Hey congratulations you did it. What a great feeling to know that you have secured your dream. How exhilarating it was to stand front and centre in your cafe that you have just purchased. Standing there with a mind full of concepts and ideas. To change things around and make this business a reflection of your dreams and desires. A unique little business that you want to get stuck into and grow.
Did you think the area needed another cafe, or did you see an opportunity?
That feeling of achievement you will never forget. I had that feeling too with every business that I had bought. So much planning and hard work goes into setting up a new or established cafe. That huge list of things that needed to be done to get you here, is now behind you. You just feel like celebrating this big win.
What are potential customers thinking, about your concept. Will your cafe become their regular?
Now you have been operating a short while, and slowly you start to realize things that you had not contemplated before. You have these customers coming in that you have not long had a relationship with. Are they just trying you out? Have they been waiting for new owners to take over? Perhaps they are curious to see what you offer.
What is your signature offer, your specialty, what you are known for?
Slowly you are starting to lose the excitement of owning the business as you are now getting lots of unanswered questions entering you mind. Carefully you refer back to your market research, and surveys you conducted before starting this venture, and ensure that you have implemented your findings. So, what is the missing ingredient. Why do you have all these questions? Whatever you do, don’t second guess or doubt yourself. Stick with it. Know that within 6 months people will go about their lives, the hype is over.
How do you now make more people interested in your cafe business?
Running a café or any type business for that matter can be quite daunting, and the knowledge and skills you need to learn can be quite overwhelming.
- You have all these suppliers you need to negotiate with over pricing and deliveries
- Accounts that need to be paid within the trading terms
- Planning work and prep schedules each day
- Learning and managing the Point-of-Sale system
- Cashiering and banking reconciliation
- Assessing sales information for menu changes and specials
- Payroll and Rostering
- Training of staff and managing quality in product and service
- Sales and liaising with customers, gathering feedback
- Handling requests for catering and compiling quotes
- Then there are all the regulations on top off all that.
Now your dream has turned into a 60–70-hour work week.
Are you in a position to delegate and let go yet?
If you want to stay on top of things then you need to get some planning done otherwise, you’ll endure this slow sinking feeling and believe that you are so overwhelmed with everything and lacking the drive to go forward. Some days you feel there is little hope in continuing, and you are just keeping your head above water whilst you swim around in circles. The last thing you want is for your staff and customers to see or feel you have lost control.
In small business one has to wear so many different hats, until you reach a stage that you can start to employ people dedicated to those roles.
No matter where you are in your Café journey, I want to reach out to you and share my successes and failures within this industry. Hopefully today you will join me so that I can take you on a journey and share with you, my experiences. I am excited to help you by sharing some of my tips and tricks that will simplify your operations, and prompt you to accept some tasks that you will need to action. It is my aim to assist and show you some guidance, steering you toward a better future.
Do you have systems and structure complimented by procedures, because today you can’t afford to be average?
This website is not structured as a “Read and Learn” site. Instead, it will be a compelling educational “You Do” site. That means you will get out of it whatever you put in. Many other websites that I come across tell you the What and the Why, but they don’t give you the how, nor do they show you! It is my intent and purpose to show you the how, in easy-to-understand ways, and to set small challenges from which you will grow as a business, and grow you as a Café Owner/Manager.
Can you leave your Café for a week on short notice?