Everyone likes to eat ... you love food ... why not open a restaurant? I t may not be quite that easy. Kenny Lao, 30, knew better when he started his New York City Rickshaw Dumpling Bar in 2006. But Lao says, "if you have a strong concept and have your execution and operation strategies down pat, any time is a good time to open a restaurant - even now." Lao built his dumpling empire on six varieties of dumplings (including a chocolate dessert dumpling) and simple add-ons like Asian salad, noodle soup and green-tea milkshakes. It takes approximately 25 minutes form order to delivery. Rickshaw sells about 1.4 million dumplings per year for $1.3 million in revenue.

Questions

1. Evaluate the business idea of Kenny Lao's business . Dumpling s are his signature menu item. If you were to venture into the restaurant business, what would be your signature item? What would be your competitive advantage?
2. Look at Figure 1. 4 below "Causes of Business Failure." I f a restaurant business goes under (as Kenny L ao's eventually did), what do you think are the most likely reasons?