The library
F&B guides with real numbers
Start with your concept's complete guide, then go deep. Everything here comes from two decades of opening, running, and selling food businesses, and it's all free.
Start with your concept
How Much Does a Food Truck Cost to Start? (2026 Numbers, Full Breakdown)
The real cost to start a food truck in 2026: a full line-item breakdown, Wilson's x1.4 cash rule, break-even m
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Bakery? (2026 Complete Breakdown)
The real numbers to open a bakery in 2026: full line-item cost breakdown, Wilson's x1.4 cash rule, break-even
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Bar? (2026 Complete Breakdown)
The real cost to open a bar in 2026, line by line. Wilson K Lee breaks down every dollar, the x1.4 cash rule,
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Coffee Shop? (2026 Full Breakdown)
The real, line-by-line cost to open a coffee shop in 2026: $457,000 total investment, $640,000 cash before you
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant? (2026 Complete Breakdown)
The real, itemized cost to open a full-service restaurant in 2026, including Wilson's x1.4 cash rule, break-ev
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Start a Cloud (Ghost) Kitchen? The 2026 Complete Breakdown
The real, line-by-line cost to open a cloud kitchen in 2026, including the cash figure you need before you sig
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open an Ice Cream Shop? (2026 Complete Breakdown)
The real, line-by-line cost to open an ice cream shop in 2026: $404,500 total investment, $566,500 cash before
Complete guideHow Much Does It Cost to Open a Boba Shop? (2026 Complete Breakdown)
The real, line-by-line cost to open a bubble tea shop in the US in 2026, including Wilson K Lee's x1.4 cash ru
Restaurant
3 Things to Know Before Opening a Restaurant (And What Happens If You Skip Them)
Wilson K Lee breaks down the three foundational principles every restaurant owner must master: know your numbe
7 Instagram Tools Every Restaurant Owner Should Be Using
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 7 Instagram tools his team uses to grow restaurant marketing, save time, and brin
10 Home Food Business Ideas You Can Start Right Now
Wilson K Lee breaks down 10 real home food business ideas with honest pros, cons, and margins so you can pick
How to Brand Your Restaurant: 4 Steps That Build Real Customer Loyalty
Branding your restaurant is more than a logo. Follow these 4 concrete steps to build emotional connection, com
How to Calculate Labour Cost for Your Restaurant
Learn the two methods for calculating restaurant labour cost, what expenses to include beyond wages, and how t
How to Market Your Restaurant on Social Media: 4 Strategies That Actually Work
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 4 social media marketing strategies every restaurant owner needs: paid ads, revie
How to Open a Restaurant With No Money: 4 Ways to Raise Startup Capital
No startup capital doesn't mean no restaurant. Here are four concrete funding methods for F&B operators, with
How to Open and Run a Successful Restaurant: A 3-Step Framework
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 3-step framework for opening and running a successful restaurant: location, knowi
How to Partner with UberEats and Avoid the Mistakes That Kill Your Margins
Learn how to become a restaurant partner on UberEats, DoorDash, and Postmates without losing money. Wilson K L
How to Start a Restaurant or Food Business Step-by-Step (Free Course Guide)
Wilson K Lee releases 85+ videos of paid restaurant and food business course content completely free. Here's w
How to Start a Restaurant With No Experience: 6 Foundational Steps
No restaurant experience? No problem. Wilson K Lee breaks down the six foundational steps every first-time ope
How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Every Element You Need
A step-by-step guide to writing a restaurant business plan that raises funds, attracts partners, and gives you
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Food Business
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 4 costliest mistakes food business beginners make, from wrong mindset to ignoring
Top 5 Most Profitable Food Business Ideas (And Why Their Margins Are So High)
Wilson K Lee breaks down the five food and beverage business models with 20 to 35% margins, low labor needs, a
5 Psychological Tricks McDonald's Uses to Get More Customers (And How to Steal Them)
McDonald's added $28 million with one question. Here are the 5 psychological marketing tactics they use and ho
5 Reasons Restaurants Fail in Their First Year (And How to Avoid Them)
More than 60% of restaurants fail within their first year. Here are the five real reasons why, and the concret
5 Ways to Reduce Labour Costs in Your Restaurant Without Losing Good Staff
Five practical strategies restaurant owners use to cut labour costs, protect profit margins, and keep their be
4 Restaurant Business Models Compared: Which One Should You Open?
Compare all four restaurant business models by investment, labor, stress, and revenue potential so you can cho
6 Essential Instagram Designs Every Restaurant Must Create
Stop posting the same dish photo on repeat. Here are the 6 Instagram design types every restaurant needs to at
Restaurant Lease Terms Every F&B Owner Must Negotiate
The 10 lease terms that determine whether your restaurant survives or thrives. Know what to negotiate before y
Top 10 Restaurant Marketing Strategies That Actually Work
Ten timeless restaurant marketing strategies covering review sites, photography, SEO, social media, PR, events
7 Steps to Create a Restaurant Marketing Strategy That Gets More Customers
A concrete seven-step framework to build a restaurant marketing plan that drives real customers through the do
Top Restaurant Marketing Trends You Need to Act On
Six concrete restaurant marketing trends every F&B operator should be executing: TikTok, values alignment, onl
6 Menu Design Hacks That Get Customers to Spend More
Six proven menu design strategies to increase average order value and restaurant profitability, from removing
7 Ways to Increase Online Restaurant Orders
Seven concrete, operator-tested strategies to grow your online restaurant orders fast, from signage and social
7 Money-Making Mindsets Every Restaurant Owner Needs to Build a Profitable Business
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 7 mindsets shared by hundreds of successful restaurant owners, from stopping perf
5 AI Tools That Can Increase Your Restaurant Profits in 2026
Five concrete AI tools for restaurant owners in 2026: voice agents, HR platforms, menu pricing, inventory mana
5 Psychological Tactics Domino's Uses to Sell Millions of Pizzas Every Day
Domino's sells 3 million+ pizzas daily using five proven psychology tactics. Here's how to apply each one to y
5 Psychological Marketing Tricks Dunkin Uses to Sell 2.9 Billion Donuts a Year (And How Small F&B Owners Can Copy Them)
Dunkin sells 2.9 billion donuts a year using color psychology, habit loops, the Barnum effect, sensory appeal,
How Restaurants Can Save 20 to 30% in Third-Party Delivery Commissions by Running Their Own Delivery
UberEats and DoorDash take 20 to 30% off your top line. Here's exactly how to build your own delivery system a
How to Calculate Your Restaurant Break-Even Point
Learn the exact formula to calculate your restaurant's break-even point using fixed costs and variable cost pe
How to Calculate the Right Price for Your Food Product
Learn how to price your food product profitably using three proven factors: product quality, cost of goods sol
How to Create a Loyalty Program That Actually Brings Customers Back
Learn how to build a restaurant loyalty program that keeps customers engaged using gamification, referrals, an
How to Create a Winning and Profitable Restaurant Menu
Learn Wilson K Lee's winning matrix framework to craft a restaurant menu that customers love and that actually
How to Market Your Food Business on Instagram
A practical Instagram marketing guide for food businesses: identify your customer avatar, set the right goals,
How to Price Your Restaurant Menu Using Average Order Value (AOV)
Learn how to calculate average order value (AOV) and use it to price your restaurant menu so you actually hit
How to Start a Food Business at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide
Learn exactly how to start a home-based food business from scratch, from finding your niche and understanding
How to Start a Profitable Restaurant: Timeline and Phase-by-Phase Overview
A clear, phase-by-phase timeline for building a profitable restaurant, from mindset and concept through team b
How to Start a Virtual Kitchen From Your Existing Restaurant
Learn how to launch a virtual kitchen brand from your existing restaurant, reach new customers, and add revenu
How to Use QR Codes to Market Your Restaurant
QR codes let you digitize your menu, collect more reviews, grow your social following, and run time-based coup
Is This a Good Restaurant Location? Answers to Your Toughest F&B Questions
Wilson K Lee answers real questions from aspiring restaurant owners: evaluating location traffic, beating seas
3 Menu Mistakes That Are Draining Your Food Business Profits
Wilson K Lee breaks down the three costliest menu mistakes new food business owners make, and exactly how to f
How to Set Up and Optimize Your Restaurant's Google My Business Listing
Seven concrete steps to optimize your restaurant's Google My Business listing for maximum local visibility, mo
4 Instagram Tactics to Get More Restaurant Customers
Four concrete Instagram marketing tactics for restaurant owners: awards, celebrity endorsements, friend sharin
How to Create Restaurant Marketing Designs With No Experience
Learn how to create professional restaurant logos, menus, posters, and social media graphics yourself without
How to Create a Restaurant Marketing Plan in 7 Steps
A concrete 7-step framework for building a restaurant marketing plan that cuts through the noise, sets SMART g
Variable Costs vs. Fixed Costs in a Restaurant: A Practical Budgeting Guide
Learn the exact difference between variable and fixed costs in a restaurant, with percentage benchmarks for fo
Coffee shop
8 Steps to Building a Profitable Coffee Shop Business
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 8 essential steps to start and run a profitable coffee shop, from knowing your cu
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage (and Actually Use It to Make More Money)
Learn how to calculate food cost percentage, the difference between ideal and actual food cost, and how to use
How to Open a Coffee Shop: Step-by-Step from Concept to Opening Day
Wilson K Lee breaks down every step to open a coffee shop, from finding your why and choosing a concept to bud
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan (Step-by-Step)
A practical, step-by-step guide to writing a coffee shop business plan covering concept, team, location, menu,
5 Reasons Coffee Shops Fail in Their First Year (And How to Avoid Them)
75% of coffee shops fail in year one. Here are the five real reasons why, and exactly what you can do to make
5 Psychological Marketing Tricks Starbucks Uses (And How Small F&B Owners Can Steal Them)
Starbucks uses five proven psychology tactics to get customers to spend more and stay loyal. Here's what they
5 Unique Coffee Shop Business Concepts from Around the World That Actually Work
Wilson K Lee breaks down 5 unique coffee shop concepts from Asia and beyond, explaining why each works and how
How to Open a Coffee Shop in 2026: The Modern 8-Step Playbook
An 8-step modern playbook for opening a coffee shop in 2026 using audience building, AI tools, and real data i
Cloud kitchen
6 Cloud Kitchen Business Models Every F&B Operator Should Know
A plain-English breakdown of the six cloud kitchen business models, from independent single-brand to hub-and-s
How to Write a Cloud Kitchen Business Plan: 10 Critical Components
A step-by-step guide to writing a cloud kitchen business plan, covering concept, team, financials, marketing,
7 Cloud Kitchen Marketing Channels You Must Master to Drive Sales
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 7 essential marketing channels every ghost kitchen operator must own, from Instag
5 Cloud Kitchen Mistakes That Will Bankrupt Your Business
Wilson K Lee breaks down the 5 most common cloud kitchen mistakes that kill ghost kitchen businesses, and exac
How to Start a Cloud Kitchen (Ghost Kitchen): A Starter Guide
Learn how to start a cloud kitchen from scratch: define your customer, pick a proven concept, build a delivery
How to Start a Cloud Kitchen: A Step-by-Step Guide for F&B Operators
Learn how to launch a cloud kitchen the right way: choosing your concept, building a delivery-optimized menu,
4 Reasons Cloud Kitchens Fail (And How to Avoid Each One)
Most cloud kitchens fail for the same four reasons. Wilson K Lee breaks down each one, with a real subscriber
How a Tech Sales Guy Built a Profitable Automated Cloud Kitchen With Zero Food Experience
A tech sales professional built an automated mozzarella stick ghost kitchen business in NYC, hitting $3,800/mo
How to Make a Cloud Kitchen Profitable: 3 Critical Elements
Learn the three critical elements that make a cloud kitchen profitable: menu pricing strategy, marketing like
Ice cream shop
How to Open an Ice Cream Shop: A Three-Step Framework for New Operators
Wilson K Lee breaks down the exact three-step framework he used to grow 720 Sweets from one shop to an interna
How to Write an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
A step-by-step guide to writing an ice cream shop business plan, covering concept, target market, team, locati
How Much Does It Cost to Open an Ice Cream Shop?
A full breakdown of ice cream shop startup costs, from renovations and equipment to runway cash, based on real
Boba / bubble tea
How to Start a Bubble Tea Shop: A Step-by-Step Guide
A practical, operator-tested guide to starting a profitable boba tea shop, covering customers, location, menu,
How to Start a Boba Tea Booth Business at Farmers Markets and Events
A step-by-step guide to launching a bubble tea booth at farmers markets and events, covering licensing, brandi
Food truck
Bakery
How to Start a Home Bakery Business: A Step-by-Step Guide
A practical step-by-step guide to starting a home bakery business, from cottage food laws and target market to
How to Write a Home Bakery Business Plan Step by Step
A step-by-step guide to writing a home bakery business plan, covering your why, team, target market, location,