Amani Restaurant Startup
Amani restaurant is located along the Persian Gulf. It offers both accommodation and food to many of its visitors who comprise both tourists and locals from the nearby cities. As the only restaurant serving foreign foods and exotic spas’ including massage and room service, the restaurant is strategically placed within the shores of the Gulf taking advantage of its unique services and exotic foods. The restaurant is locally owned with about 5 percent of its shares held by a foreign based company in the European countries. The restaurant is currently 5 months old and prides itself of unusual, unique foods sourced from deep in the sea. It specializes in sea foods and local traditional herbs professionally mixed with the sea foods. Additionally, the restaurant offers drinks both soft drinks and liquor targeting their foreign based customers. Given that it is along the water body, the restaurant offers night walks along the shores of the waters in addition to fitness services comprising of a gym and indoor games. The restaurant occupies 320 square miles that include its resorts and hotels. Customers book for reservations five hours before in order to give the management time to preserve, prepare and put in place all they may need. The reservations are done online. It has approximately 30 employees, including chefs, waiters, security, tour guides, among others.
The top management comprises of the President, Chief Executive Officer, and managing Director, who make up the executive board. Below the executive board are the departmental managers who are in charge of various departments within the restaurant and resorts. This case study will focus on Amani Hotel and will form the primary subject of the report. The study/report is intended to demonstrate knowledge gathered on the management of entrepreneurial enterprise with materials gathered from the establishment, readings from magazines, newsletters, media, and events that will culminate in the case study. The case study report will be based on a series of reports that will focus on management, marketing, sales, challenges, expansion plans, and competition among others. Its startup strategy, Amani Restaurant strives to take on the competitive industry with a series of premeditated business ideologies that will culminate into its expansion and establishment of resorts and several branches in the Middle East.
Start-up 1, Management
The management team of Amani Restaurant comprised of the executive Board made up of the President, Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director, and Chief Liaison Officer. The President serves as the ceremonial head of the restaurant with the Chief Executive Officer engaged in managerial aspects of the restaurant such as offering vision for the enterprise, chairs key meeting, signing business deals with key investors, wooing potential investors and customers, setting up the restaurants strategic plans. The Managing Director is involved in the day to day activities of the enterprise with main focus on daily preparations within the restaurant, liaising with the departmental heads for any needs of the day and planning the daily operations such as tenders, and daily deliveries. The Managing directors, a key role is to steer the operations of the hotel to achieve its key mission statement that reads, “Our key and Principle purpose is to fill you with joy and happiness through good food, art, and music”. The managing director ensures that customers are served to their full and enjoy their stay within the premises of the restaurant.
The Chief Liaison Officer/Financial Officer is mandated with the financial operations of the restaurant in addition to budgeting, accounting, and cash management that includes bookkeeping, payments, internal controls of finances, and liaising with the restaurant suppliers. Most of the paperwork and bookkeeping fall under the mandate of the Chief Liaison Officer/Financial Officer who ensures that all the restaurants documentation is in order and updated as to when and where. Additionally, the Liaison Officer acts as the restaurants secretary keeping minutes, drafting regulations together with the Chief Executive Officer and keeping abreast with the enterprise performance in the industry in relation to competition and market conditions. The entire Executive Board has the mandate to hire and manage the restaurant staff in addition to promotions and dismissals. The main and major decisions of the restaurant are undertaken by the Executive Board whose head, the President, ensures that all decisions get full support of the management.
On the lower scale are the departmental heads that are in charge of different departments and carry out functions within their departments as per their roles and responsibilities. The department heads, known as Managers, carry out mundane duties such as, ensuring their departments comply with the daily objectives as set by the Managing Director, liaising with other departments to ease operations. For example, the stores department has to keep tab of the requirements of the kitchen every time to ensure that they have what is needed for operations. The head of waiters too has to keep in constant touch with the head of chefs to ensure that the needs of the customers are met as per instructions given. Other staff members such as the waiters, cooks, and security work under guidance of the Managing Director who ensures that all is in order all through.
Start-up 2: Products and Services
In its early startup stage, Amani restaurant prides itself of offering unique and customer tailored foodstuffs. It thus explains why the management has the 1 hour reservation, to enable the management to prepare in advance the customers’ needs. It follows on the concept that the restaurant looks forward to creating a lasting impression on the customer by offering the best services and ensuring that the period the customer will be served in the hotel or recreation areas of the restaurant, the customers will be in a position to acknowledge the value for the money paid for the services or products. Often the customer is expected to give in detail some of the products and services they will need prior to making entry into the establishment. This includes drinks needed, foodstuffs, specially tailored services, rooms, and any additional need of the customer. This arrangement is offered to the customers to enable them to specifically explain the type of food or services they will want, how they will want it, where, and when. The management is always put on standby to ensure that the needs of the customer are laid out and prepared for the one our allowance before they make entry to the restaurant. Although the management prides itself on making available every customer’s needs, the challenge of making the special arrangement often is real as most customers do call upon the management on short notices.
These include a short notice for meetings, conferences, room services, and outside catering. However, the management through the department heads always strives to their level best to ensure that the customers are provided with the best foods, drinks, and services possible.
The restaurant prides itself on offering unique traditional foods fresh from the farmlands. In order to be in a position to offer these fresh foodstuffs, the restaurant has in place efficient suppliers who make deliveries to the establishment every morning or on a weekly basis, depending on the nature of the foodstuff. Most vegetables, meat products, and fruits are delivered to the establishment each morning. High end suppliers who supply goods such as cooking materials make deliveries at least once every month in addition to keeping tabs with their suppliers to avoid a situation whereby the product runs out and the management is left at a loss on the net possible delivery. The store personnel in conjunction with the head cook ensure that all products necessary for food preparation is available in good quantity. However, in order to ensure efficiency and avoid waste, the management has in place a system in operation that keeps tabs with the use of the products delivered, in which the products are classified on use and application, where and when. Since the establishment heavily relies on its suppliers for best provision of foodstuffs to its owners, the management has in place actionable metrics that helps it keep track of the effect and cause question which is essential for its learning and measurement of viability in the market. Progress thus will be measured with the preparation of high quality foods and services as per the customer needs. By and through this, the management will measure its progress in terms of service provision and the quality of foodstuffs provided to the customers. The management will thus adapt to a better plan gradually, inch by inch. By use of the lean Startup approach, the establishment creates an orderly system of operation that ensures efficiency and productivity.
Startup 3: The Establishments Image
The name “Amani” connotes to a peaceful coexistence. It means peace and harmony amongst a group of people or within a given environment. Due to constant conflicts between nations, societies, individuals, and establishments, the management named the enterprise Amani which is a Swahili word meaning peace. The word originates from the Swahili speaking people of the coastal region of Tanzania, a country frequented by the Arabs in the early 1800. The region became a source of inspiration to many Arabs who were out for exploration. However, due to the scramble for African nations, many countries engaged in war with the European colonists. The Arabs on exploration missions called upon the tradesmen along the coastal town of Tanzania to embrace “Amani”, meaning a peaceful way of coexistence devoid of war and conflicts. The enterprise, thus has adopted a similar approach in the Middle East to preach peace through its brand name as most of the customers are individuals well aware of the terminology.
The Logo; the enterprise logo also signifies peace. The enterprise has adopted the logo below to resonate well with the name “Amani”, below, is the enterprise logo, which often embedded on most of its products and establishment.
The logo is intended to remind the customers on the need for peace across all borders irrespective of race, religion, wealth status, or skin color. The logo is therefore being intended to stand for peace; the enterprise is intended to be a messenger of peace. Despite the challenging environment of business, and the rough grounds new businesses find themselves in, the establishment seeks to have a united people through its high-class services, healthy diet, and peaceful environment.
Marketing Strategy: The enterprise is keen to target the high-end customers, the businessmen, foreigners, presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens, the clergy, sheikhs, tourists, and influential members of the society. In order to reach out to these groups of people, the establishment aims at strategically putting its advertisement and marketing tactics at the doorsteps of these potential clients. These include the use of the media, the internet, global outreach programs, and non-governmental organization that have the capacity and potential to be within reach of these groups or members of the society. The establishment will have in place pamphlets designed for each and every organization within a radius of 100 miles of the enterprise to create awareness of its products and services. The pamphlets will be distributed to organizations having the likelihood of hosting or having influential members of the society such as Presidents and businessmen. Additionally, for customers coming to the enterprise, tags bearing inspirational messages will be distributed and given out to them to remind them and create awareness of more services available at future dates as the restaurant continues to expand and grow within the catering industry.
Enterprise Communication: In order to create a positive vibrating message to its customers, the enterprise will endeavor to pass positive and encouraging messages through the web, advertising channels, and direct communication with the customers. The enterprise will additionally undertake a vigorous approach towards packaging the business products and services in an easy to understand language. Due to the large number of foreign speaking customers within and around the various towns close to the establishment, the management will continue emphasizing on the need to embrace diverse language use ranging from English, Arabic, French, German, Chinese, and Hindu, among others. This will enable the management and staff positions themselves to communicating with the customers comfortably at all levels.
The Employees: In order to resonate with the company logo, mission statement, and goals, the establishment will endeavor to recruit only employees who have the passion to serve and give their best in a service oriented industry. The management will also strive to inculcate discipline, mannerism, and work ethics in the employees enable it stand by the company’s key objectives. Additionally, to improve on efficiency and productivity, the management will focus on empowering each department to be self-reliant on its duties and responsibilities to improve on the time needed and necessary for decision making.
Startup 4: Employee Culture:
To achieve the desired results from employee recruitment, the management will strive towards building a culture of service and maximum dedication at any work at hand towards improvement of desired outcomes. This will be achieved through and by preaching the enterprise practices to the employees, maximizing realization of profit and culture at the same time, inculcating a cultural effect of happiness amongst the employees. Additionally, the management will endeavor to build on strong leadership skills, transparency, lively work environment, mentoring, communication, and creation of a peaceful environment in line with its slogan and manifesto.
This start up approach will obviously start with recruiting the right kind of people through rigorous personal interviews; employee feedback, calling references, organizing for internship, and having the recruits or employees take a personality test. Through this, the management can be at a position to hire the best that will promote the values of the business through disciplined work ethics. Inculcating a good work culture amongst the employees is aimed at delivering well and up to standard business results, promotion of good teamwork, in addition to connecting the employees with the clients, fostering a collaborative environment which will aim at driving productivity and improving morale amongst the staff.
Startup 5: Driving Growth and Profitability. Due to the enterprise growth strategy, the management will focus on growth prospects instead of profitability in its early stages of development. It will lay the groundwork for greater marketing, advertisement, and awareness creation in the early stages of the enterprise. Since growth will automatically eat into the enterprise revenues, the management will focus more on the development of its business prospects instead of the vision of realizing profits.
This will further allow the enterprise to keep tabs with its growth challenges, competition, market strategies, strengths and weaknesses in addition to focusing on establishing a strong competitive attitude in the industry. By focusing on the growth prospects, the management will forego the ideology of making and improving on profits. At the early stages, the management cannot take the two roads in which it will focus on its growth strategy and profit realization. It will thus pay attention to putting a lot of revenue on its marketing strategies, promotions, advertisement, and creation of awareness within the region and internationally.
Startup 6: Competitors
As a startup, and with its dynamic work force, Amani Restaurant stands a good chance of handling the murky waters of the food industry unlike it old age competitor that are stuck in old traditional methods. The restaurant has the agility to muddle through challenging technologies, new methodologies, and uncertain futures. In addition, the restaurant has the capability to do whatever it wants as it can easily branch to other subsidiaries of food production or industry unlike the old age competitors. For instance, the new technology for automatic booking and hotel reservation will come in handy for the enterprise as most of the work force has fresh ideas on how to go about managing a new technology or device. In addition to vibrant team chemistry, the management together with its staff stands to take on competition strategically and exploit the market. The management has realized and noted with deep concern the lack of concentration in the top end customers who comprise of local and international celebrities. According to the market research, the majority of the powerful and local celebrities in addition to world leaders have to travel 50 miles out of the region to access a 5-star restaurant services. This will be done through a series of coordinated team work and strategic marketing plans.
Another methodology to take advantage of is the pricing which will stick out as the most effective tool to counter with the big businesses. As most restaurant establishments focus on maximizing profits, the Amani enterprise will keep its major focus on growth and establishment in the market. It will do this through and by offering subsidized costs of its hotel services and by giving promotional offers to its customers. The reduced price will thus enable it to counter and take on the big restaurant players in the region. As a new startup, these are strengths and advantages the management will keep note of as it entrenches itself in the industry during its first 5 years of growth plans in its initial periods. Other companies operating restaurants in the region include; West Diani Restaurant, Moventrick Hotels, Beirut Chain of Hotels, Maca Desert Resort, Market Palace Hotel, Jumerah Jumerat, Pineview Resort, among others. These hotels and resorts have a history spanning over 10 years in the catering industry. However, with the entry of Amani Restaurant, the market dynamics will shift as it considers itself well placed to take on the big players.
Startup 7; Challenges
Despite the rosy picture that Amani restaurant expects to ride in, several challenges are meant to come and hinder its smooth sailing in the industry. Chief among them is the financial challenge of putting up a strong and formidable competitive level against big corporations in the catering industry. Due to the long duration, the other enterprises have lasted in the market, it is possible that it may take Amani Restaurant a lot of time and resources to break through the market and lead in the region as a five-star hotel. On the other hand, penetrating the market may also pose a difficult challenge as the enterprise seeks to tap on the potential customers and new international clients. It may require a strategic approach to counter this challenge amidst a crowded field of other heavy competitors. However, through its subsidiary branches internationally, Amani Restaurant can rely on increased marketing strategy internationally to counter the local stiff competition. Although this will only form part of the enterprise future strategic plans.
On the other hand, the application and use of technology to reach to far flush regions is another strategy that will help the young enterprise penetrate and dig deep into the market. In order to have a bigger market share within its initial periods of operation, the enterprise will focus more on its strength and look into ways of countering its weaknesses such as relying on its parent company in the European market. However, this is only a strategic plan that is poised to counter the local and diminish the competitor’s level of influence. Amani Enterprises therefore hopes to lay down its strategic plan with a sharp focus on its growth strategy and future expansion. To help it take care of the dynamic market, the management will rely on its parent company in Winconsin as a mentor to see it through the start-up phase. Although the startup phase is rosy for the enterprise, the management is ready and prepared to handle any upcoming challenge, lay down future strategies, and focus on profitability in its 6th and 7th year of operation.
Startup 8 Future Endeavors;
In its preliminaries stages now, Amani Restaurants is poised for greater heights and it will take a very dynamic and focused management team to raise it to the level it aims at in its strategic plans. The enterprise future is poised to shake the markets and break through the dominance of other companies in the catering industry.