30 steps to open a café

HOW TO OPEN A SMALL CAFE...OR EVEN A BIG ONE

There are several ways to start such a business. You can build your café from scratch or buy an existing business. Another option is to use a franchise partnership.

Franchising is an ideal way to open a café and at the same time get a business partner. With a business partner, opening a café will be much easier. They can help you with all the following 30 steps to opening a cafe.

1. IS STARTING A CAFÉ RIGHT FOR YOU?

Starting a café can be a great experience: making great coffee, meeting people and making a profit are the usual initial motivations. You may have lots of ideas about how great it could be. You're looking forward to setting up your café, and you're even already thinking about what music to play in your café.

But reality catches up with you very quickly after you open your café - bills, paperwork, taxes, grumpy customers, necessary repairs or finding capable staff. Before you decide to own a cafe, you should find out if acafe is really right for you? Can you cope with the not-always-fun duties of day-to-day operations, and do you believe that owning a café also coincides with your long-term life plans?

2. KEEP YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES IN ORDER

Before you go into business, youshould first and foremost have your finances in order. The risks and investments you take should not put your personal life at risk. Make sure you have enough funds to ensure that the business does not ruin you financially.

One way to avoid a big financial loss is to have a business plan that will help you determine how much money you will need to start the business. Starting a coffee shop usually costs around a million. In the meantime, start planning how you will divide your earned money into two categories: one for your personal needs and the other for your cafe.

3. GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT COFFEE AND CAFÉ BUSINESS

The taste of coffee is made up of more than 1,000 flavonoids. Any combination of these flavonoids can change the taste and texture of coffee. Therefore, there are several roasting profiles and blends. Do you know what we are talking about?

Before you fully dive into making your coffee, we recommend spending time learning and reading about coffee. Attend acupping class and take a barista course. You'll have the opportunity to meet other people with the same interest in coffee, but most importantly , you'll gain new information that will be useful in your coffee shop. Try to learn as much as you can about coffee - not just as a drink - but as an agricultural product. Learn about the diversity of coffee origins. The more you know about coffee, the better.

4. GET TO KNOW YOUR COFFEE ROASTER

You definitely want to have quality and tasty coffeein your coffee shop . Having your own freshly roasted coffee will save you money in the long run, but roasting takes a lot of time. In addition to the knowledge required, roasting your own coffee also involves the high cost of buying a roaster, installation and the paperwork to buy the beans.

We recommend visiting coffee roasters in your area before you open your café. In addition, you can learn more about coffee from experienced roasters. Many roasters will offer you a coffee tasting. When you visit ,research their service offerings, if they offer training for your employees, and also if they provide coffee equipment.

5. PLAN HOW TO SET UP A COFFEE SHOP IN YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

A business plan is a great and very effective tool for a successful business start up. Itwill allow you to figure out the business concept of the cafe, the budget or how much money will be needed to open the cafe. It will help you design and launch your business. You can provide a business plan to potential investors or a property manager.

For many of us, the motivation to start a business planis a bit like going for a run at 5am - it sounds like a great idea, but who really wants to? Get over it and get started! You won't regret it.

6. DETERMINE THE BUSINESS CONCEPT OF YOUR CAFÉ

Do you know what style of café you want? Developing a café concept is where you turn your dreams and ideas into reality. State your business concept in your business plan and follow it as you go about your business. A coffee concept on paper will help you plan the way forward.

Take time to dream, visit coffee shops in the area, local coffee roasters and carefully plan your own coffee business. This is when you decidewhat and how you want to offer your customers.

For example, you can offer them croissants, cakes, pastries or cookies with their coffee. Have a coffee shop more in the form of a bistro or sell coffee in some specific stylish environment. There are lots of possibilities. The simplest concept with the fastest return is "Coffee to go". It requires the least investment but needs a busy location.

7. WHAT WILL YOU OFFER WHEN THE CAFÉ OPENS?

What will you offer your customers? A major pillar of your business planning will be determining your offerings. Without a well-thought-out plan of what you want to sell in the café, you will not be able to select the right coffee equipment, estimated budget, establishment requirements or café location. Take your time, think it through properly. You can also find inspiration from competitors.

While coffee should be your main focus, other products such as coffee accessories, alcoholic beverages or foodwill play an important role in your decision . Determining your offer should primarily involve what your customers want.

8. HOW TO OPEN A SUCCESSFUL CAFÉ? IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Bypositioning your cafécorrectly , you will maximize the potential success or failure of your café. The location for the business and the terms of the lease will play an important role in the overall survival of the business. When looking for the right location , scout the competition, talk to local residents, find out how the traffic works in the area, if there are residential areas, schools, colleges, shopping malls, restaurants or offices nearby.

Once you find a promising location, find out the terms of the lease or sale. Calculate how many customers you expect per day and see if the location fits the conditions you need to meet. Also, put in your gut feeling. If you don't feel comfortable in an area, keep looking

9. WHAT IS YOUR COMPETITION?

What do cafes in your area offer? Who is your biggest competitor? What will be their reaction to your new café? Consider any business that offers similar products to yoursas competition . Whether it is a café or a restaurant. Do a competitive analysis and find out where you will have the edge and what mistakes to avoid.

10. FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH REGULATIONS AND LAWS

Setting up a café can lead to unforeseen expenses and problems, which may include special equipment or adjustments due to laws, ordinances and regulations. It's important to check with the office where your café is located to find out what their specific regulations are. Find out ahead of time what all you need to comply with. You will definitely not miss a visit to thetrade office, health office, building office or the fire department before opening .

11. COFFEE MACHINE, GRINDER AND OTHER EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR CAFÉ

Do you know what you need to equip your café? It always depends on your offer. Your café equipment is what will enable you to run your café successfully. Having quality equipment that works reliably is essential. The right equipment depends on what you sell and what your sales volume will be. Inappropriate equipment for your type of coffee shop business will end up costing you more money.

Some of the main equipment for a coffee shop include: coffee maker, coffeegrinder, refrigerator, coffee accessories such as teapots or scales for the right amount of coffee. In addition, you will need to find theappropriate cash register system that will suit you best.

12. SET A BUDGET FOR STARTING A COFFEE SHOP

To determine the cost of your business, it is recommended to start with the menu, concept and location. Once you have these elements, you will better determine the costs. Costs include: equipment, space, construction, fixed and variable costs. Creating a preliminary budget is one of the best ways todetermine the total cost of your chosen business concept.

13. WHEN DO YOU REALLY START MAKING MONEY FROM COFFEE? DETERMINE THE TIPPING POINT

You're setting up a coffee shop for profit, so it's important to know your breaking point. Everything below the break-even point represents your cost of starting the café. If you don't have an idea of what your break-even point is, it will be much harder for you to make a profit.

The break-even point is not just about numbers. It's about the brand, service or product offering that creates value for your customers. Higher value per sale will help you increase margins and make a profit much faster.

14. YOUR PERSONAL BUSINESS BUDGET

Opening a successful coffee shop requires some knowledge of how to manage a budget. For example, find out how much you will need to borrow and how much of your own money you have. Knowing your fixed and variable costs, break-even point, pricing strategy will help you develop a financial case for you and your potential investors. The café will need money to operate. Cash is important for any business and your job, as a business owner, is to insure that you have enough of it.

15. PAPERWORK OR WHAT YOU NEED TO OPEN A CAFÉ

As with any other business, starting a coffee shop requires paperwork. You have to get a business license, pay social security and health insurance, pay taxes, go to the building office to get the premises approved, and much more. If you don't know what to do, contact a lawyer or go to your local authority.

It is advantageous to have one coffee supplier, which gives you the opportunity to for example individualize your coffee, marketing support and lower the investment needed to start, including help with know-how.

16. RESEARCH SUPPLIERS AND PARTNERS

Research the suppliers you want to work with. Start with local businesses. This will not only bring profits to local businesses, but will help them increase their brand awareness. Working with local businesses leaves a good feeling with customers who appreciate locally sourced products.

17. INFORM YOURSELF ABOUT THE REGULATIONS OF THE HEALTH POST

When you set up a café, you have to comply with a number of regulations. Among the main ones are to meet the hygiene regulations. Find out early on what you need to comply with. For café businesses, the basis is the so-called HACCP, or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system in food production.

18. RECALCULATE FINANCES AND ADJUST COSTS

Your café's budget will evolve as it grows. Make sure you have all costs accurately written into your business plan. Do a regular review of the finances, this will pass on the loss and you will know how your café is doing.

19. RETURN TO THE BUSINESS PLAN

As we mentioned earlier, a business plan is more important than it seems. A lot of your success will come from the business plan. When you write your plan, your full focus is on your business. A coffee shop business planwill save you alot of money and time in the long run . It is also essential for developing acafe budget.

20. CASH REGISTER SYSTEM FOR CAFE

Every cafe needs a reliable cash register system. Choosing a system is an important decision you need to make. A cash register system can help youwith accounting or inventory management. There are plenty of systems on the market, just choose one that suits you and think carefully about your choice.

The premises we supply our coffee to have the best experience with cash registers from Touch and Storyous. These systems are more expensive but have good intuitive environments, table layouts and export to various accounting systems.

21. SET UP YOUR CAFÉ WITH ITS OWN BANK ACCOUNT

Give your café its own bank account. Even if you only plan to run a small business, having a separate company account will make it easier to manage your business finances without mixing them with your personal money.

22. CHOOSING THE RIGHT NAME FOR YOUR CAFÉ

Naming your business and developing a brand is essential to your business. From the concept, colors, logo and slogan, your brand will play a key role in the perceived value your customers will associate with your business. Make your name a priority and use professional services when developing your logo.

23. SHOWCASE YOUR CAFÉ ON THE WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Your café needs its own web presence. A company "website" is important for the business toshare your café story with your customers online . Use social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook to promote yourself as well . You can use the networks to offer gift certificates, discount coupons or run competitions. Having your networks and promoting your business pays off. It will make more people aware of you.

24. QUALITY EMPLOYEES MAKE A QUALITY BUSINESS

Opening a coffee shop with a team of quality employees is a must for success. Before opening, send your employees to a barista course or training. This will make them have better and more unified skills and prepare the perfect coffee. You can have the best coffee and equipment, but it won't be the same without a quality barista and preparation.

We can help you train your staff and keep them trained regularly throughout the collaboration. From the basics of espresso preparation, to setting up the machine, to whisking and latte art. Our accredited retraining courses include all the information and practical exercises a professional barista needs to do their job.

25. UNIQUENESS, KNOW-HOW, IDEAS... WHAT MAKES YOUR CAFÉ UNIQUE?

What makes your café unique? Why does your café become popular? If you want to set up a café with a strong market position, you need to have something that sets you apart from the rest. Nowadays, there are plenty of cafes in every city, even smaller ones. Come up with something that only you will have. Something that has no competition in the area. You have to be different. You have to have something extra so that customers have a reason to come to you and not the competition.

26. HOW MUCH AND FOR HOW MUCH? SET YOUR PRICES

The main goal of your business is to make a profit. And your pricing will play a key role in this regard. Any price adjustments can and will affect your sales and customers. Setting the right prices is essential. Whether your business survives or whether you can hire additional employees depends on your pricing.

27. CREATE A TIMELINE FOR OPENING A CAFÉ

Create a timeline for the launch of your café. As with a business plan, it will be important for your strategy to set goals that are tied to an approximate timeline. A timeline will keep you on guard to ensure you arelaunching the business efficiently and carefully. Set a date when you want to achieve your goal.

28. CHOOSE AN ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

Use the accounting system to find out all the financial information. To begin with, this information will be of priority importance to you. Start using an accounting system from the beginning of your business. An accounting system will help you pay invoices, determine expenses and revenues, and figure out profit or loss.

29. INSURE YOUR BUSINESS

Protect your business and your employees. Such protection includes liability and insurance. Get insurance that covers your business against theft or damage. Also get workers' compensation insurance and business liability insurance. You never know what could happen.

30. PROMOTION (NOT ONLY) WHEN OPENING A CAFÉ

Opening a café is a big commitment, a financial investment and it costs a lot of time and energy. Promoting a café requires a lot of work, ideas and finances. Use the aforementioned social networks to promote your business, but also get the word out locally.

Put up postersaround town or put flyers in your mailbox. Give out invitations to coffee, events or special events tonearby businesses and offices. You can create a system of collecting points for coffee such as loyalty cards for regular customers.