Running a small eatery
An 8-step roadmap to open a small eatery: food safety conditions and household business registration, location and concept, menu and food cost, kitchen layout and equipment, purchasing, staff management, delivery apps and reading profit and loss. Afterwards you can open and run a rice, noodle or snack shop. Suits people who want to start a small business.
Start here
Step 1: Legal basics: household business, food safety, tax
One short lesson per step, 10–15 minutes on a phone. No sign-up needed.
Hands-on roadmap
Roadmap
- Step 1Lesson
Legal basics: household business, food safety, tax
Registering a household business locally, a food safety commitment or certificate depending on size, staff health checks, presumptive tax, and fire prevention requirements.
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 2Lesson
Concept, location & capital budget
Surveying local customers, competitors and peak hours; rent ideally under 15–20% of expected revenue; budgeting for fit-out, equipment and a 3-month operating reserve.
Requires: Legal basics: household business, food safety, tax
- Step 3Skill
Menu, standard recipes & food cost
Choosing 1–3 signature dishes, writing recipes so anyone cooks the same taste, food cost of 30–40%, pricing and combos; overly long menus cause stock buildup and waste.
Requires: Concept, location & capital budget
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 4Skill
Kitchen layout, equipment & purchasing
One-way kitchen flow, sinks, fridges, extraction hood, fire extinguishers; new versus used equipment; traceable produce and meat suppliers, keeping invoices, checking deliveries and weekly stock counts.
Requires: Menu, standard recipes & food cost
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 5Skill
Hiring, training & managing staff
Job descriptions, shift schedules, pay and bonuses; training on standard recipes and service steps; preventing cash and stock loss; keeping good staff.
Requires: Kitchen layout, equipment & purchasing
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 6Skill
Sales: delivery apps, Google Maps & regulars
Listing on GrabFood, ShopeeFood and Be and accounting for commissions; dish photos, Google Maps, a fan page, Zalo OA; loyalty programs; handling bad reviews.
Requires: Hiring, training & managing staff
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 7Project
Project: business plan & one-month trial
Write a one-page business plan, trial-sell for a month (cart, small stall or online only), log daily income and costs in Excel or an app, and compare against the budget.
Requires: Sales: delivery apps, Google Maps & regulars
No English content for this step yet.
- Step 8Assessment
Profit review & expansion decision
A test on reading profit and loss, break-even and cash flow; a food safety and fire prevention checklist; deciding to keep, adjust the menu or expand based on data.
Requires: Project: business plan & one-month trial
No English content for this step yet.
