Just like many entrepreneurs before you, you have decided to start a new cafe business. This is great news, for you, as well as the local population of your cafe’s location. Coffee shops have changed the very foundation of culture and history, and yours will have the potential for the same. Here’s a brief step-by-step guide to help you open your cafe.
Step 1: Research new cafe business:
The cafe business will take up much of your time, money and effort. It requires a big investment on all fronts, and you should research the state of the business locally to know what you’re getting yourself into before starting your coffee shop.
Step 2: Have a clear vision
You should have an image of the coffee shop in your head before ever making it a reality. You should know what your cafe will look like, what kind of atmosphere it will have and what kind of coffee and food it will serve. Make sure everything fits in well with all the other elements, and the shop has a consistent theme across the board.
Step 3: Create a cafe business plan
Even though it feels like too much work, a business plan can help you grasp the situation of your future business long before starting it. It will let you understand the market you’ll be playing in, your potential customers and also how to market your cafe to your audience.
Step 4: Location, location, location
Location is the single most important aspect of a coffee shop. Depending on the location alone you could have a huge success or a massive failure. If you cannot choose a location that will help your business gain customers, then you have already doomed your fledgling business. Make sure to put your cafe somewhere visible, easily reachable, close to a lot of pedestrian traffic and closer still to offices and universities
Step 5: Find suppliers
Your coffee needs to be good to retain customers. Make sure you have suppliers who can supply you with the best ingredients to keep the loyalty of the new customers you make.
Step 6: Equipment
You will need many different machines to run a cafe. example like: a coffee roaster, a toaster, a stove, an oven, and other machines. You may choose to outright buy these pieces of equipment, through either cash or financing and also lease equipment through different services.
Step 7: Design and Menu Décor
Talk about brand identity, what makes your cafe unique? Make sure you have tastefully design your coffee shop and make it unique, yet beautiful. Make a menu of items that go well with your coffee, such as sandwiches and brownies. Also, elegantly design the menu
Step 8: Hire people & Market your cafe
Advertise your cafe and grow your brand to attract the customers you want. Effecting marketing can get you lots of customers in only a few months. Hire people with the skill to make your cafe as efficient as possible.
Of course, you will need a program to retain the customers you make through rewards. eLoyaltyapp is an app that can help you retain your newly made customers and allow you to reward their loyalty towards your brand. It’s affordable, effective and many times less resource-intensive than having to win new customers over.