What non coffee things to know before opening a coffee shop
I want to open a coffee shop in the future, and I feel like I have the coffee side of things down for the most part(all though im always still learning of course). But im sure there is a good bit i don't know, stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Ive worked as a barista for 6 years, two of which i was managing. So i guess my question is what are some of the things i absoultly need to figure out/look into before moving forward. Any opinions or suggestions are much appreciated.
Dustin
Dustin
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John P on
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Things other than coffee...
bookkeeping/accounting, customer service -- when to say "Yes" and when to say "No", understanding how to budget without sacrificing quality, understanding commercial lease negotiation, internal vs. external marketing, pricing, consumer psychology, proper layout and design for workflow and efficiency, hiring -- how to choose the right people, having a core philosophy and sticking to it, networking...
And continuing to progress daily. Opening is easy, it's maintaining and improving constantly that's the hard part.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on
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+1 to what John wrote.
In addition, I encourage you to enroll in classes at your local community college on business management, accounting, business law and anything else related to the field. You can never know too much and what causes small business owners so much pain is that they're typically ill-prepared to face the business environment. You can love coffee and know all about brewing, but if you don't understand how to do business then you could be in for a world of trouble.
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Permalink Reply by Alexander Stephen Root on
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- Keeping track of inventory is a huge HUGE thing.
- Try to study the "flow" of your space, for the customer and the baristas. If your shop ends up being confusing or somewhat difficult to traverse, you should make some tweaks pre-opening. Bad store flow + a huge rush or people = a sticky situation.
- Know how to keep the books.
- Motivating employees. I believe that owners should be present as much as possible to keep both the customer and the baristas confident in your business. I've loved the managers/employers who have come out to the floor and help me take care of rushes, and the guests are always impressed that they're willing to help.
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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on
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Awesome feedback guys. Id love to hear more from anyone who cares to share. Also has anyone ever used a small business mentor? Here in the Bay area theres an organization called score, apparently its retried business owners who offer up advice for free. All though i have yet to find a coffee shop owner on there website. It would be nice to ask a cafe owner questions as they come up.
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Permalink Reply by Kirstin Henninger on
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Hey there,
Those are great replies and I wanted to add that the planning and build out phase for opening a cafe is the PERFECT time to plan for running a 'green' business. You can make a lot of key decisions about layout, construction, paint, lighting, appliances, products, etc. that will save you a ton of money in the future. We'll have details about these topics on our Greening Your Cafe webinar series. The first one is next Wed. Nov. 10th! So join the Greening Your Cafe Group on BX and register for the webinar and we hope to see you there! Also feel free to contact us directly at Green Cafe Network. Good luck! Kirstin
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SCORE can be a great resource and I encourage you to use it. Bear in mind that you don't necessarily need someone with cafe experience at SCORE. There is much to learn and much to benefit from the advice of a mentor outside the coffee business. What you're looking for is someone who's knowledgeable in serious business practices, in how to make money. In a number of respects, the actual product (coffee) is secondary.
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Permalink Reply by Brady on
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A book I found to be quite helpful in improving the way my business runs is "The E-Myth". Lots of stuff useful for owners of all kinds of businesses.
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Pinaud on
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You really need a business plan not necessarily an expensive professionally done plan but the most basic which includes:
FINANCIALS for at least the first 3 years which include-
Projected Sales
Operating capital available
Expenses (estimates including projected rent)
Costs of Goods
Menu with prices
Labor (costs of employees, insurance, employer taxes, Workers' Comp Insurance)
Break-even analysis (when will you make a profit so you understand how much capital it takes to keep your doors open)
Other important issues:
Location of the new store (Real Estate brokers will help you determine high traffic locations, but you need to count how many people walk by hourly and determine if this site is good or not)
Competition studies - basic stuff about who is around you competing. Sometimes having Starbucks near you is a good thing as they spend money on marketing which people to the neighborhood.
Marketing & PR for you new concept. Don't hire anyone just learn some basics from Barista.com or copy what other successful operators do.
Taxes - get a good accountant to educate you
Systems-you will need to learn how to run things and good systems help you control costs
Hiring a good consultant will give you some security as well. DON'T spend a lot on consultants do the work yourself and save your money for the concept believe me you will need it.
That's my 2 cents! Dawn Pinaud
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Permalink Reply by Jacob Casella on
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Great advice here. I would add: Health codes, fire codes, building codes. Who to call when you have plumbing, electrical, heat issues. Service agents for coolers, dishwashers, ovens, all that stuff beyond coffee equipment you might not think as much about. Have a plan, time, and skills to be constantly tracking down vendors to keep your costs and quality where you need them.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Cash on
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I second the e-myth book. also start following business people/organizations like INC. magazine, Seth Godin, Ent Mag on twitter. They offer a lot of helpful advice for FREE!
Brady said:A book I found to be quite helpful in improving the way my business runs is "The E-Myth". Lots of stuff useful for owners of all kinds of businesses.
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If you have a contractor, which I would advise you do get one, he should know all of these things but I would still ask all of these questions - for learning sakes. Your architect, worth the money for a good one, will also know all of the health codes and will typically work with the city directly to submit plans and make changes (you will have some)
Jacob Casella said:Great advice here. I would add: Health codes, fire codes, building codes. Who to call when you have plumbing, electrical, heat issues. Service agents for coolers, dishwashers, ovens, all that stuff beyond coffee equipment you might not think as much about. Have a plan, time, and skills to be constantly tracking down vendors to keep your costs and quality where you need them.
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