Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan
Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan
Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan
Below is an example business plan that was created using the business plan
template. (The business plan images below were created using Canva.)
Business Legal Structure
The 4 most common business structures are:
1. Sole proprietorship
Example: Freelance graphic design.
What it is: A sole proprietorship is a business that's owned and run by
one person, where the government makes no legal distinction between the
person who owns the business and the business itself. It's the simplest way to
operate the business. You don't have to name your business anything other
than your own, personal name, but if you want to, you can give it its own
distinctive name by registering what's called a Doing Business Name (DBA).
(We'll get back to that in the "How to Register a Business Name" section.)
Pros: It's easy and inexpensive to create a sole proprietorship because
there's only one owner, and that owner has complete control over all business
decisions. Tax preparation is also pretty simple since a sole proprietorship is
not taxed separately from its owner.
Cons: It can be dramatically more difficult to raise money and get
investors or loans because there's no legal structure that promises repayment
if the business fails. Also, since the owner and the business are legally the
same, the owner is personally liable for all the debts and obligations of the
business.
How taxes work: The individual proprietor owns and manages the
business and is responsible for all transactions, including debts and liabilities.
Income and losses are taxed on the individual's personal income tax return at
ordinary rates. In addition, you are also subject to payroll taxes, or self-
employment taxes, on the money you earn. (More on self-employment taxes
later.) Find IRS tax forms here.
2. Partnership
Example: Multiple doctors maintaining separate practices in the same
building.
What it is: A partnership is a single business where two or more people
share ownership, and each owner contributes to all aspects of the business as
well as shares in the profits and losses of the business.
Pros: It's generally pretty easy to form a business partnership, and it
doesn't tend to be super expensive, either. Having two or more people equally
invested in the business' success allows you to pool resources. It also means
you have access to more than one person's skill set and expertise.
Cons: Just like a sole proprietor, partners have full, shared liability if the
business goes south. That also means that partners aren't just liable for their
own actions, but also the actions of their partner(s). There is a variant on
partnerships called a limited liability partnership, or LLP, that protects against
that -- which is how most law firms are organized, for example. Finally, when
more than one person is involved in decisions, there's room for disagreement
-- which means it's important to have an explicit agreement over how the
obligations and earnings will be split, especially if/when things go wrong.
How taxes work: To form a partnership, you have to register your
business with your state, a process generally done through your Secretary of
State's office. Find IRS tax forms here.
3. Limited liability company (LLC)
The corporation does not get a tax deduction when it distributes dividends to
shareholders. Shareholders cannot deduct any loss of the corporation, but
they are also not responsible directly for taxes on their earnings – just on the
dividends they give to shareholders.
S corporations, on the other hand have only one level of taxation. Learn more
about the difference between "C corporations" and "S corporations" here, and
find IRS tax forms here.