Six Things To Consider When Starting A Café Business

Opening a café can be a very rewarding challenge. Cafés will never go out of style and are only growing more popular, so knowing how to start a café business, what makes your café different and how to plan appropriately for your new business venture can help alleviate any problems you may face.

Here are six tips from us, as expert café consultants, we think will help elevate your business right from the start:

1. Create A Business Plan

A café is a significant financial investment. Due to necessary expenditure, such as leasing a space, purchasing equipment, and hiring staff, costs can start adding up. Creating a comprehensive business plan focused on finances and operations, that outlines competitor analysis, sales forecast, market research, initial costs and inventory can aid you in understanding the finer details. Remember to factor in unexpected costs and be realistic about budget constraints.

Writing a business plan will not be a quick task, as it contains several different sections, so make sure to take time assessing all the possible scenarios in the planning process. A well-developed business plan can help you secure funding, attract experienced employees and allow you to understand how your business will fit into the market.

2. Location

Choosing the right location is essential when opening a café, as a strategic location will significantly impact visibility and profit. Make sure to be aware of any remodelling restrictions, insurance and lease requirements, and any permits the premises may require.

A street with great foot traffic might seem like the right choice but is paramount to consider factors such as rent costs, competition, and your target demographic. Conducting market research is beneficial when identifying areas with a demand for a café with your concept and ambience.

3. The Menu

The menu is the café’s fundamental identity. Striking a balance between classic café options and unique choices which reflect your brand can enhance the customer experience. Sourcing high quality ingredients and embracing the preferred local flavours will enable you to appeal to a diverse customer base.

Keeping your menu concise to ensure reliability in preparation and service can streamline operations, especially when just opening. The Engine Room offers Menu Engineering services to help in creating an efficient and strategic menu. This involves experimenting, altering, and analysing your menu, which will improve its’ functionality and popularity, over a set period of time, which in turn can increase profitability.

4. Equipment and Supplies

When considering how to start a café business, pondering on the type of coffee beans or disposables or cake stands or croissants to sell immediately clouds the mind. All in all, buying coffee shop equipment and supplies can seem like an overwhelming decision.

Machinery purchases are both expensive and a long-term investment, so focus on the essentials for your café to narrow down your options. You should also keep in mind that once your business is making a profit and has been open for a while you will be able to expand and scale up any machinery you might need.

Explore your options with suppliers, whilst bearing in mind any financial limitations and market research conducted. Your consumable and perishable goods will need different considerations in regard to storage and inventory management, so make sure to take those into account when first buying any supplies.

Aside from coffee-related purchases or any inventory supplies, investing in an effective POS system to manage orders, track sales and analyse data can be beneficial to optimising your day-to-day operations.

5. Hiring The Right Staff

Good customer service is the cornerstone of a successful café. Training your staff to anticipate customer needs, be welcoming and handle issues promptly can be vital for the long-term health of your business. Additionally, making sure that you understand the necessary skills sets and staff structures needed, as well as knowing how to implement any upskilling procedures can be invaluable to the daily functioning of your café.

Creating an atmosphere where your patrons feel valued and appreciated can help exceed their expectations. Positive feedback and word-of-mouth recommendations can be invaluable to attracting new customers and fostering repeat business.

6. Market your café

Social media can be a vital component to talk to your customers and potential customers. Creating your social media accounts before your launch can get people excited about the opening of your café and encourage them to check out what you offer. Showcasing what you are offering using high-quality photos and videos can be an easy way to pique attention and create intrigue, as people will be aware of their options before they even visit.

Social media can also be a great method to gather feedback and publicise your promotions, reaching out to your audience and learning what they like can help engage with your audience and inform you on what to change or adapt. Put simply, this digital community is an effective way to extend your actual community and make people feel even more connected to your café and activity including anything they may have missed or can go and enjoy.

You should also branch out into your local community, traditional physical marketing such as flyers and posters can be an efficient way to communicate with your new community and immediate customers. This is still surprisingly effective for local businesses and talks to everyone one whether tech-savvy or not.

At The Engine Room, we offer consultancy services specialising in helping you whether you are starting a café business or looking to expand on your established F&B business, by letting us optimise the finer details of the financial and operational sides of your hospitality business. We can help you to draft a meaningful business plan which perfectly balances your brand’s vision and the realistic finances of your café, to reduce any unnecessary stress and help your café reach its full potential.

Get in touch now on 020 3960 5137 or enquiries@the-engineroom.co.uk to find out how we can.