opportunities that do ask for a little more, or for your own peace of mind before starting a new career, you should look into attaining a Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership, or a Level 4 Diploma in Hospitality Leadership.

Beyond qualifications, you’ll find that you’re a better fit for running a restaurant franchise if you possess certain transferable skills and abilities. Before you do anything else towards making a career change with a restaurant franchise, make sure you suit the industry by asking yourself the following questions:

• Can I provide excellent customer service?
• Am I a leader?
• Am I a team player?
• Can I motivate and manage others?
• Can I accept criticism?
• Do I perform well under pressure?
• Do I have/feel I can develop business management skills?
• Am I patient?
• Do I have passion for the food service industry?

2. Get to know the industry, and your potential place in it

Once you know that you’ve got the necessary skills to thrive as a restaurant franchise owner, it’s time to dive right into the industry. Nothing will be more helpful to you when you’re marketing your restaurant franchise than a strong knowledge of current trends, consumer habits and competitors. To get you started, here are some of the biggest restaurant trends in 2021: 

• Increased availability of delivery 
• More plant-based and vegan options
• Pop-up restaurants

Another way that industry research will help you out is by telling you what you can expect from your role. You should look into a range of franchise opportunities that interest you and search for commonalities. In this way, you’ll be able to determine what an average day in the life of a franchisee in the restaurant sector might look like. To get you started, here are some things that will likely be regular tasks for you, once you’ve started your franchise:

• Sourcing, hiring, managing and retaining a team of employees
• Testing, setting and updating recipes and menus
• Marketing and advertising your franchise
• Cultivating and/or maintaining strong supplier relationships
• Cultivating and/or maintaining strong customer relationships
• Maintaining high standards from the kitchen, to the dining area, to the bathrooms

3. Consider franchise opportunities carefully based on important criteria like cost

Fundamentally, the perfect franchise opportunity for you needs to be a financial fit. A restaurant is one of the more expensive franchise investment options, as there tend to be many different overheads and employee wage costs to consider. The last thing you want to do is fail to consider these additional factors and fees, leading to an over-investment that you can’t keep up with. Here are some examples of costs from within the world of restaurant franchising, to give you a better idea of what you can expect:

• Camile Thai - To become a Camile Thai franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £100,000, with franchise fees of £20,000 and advertising and royalty fees (both charged at a rate of 5%).
• Las Iguanas - To become a Las Iguanas franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £350,000, with franchise fees of £25,000, a total investment cost of £700,000 and a royalty fee (charged at a rate of 6%).
• Wolf - To become a Wolf franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £100,000, with franchise fees of £15,000, a total investment cost of £200,000 and advertising and royalty fees (charged at rates of 2% and 6% respectively).
• Thai Express - To become a Thai Express franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £50,000, with franchise fees of £15,000, a total investment cost of £150,000 and advertising and royalty fees (charged at rates of 3% and 6% respectively).

Enjoy high demand and plenty of profit running a franchise in the food service industry

Having ticked off these three steps, you’ll be in a much better position to enter the restaurant industry and reach profitability in no time. From building a business plan for a successful restaurant business to finding the food franchise that’s right for you, Point Franchise is on hand to help.