Opening your first cafe is no easy feat. There’s a lot to consider and everyone has different strengths and weaknesses depending on what their background is. Here at Wanderer Coffee we’ve found some common errors that first time cafe owners often make. Have a read of these 4 mistakes to make sure you don’t make them going into your first project:
1. Not doing ENOUGH homework: You love coffee just like lots of people. You can make a great coffee. You know your local area, maybe you’ve lived there all of your life. You just know the site will work. Ah, there’s the problem – NEVER ASSUME, having an ‘idea’, “local knowledge” or “I make a great coffee” isn’t enough to go off when it comes to investing your $$$. They are the drivers or the reasons why you want to open your own business. But those reasons of themselves will not make it a success. You need facts to work off. It’s very important to get an idea of foot traffic, what number of people can your demand generators produce and what your competitors are doing. We’ve put together a great tool for scouting locations available here.
2. Not Engaging Local Influencers: Built it and they will come! Maybe? There is however one certainty – You need your business to get known in the area. People like to support local businesses but it’s hard if they don’t know you exist! So you need to get friendly with local business owners, staff, residents anyone really who has some form of buy-in in the local area you’re opening up in. These are the people that refer you business for FREE… if they know, like and trust you that is. So do yourself a favour and build relationships and get friendly with the locals before, during and after your launch.
3. Not knowing how to get a great lease deal: This is normally a scary part of the process especially for first time cafe owners. Not everyone has experience at the negotiation table – I get that – but you absolutely have to get the best deal that you can. Know your market. What is the going market rent? Can you protect your rental payments so they do not get out of hand? It’s very important to try and get a rent that is no more than 10% of your Gross Revenue. When rents get above this level it becomes very hard for a retail business to handle – if a deal presented to you looks like it could sit above this level then there’s big risk. Also ask yourself – “What else can the landlord bring to the table?”
4. Not understanding how the little things add up: There’s so much more to owning a successful cafe than a good cup of coffee. That’s where the journey starts really. Lots of first time cafe owners underestimate the power of the little things. When done well and with regularity they add up to create really big results. Making sure simple things like the shop is always tidy, product displays are presented perfectly all day, having friendly service and hiring bright and attentive staff makes a huge difference. Customers notice these little things and whether they tell you or not this will have a huge impact.
