When it comes to starting a business, most people will think of entering catering industry as the beginning. According to survey, 8 of the 10 newly established companies are catering-related. This week's article is a guide for startup catering entrepreneurs, reminding you of the business matters that you should know when starting a business for the first time.
Starting a business / Incorporation / Company formation in Hong Kong is more flexible than before. Simply put, setting up an online store to sell products or provide online services is already a business. There are many online shopping platforms or mobile apps that make it easy for everyone to form a company. According to statistics, the catering industry grows at a rate of more than 10% every year, while shuffling at a rate of 70%. The local catering industry in Hong Kong is highly competitive, with shops located in various residential and commercial areas. In fact, as long as the purpose is for profit-making activities, business owners must go through the business registration process. Therefore, even if you are not opening a physical store, you must go through the relevant procedures as well.
The government law requires business registration in the following situations:
1. Any form of business, commerce, craftsmanship, professional, occupational or other activity for profit;
2. Clubs that provide members with facilities, services and dedicated premises for social or recreational activities;
3. All limited companies incorporated in Hong Kong under the Companies Ordinance, or limited companies not incorporated in Hong Kong but with a place of business in Hong Kong, whether or not they actually carry on business in Hong Kong.
4. All non-Hong Kong limited companies that have a representative office or liaison office in Hong Kong, or lease their properties in Hong Kong, whether or not they have a place of business in Hong Kong.

Those who already have a certain scale or foundation in their business and want more responsibility protection, will choose to set up a limited company. A limited company must be registered at the Companies Registry. Under the one-stop company registration and business registration service, applicants do not need to go through business registration procedures separately. You only need to Whatsapp us or call 3575 6888 to contact our consultants at OneStart Business Centre. We will assist you in all incorporation or company formation business.

The responsibilities of a limited company include:
A company is a separate legal entity, in other words, the company itself is a legal person separate from its owners. A limited company enjoys the benefits of operating a business with limited liability, but must also perform its responsibilities and comply with the provisions of the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 622 of the Laws of Hong Kong), including timely disclosure to the Registrar of Companies and
To report specified companies and their officers and shareholders, etc., and to report changes to such information, so that the public can check the latest company information kept by the Registrar of Companies at any time. (Data source: Companies Registry website)

Start your own brand - Pros
The raw materials are under your own control, which wont be drawn by other parties.
Not limited to joining the headquarters. The marketing strategies can be formulated by yourself
Higher flexibility for future development. If successful, the business can be expended for other parties to join as partners.

Start your own brand - Cons

The initial investment of time and money is large, including researching SOPs, designing logos, menus, packaging, looking for suppliers, equipment, etc.
There is not much brand awareness. The initial customer acquisition cost is high, and a lot of resources need to be invested in publicity.

The cost of preparing a franchise restaurant generally ranges from several hundred thousand to several million, depending on the brand awareness and scale of the investment.

How much should be prepared?
But for those who are starting a business for the first time:
The cost of opening a new store for a novice should not exceed 1 million, or the maximum loss you can tolerate. If a store can make a net profit of 50,000 yuan a month on average, then the return on investment of 1 million yuan is 20 months. Due to the rapid changes in the catering industry, many brands will be eliminated in less than 2 to 3 years. Therefore, if the capital cannot be repaid within 1 to 2 years, the risk will be very high, and it is likely that they will be doing white jobs for several years. . Furthermore, even if you invest 1 million, even if you lose all of it in the end, you can control the loss within this amount, instead of losing several million.

How to choose an address?
Location selection is a very important part of the catering industry. Before choosing a location, you must first think clearly about the positioning of your store. For example, if it is mainly for internal use, take-out, or you want to specialize in the delivery market, because this is related to the size of the store, Location is all about it. If it is mainly used for internal use, then there should be enough seats for internal use. The number of seats multiplied by the table turnover rate and the unit price of customers is the one-day turnover. If it is mainly for take-out, then the store does not need to be too large, so that customers can easily pick up meals. For internal use and take-out, a place with a lot of people is needed, and it is better to have convenient parking. So how much should the rent range be reasonable? Generally speaking, the ratio of rent + utilities to turnover is best controlled within 10-15%, so a simple location selection method is to take rent × 10 times as the target turnover.

Everyone has an original intention when starting a business. Some people just want to open a store as their lifelong career, and some people open a store to create sideline income, not to look after the store by themselves. But no matter what the original intention is, it is recommended that first-time entrepreneurs must do it themselves in the early stage, and those who do not want to take care of the store by themselves wait until the operation is stable and the personnel get started before letting go. The initial plan is to work for a long time and hardly take a vacation. For example, if you open a beverage store and open 12 hours a day, then the actual situation will be that the boss has to work about 16 hours a day, because apart from the busy time of opening the store Outside of business hours, you are busy with recruiting, purchasing, advertising, billing and other chores after get off work. The energy and time you need to invest is definitely more difficult than an ordinary office worker. Before starting a business, you must be mentally and physically prepared.
If you want to open a shop and be a boss, you must not underestimate the cost of opening a shop. Even if you have the entrepreneurial idea and capital, you need to calculate the expenses and affordability before starting your business to ensure that your business can run smoothly. For those who are interested in starting a business, the most important thing is to know how to calculate cost and profit, understand the flow of people in the vicinity, the age and taste of target customers, and the ability of consumers. Don't worry, you can Whatsapp us or call 3575 6888 to contact the consultants of OneStart Business Center, and we will assist you with all business startup and business support matters.