3 Essential Tips on Starting a Coffee Shop

by archi (follow)

Small business (66)      Planning (13)      Business tips (8)     

Opening your own cafe and coffee shop is a major undertaking, but it's worth it if you love coffee. That might be secondary to the fact that you want to provide your community with a space to connect though. Whatever the reason for your coffee shop attraction, there are certain things to consider before you open your own shop.


Don't try to be Everything

While you might want everyone to feel welcome in your shop, you can't please every customer that crosses your threshold. That would mean hundreds of coffee shop menu ideas. You can't execute hundreds of items with any skill or finesse. You can find one or two dozen items that will blow people away and focus on those.

When you're first starting out, you may not know what customers will request. Listen to their feedback to see where there is demand. Your coffee shop menu ideas do not have to be set in stone. You can start with a limited menu and expand as you get requests and interest in other items. If 10 people a day ask for blueberry scones, you'll know that it would be profitable to get scones on the menu.

Choose a Coffee Roaster

Long before you swing open the doors on your shop, you need to have chosen a coffee roaster. This should be one of your first considerations since you're a cafe and coffee shop owner.

You can roast your coffee bean if you want to be unique or you can just simply choose the best local roaster at your convenience. If you want organic coffee, you should focus on organic coffee roasters in your community. Often, it's easier to go with a local roaster than one that is in another state or country. You want someone as invested in your success as you are. A company in your community will care about the relationship you have plus the success of your coffee shop.

It helps to test coffees from different sources before making your final choice. Meet as many roasters as you can, taste their selections and see if they are a good fit with your business plan. This relationship can make or break your coffee shop, so choose wisely.

Don't Skimp on the Coffee Machines

These are the workhorses of your business. You can't skimp on the quality of your machines. While you might be able to lower costs in other areas like the decoration costs by doing it yourself, you can't lower costs on the machines without impacting the flavor and quality of your star product. Spend a few thousand more to get the most efficient machine possible. If you get a slow machine, you'll be losing revenue when customers don't want to wait ten minutes for their coffee in the morning.


So, to sum up, before opening your shop, make sure you have a solid relationship with your coffee roaster, a tight menu that you can execute beautifully and machines that can handle the business that you're planning. And there is no need to wait until you’re done with your shop decoration. These processes are extremely crucial. So, start right now!


#Small business
#Business tips
#Planning

I like this Article - 1

[ print friendly ]

ID: 43646