Keith Kreime: A Successful Businessman in the Fast Food Industry
Keith Kreime, the only proprietor of the Yeike restaurant, is a successful businessman. Over $570 billion is generated by the fast food sector globally, which is more than the GDP of some countries. The fast food industry generated $200 billion in revenue in the United States in 2015. By 2020, the amount is projected to reach more than 223 billion (Senna, 2017). In the upcoming years, it is anticipated that the industry would increase by 2.5% annually. In 2016, there were 186,977 fast food restaurants operating in the US. Every day, thousands of Americans eat in these establishments. The industry is a source of employment for over four million people.
Yeike Restaurant: Offering Quality Chinese Cuisines in Michigan
Yeike restaurant is located in Michigan and operates under the management of Keith. The business was established in 2012 and currently has 60 employees. Yeike restaurants focus on offering Chinese cuisines only. Keith ensures that her customers can get quality and tasty Chinese dishes at an affordable price. The restaurant, unlike other fast food restaurants, focuses on offering its customers healthy Chinese meals because nowadays many people have a great concern regarding their health. The foods that are available in this restaurant include Szechuan, vegetarian, Cantonese, human cuisines, etc.
Interview with Mrs. Keith: Exploring the Success of Yeike Restaurant
I interviewed Mrs. Keith on 28th November 2017 in a private suite at her restaurant. The scheduling of the interview happened after contacting Mrs. Keith on 20th November 2017. I got to the venue some minutes to the agreed time with some pre-prepared questions. I chose to interview Mrs. Keith because of the distinctiveness of her venture. The paper will be focusing on presenting the opportunity that Mrs. Keith decided to pursue and the influencing factors into identifying and pursuing this business idea. There will be a clear presentation of her steps into starting the restaurant and the challenges present. The paper will also present her network team on starting the business and her futuristic ideas as well as an analysis of the venture, primarily the reasons for her success.
Opportunity
Eight years ago, Mrs. Keith was a full-time accountant and most of the time she was preoccupied with her official responsibilities. During the lunch hours, she could have a break to take a meal in fast food restaurants, but it was unfortunate that most of the meals that could be served were junk meaning they were unhealthy. The same idea was running in her mother's mind since she could not easily access a restaurant serving Chinese meals around her home. Mrs. Keith saw a great opportunity in opening a Chinese cuisine restaurant, which could offer healthy meals since a significant number of people both the youth, and the elderly have a concern of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. After identifying this idea, she started researching the Chinese restaurants in the US to have a picture of whether she can succeed in a related venture.
Getting Started
In March 2011, Mrs. Keith resigned from her accountancy position, and she opted on focusing on how she could start the Chinese cuisine restaurant. By the end of April 2011, she had a clear business plan that entailed the type of the Chinese restaurant that she wanted to start. She had a planning of offering a wide variety of healthy Chinese dishes, and the customers could dine in or take out depending on their preference. She did a lot of research on the best location for the survival and the costs of hiring the premises in different places. After gathering all the crucial information about the business, in November 2011, she took a loan from one of the local banks, and she reached the necessary amount with her savings. Mrs. Keith got her permit and license of operation, and she was able to meet all the US Food and Drug Administration health code regulation by January 2012. She reported that it is essential to register your business with all the relevant authorities and comply with the law so that there can be a smooth operation once the business opens.
Challenges and Success
In December, she advertised for various positions such as chefs, waiters, and by January 2012, the business opened up. Despite all the challenges, it has been running successfully. The first problem that she encountered was adapting to her consumer needs, especially with the use of technology. She was able to adopt a system where the customers could order a meal and pay for the services through an online platform. Another challenge was some employees leaving to other big restaurants during the first months of an opening. She dealt with the difficulties by continually motivating her employees and updating them on their progress and promising an additional payment every year as the business is growing. The rising costs of the various items essential in the restaurant sector were another challenge. She learned to deal with this by not having a fixed budget, but instead, she could set aside extra finances to address this problem.
Network - Team
Great teamwork is crucial to the success of any business. Mrs. Keith had strong support from her family members especially her husband and her mother. Her mother informed her of some healthy Chinese cuisines that she could include in her menu. The husband could handle most of the administrative issues, such as ensuring all the necessities needed to start the business are present. A close friend of Mrs. Keith who runs a restaurant industry in Illinois offered great support as she gave her all the background information of starting a fast food restaurant. The employees were great and willing to take the business to another level since they could deliver excellent customer service skills. There was a steady teamwork among all the employees and Mrs. Keith, and this helped in learning new ideas on how the restaurant could be more productive. She mentions that despite being an accountant previously, she needed some financial advice and a colleague from her previous job offered the services willingly. All the people close to her were ready to provide their support to see if the business would be operational and it is through her friends and family members that she was able to find her first loyal customers.
Future Plans
Mrs. Keith believes that in the coming years, she will be operating a chain of Chinese cuisine restaurants not only in her state but also within the United States. She presents that the business will expand in many ways as she plans to deal with customers of every social and economic status. She has a plan of expanding her current restaurant so that individuals with the high income can have exceptional services at an agreed fee. She reports that her plans of accommodating all the individuals will not affect the quality of the dishes. She says that every entrepreneur should aspire to deliver quality since it will help in establishing customer loyalty. She also plans to set the restaurant in a manner that it has a playground with various services to appeal to children. This will attract families with children, and she will be expanding her customer base by adopting this strategy.
Marketing and Conclusion
Mrs. Keith reports that the business has a simple growth strategy that is giving all its consumers a combination of exciting and excellent Chinese meals in an environment that is appealing and one that can accommodate people of diverse ages such as children, young people, and the elderly. The business has a focus on maintaining quality, offering meals that promote a healthy life, and creating a strong identity within their community. The restaurant's principal focus is on marketing as a way of increasing customer awareness in the nearby cities. It will adopt an approach of presenting how their meals are unique and why every person should visit their premises to have a taste. The primary marketing strategy will be the word of mouth and encouraging their loyal customers to refer other individuals to the restaurant. The last approach is keeping their standards high by offering exemplary customer services and ensuring that every day all the meals are delicious, of high quality, and healthy.
Analysis and Conclusion
I believe that Mrs. Keith was successful in starting the Yeike restaurant because she had a clear business idea and plan. A business plan was of great help because it guided her in knowing the things that she needs to start the business. There was also a great business opportunity, and the idea had an aim of promoting a healthy life among all its consumers, which is very popular now. Nowadays, many people care about their health since there is excellent awareness that there are meals that can contribute to acquiring lifestyle diseases. Mrs. Keith's success can also be attributed to her comprehensive market research that enabled her to make the right decisions about her investment. With the help of her friend, she had diverse information on all the requirements that could help start the business. I also think that the idea of sharing her plans with other people was useful since they offered her the support that she needed including financial advice, information on the best Chinese dishes, and even assistance on handling administrative matters.
Yeike restaurant has been successful because the management and all the staff focus on offering quality meals. The employees of an organization have a significant role in ensuring that the business is productive. Keith understands this, and she consistently informs her staff about the business's progress, and she motivates them which makes the employees offer excellent customer service skills. The business is also successful because it targets people of all ages and those from diverse backgrounds. This helps in acquiring a vast customer base. I believe that Yeike restaurant will have the upper hand in expanding to different places since its manager has great determination and she has a great concern for her customers.
Reference
Senna, M. (2017). Fast Food Industry Analysis 2017 – Cost & Trends. Franchise Help. Retrieved 12 November 2017 from https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/fast-food-industry-report/
