Cafemakers Releases Guide to Help Start a Coffee Shop

Labor Day is regarded by many in the USA as the end of Summer; like an early morning hotel wake up call signifying that it is time to get back to work, it is a sad day representing the end of lazy, carefree holidays and the last of long, warm sunny days. Luckily for you and me, we're in the retail specialty coffee business, so there is no need to be sad! The return of chilly nights and dark morning commutes brings something that we've been waiting to return all Summer: business and lots of it.

To kick off the peak season right, we are pleased to announce the release of our new free guide, 12 Fundamentals of a Successful Coffee Business, a frank and straightforward discussion of the factors that will dramatically affect the success or failure of any coffee shop, but ones we believe are all too often overlooked. So, whether you're a seasoned business owner waiting for your rampaging morning hordes of traffic to return from vacation or someone considering opening a new coffee shop, give it a try and be sure to write back with your comments to let us know what you think.

Here's a sneak preview from the introduction of 12 Fundamentals of a Successful Coffee Business:

The retail specialty coffee industry is unique in that it attracts as many admirers of the product (coffee fanatics) as it does those who are looking for a lucrative business investment, probably more.  It is human nature to focus on those things that are of greatest personal interest to us, and in the case of the coffee fanatic that is all things coffee!  So, for the good of your business, I ask you to put down that glossy espresso machine product brochure and step away from those roasted coffee samples and the tiny single serving bottles of flavoring syrups.  Let’s spend the next few moments talking about something even more important than the product, the critical business issues that will define your retail coffee business – I promise that it will be worth your time and that you can go back to the taste testing when we’re done.

A word of caution: this document is not intended to be a paint-by-numbers template to start a coffee shop.  If you are one of the millions of proudly self-professed “Dummies” that requires a handbook in order to start your business or learn Microsoft Windows, you had better stop reading here.  There are plenty of books that cater to the DIY market segment of this industry; we aimed to do something a little different here - something a little more thought provoking for those preparing to make a serious financial or emotional investment.

With alarming frequency, my associates and I respond to questions from new and prospective coffee shop owners, such as, “what sugar free syrup tastes best?” or “should I pick the San Macaroni 5-group espresso machine or the La Spaghetti?” New entrants to the retail coffee industry tend to focus a large portion of their valuable time and resources on coffee shop gear, products, logo colors and other minutia that may affect the style or identity of a business, but in fact, do not define that business and are probably not the factors that will lead to its eventual success or failure; whereas, it may be nice and even helpful to know which synthetic concoction gives your calorie counting and diabetic consumers the best sense of real chocolate in their café latte, the resulting drain of your time away from the real issues may commit your new coffee shop to failure, even before your shiny new La Spaghetti is out of the packing crate.

If you have already started your new shop and recognize the example questions above as being yours, don’t worry; it’s never too late to start fixing the items addressed within this document.  For all others that may be considering starting a new coffee shop but have not yet taken action, we hope that the ideas listed herein will be helpful to give you some insightful reflection on the true issues that will impact your business so that you may continue to pursue your goals with a new found sense of confidence.

If that introduction has caught your interest and you would like to read the entire document, please feel free to do so though our website by clicking on the cover image below: