An Idea for a Small Business You Can Start

Start-up costs range $50 to $500,000+, earnings $5,000 to $2,000,000++, skills from knowing nothing to running an airline. Bon appetit!

RESTAURANT MENU DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Start-up cost: $5,500 (PC, printer, marketing, advertising)

Potential earnings: $5,000 to $120,000+

Advertising: Advertise in restaurant professional publications and newsletters. Send letters of introduction to potential clients gleaned from phone directories. Eat at restaurants a lot, and pass out your card and sample menus. Network in community and professional organizations where you can talk about your services and products and generously distribute business cards and samples. Offer to barter your initial services to gain a client list and testimonials for use on your Web site.

Equipment needed: State-of-the industry graphic artist personal computer as advertised in Sunday retail inserts with considerable RAM and hard drive upgrades. Stock art and desktop publishing software.

WHAT YOU DO
Consider offering a multitude of styles and formats to cover every conceivable theme from the conservative to the elegant to Art Deco to the hip and funky.

Offer templates that potential customers can customize, and promote ground-up development services.

Offer specials rates for customers who give you all their updating business. Consider a monthly, quarterly or annual retainer services fee for restaurants that frequently change pricing and food selections. Remember to showcase and price Wine Lists, Specials du Jour, Happy Hour Lists, and other table promos.

Site Luring Freebies: Display rate table for templates and ground-up services. Provide a separate rate table for daily, weekly and monthly update subscribers. Display examples of finished products and free downloads of basic menus that potential customers could customize.

copyright 1999 by IdeaGenie. FOR MORE on this and other great businesses you can start, you can buy an expanded guide at IdeaGenie. (Please note: IdeaGenie and Idea Cafe are independent.)

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