Last Updated on Mar 13, 2020 by James W
If you dream of having your own business, a cafe startup could be the way to go. Don’t get me wrong; it isn’t easy, but if you’re determined, it can be extremely lucrative and satisfying. There are a ton of things you’ll need to get started, all of which we couldn’t possibly list here. However, I will list 8 important things you need right from the start:
- Financing
Financing is the very first thing you need, before anything else. It’s unlikely you’re going to be able to come up with all of the money needed on your own, so you may need to approach the bank for a loan. It helps if you have a business plan to show the bank, so they can see where you plan on going with your cafe and how you’ll spend the money. You’ll need an emergency cash cushion, as well as other funds to keep your going.
- Licensing
This will vary depending on where you plan on opening your cafe. It can vary by state, city, country, and town, so you really need to do your research and see what you need to do to get the appropriate licensing.
- Trustworthy Suppliers
You’ll need connections with a bunch of trustworthy suppliers if you’re to be successful. You need to get high quality products at the best price, so you can make a profit and keep people coming back for more. Do your research, get networking, and see if you can strike up some deals.
- A Quality Epos System
A quality Epos system will make handling payments much easier. You can get systems that are tailored especially to your business, too. This means you can see who your best customers are, reward them, and improve their experience.
- A Marketing Strategy
If you don’t have a marketing strategy, how do you plan on getting people in the door? You need to work out the ways in which you’ll promote your business to get it off the ground. You of course will want to attract the locals, which means you need to put some strong offline tactics in place. You may want a website too, but you can’t expect to target a national market with a cafe. That being said, a website will still help people to learn all about you, your ethics, and your backstory, and this can be very attractive!
- Specialist Coffee Equipment
Duh! You can’t make people coffee with a kettle. You need to have specialist coffee equipment so you can whip up a range of drinks with ease.
- Comfortable Furniture
If you’re starting a ‘to go’ cafe, you can forget this part. Most cafes, however, have comfortable furniture to encourage their customers to stay a while.
- A Loyalty Program
As mentioned before, a loyalty program will help you to enhance the experience of your best customers. This is a great way to get people coming back for more!
If you have these things in the very beginning, you can be confident your cafe will be a success!
