Web Based Restaurant Guide

Hi All,
Firstly, I would like to say I am glad to come across this site. It has got a lot useful information. I have a lot of reading to do and there is a lot to learn..
Just to introduce myself and give my background...
I am 25 and been working for a semiconductor company for over two years, having graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 2005. Life has been pretty comfortable and routine when one day I was pondering in my sunroom about my life. I asked myself do I want to be Test Engineer for the rest of my life?
My heart, mind and soul said, " Ummmm I do not think so", and thus my journey to Entreprenurial ideas began. I spent couple of weekends on www.entrepreneur.com and www.springwise.com.
There were some real excellent ideas. I know at heart I am an environmentalist but would like to hold on the green ideas for a bit, but I did find some nice web based ideas..
So getting to the discussuion, I am planning to open a web-based restaurant guide - something on the lines of www.lasvegasrestaurants.com (no fast food)
I am planning to launch this in North Carolina, where I live. So wanted to get some ideas/suggestions from the gurus here about how do I go about forming a business plan.
How do I approach the restaurants or get a listing?
How do I market my idea to restaurants and consumers alike?
How should I devise my growth strategy?
I am plannning to charge restaurants for web space and have it free for consumers..How do I make my revenue stream more robust and diverse?
What kind of technical expertise is required with respect to website? I would like to have a site where people can reserve a table by going online - do everything online like you would do in amazon.com, for example.
Once a customer base is established and the site has gained some visibility, I plan to charge users for additional benefits like discount coupons for a theatre or discount in restaurants/pubs etc...Is this a good idea?
I have a lot of questions but I think this is good to start with. This is the first time I feel entrepreneurial and I am really excited about it.
Please feel free to answer any questions or ask me more questions if anything is not clear. Hope to have a gainful discussion here.
KJ
Firstly, I would like to say I am glad to come across this site. It has got a lot useful information. I have a lot of reading to do and there is a lot to learn..
Just to introduce myself and give my background...
I am 25 and been working for a semiconductor company for over two years, having graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering in 2005. Life has been pretty comfortable and routine when one day I was pondering in my sunroom about my life. I asked myself do I want to be Test Engineer for the rest of my life?
My heart, mind and soul said, " Ummmm I do not think so", and thus my journey to Entreprenurial ideas began. I spent couple of weekends on www.entrepreneur.com and www.springwise.com.
There were some real excellent ideas. I know at heart I am an environmentalist but would like to hold on the green ideas for a bit, but I did find some nice web based ideas..
So getting to the discussuion, I am planning to open a web-based restaurant guide - something on the lines of www.lasvegasrestaurants.com (no fast food)
I am planning to launch this in North Carolina, where I live. So wanted to get some ideas/suggestions from the gurus here about how do I go about forming a business plan.
How do I approach the restaurants or get a listing?
How do I market my idea to restaurants and consumers alike?
How should I devise my growth strategy?
I am plannning to charge restaurants for web space and have it free for consumers..How do I make my revenue stream more robust and diverse?
What kind of technical expertise is required with respect to website? I would like to have a site where people can reserve a table by going online - do everything online like you would do in amazon.com, for example.
Once a customer base is established and the site has gained some visibility, I plan to charge users for additional benefits like discount coupons for a theatre or discount in restaurants/pubs etc...Is this a good idea?
I have a lot of questions but I think this is good to start with. This is the first time I feel entrepreneurial and I am really excited about it.
Please feel free to answer any questions or ask me more questions if anything is not clear. Hope to have a gainful discussion here.
KJ
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Comments
I don`t think there will be a problem listing restaurants on your site. Just go down the phone book. Selling the idea of online reservations and how much you`ll get will be the main thing to really worry about. I think this is the main revenue stream for this company. Look how many reservations they have made since 2002. 500,000+ wow!! So if they charged like $5 per reservation thats like over $400,000 per year in sales.
Good luck
I have been doing my home work lately and trying to learn more about the E-business etc...