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So, you want to start a coffee shop?
With high-end coffee brands claiming stakes in nearly every commercial establishment in almost every city, and with small neighborhood milk tea shops popping up like mushrooms, the idea of penetrating a seemingly oversaturated specialty beverage market might feel a little daunting. Add to that the usual business consideration of high capital expenditures, a lack of readily-available industry-standard information, and the added cost of marketing & advertising the business — the cafe might look more like a pipe dream than a reachable reality.
Before you decide to shelf that idea, coffee and specialty beverage institution Equilibrium Intertrade Corporation wants you to know that coffee-shop success is all a matter of balancing hard work and determination, coupled with the perfect resources to help you get started.
Consider these few tips from Equilibrium to find out exactly what you need in order to turn your coffee shop dream into a brick-and-mortar gig. It might turn out to be exactly the guide you need.
Find the business’s purpose
No business can succeed without a resounding ‘why’. Take equal time to map out the how’s and the why’s of putting up your coffee shop, and it will never feel aimless. To concretize the whole idea, put a business plan down on paper. Remember to include the managerial, technical, and financial aspects of the business, and set a solid marketing strategy in place.
Find the perfect location
Location, location, location, is one of the biggest success factors of any business. Identify if your location is high-density (more customers), and determine if the typical demographic in your location will jive with the coffee shop concept you’re trying to put up. Balance those two when considering your location, and your business’s marketability will have been half-solved.
Find the loopholes and loose ends
Even if it feels like something you can put off towards the end of starting up, preparing your documents in the beginning will make things so much easier for you. For those looking to put up a coffee shop or kiosk in the country, make sure you handle your BIR and DTI registrations, health clearance and sanitation permits, and other necessary permits and contributions early on. Getting this out of the way will allow you to focus on more important aspects of your business moving forward.
Find out the menu
What’s a coffee shop without a stellar menu? Come up with a unique selection of food choices to accompany classic specialty beverage favorites to give your coffee shop a distinct twist. Pastries are nice and all, but a homemade specialty will give your business a delicious edge. Take the time to really sit down and determine how to balance your menu out: do you want to stick to traditional food and beverage pairings, or can you sneak in an innovation or two to give your future customers something to keep coming back for?
Find your people
Your crew members are some of your biggest business assets. Investing in them — in their equipment, in their business education, in their well-being as humans — will help keep them motivated to do better, which will help your business grow. Teach your people to dole out customer service that’s equal to the quality of the specialty beverage that they serve, and you’ll build a loyal customer following in no time! As your business grows, don’t forget to allow your employees to keep learning about their craft, and promote them as you see fit. Finally, find balance between work and play to further build employee morale.
Find your equipment
The right people can only do so much when using the wrong equipment. Investing in the right, high-quality equipment and supplies will make the work easier and more efficient for your staff, and will ultimately make your coffee more enjoyable. Don’t be afraid to find the balance between budgeting for people and budgeting for equipment — they will both pay off big in the long run.
Find your balance
Finally, in anything anyone does, there has to be an equal balance of passion and practicality. When putting up the business from the ground up becomes a little too difficult, passion and the desire to succeed will help see any dreamer and doer through. Knowing when and where to seek practical assistance will also help take any business further.
Equilibrium Intertrade Corporation readily packages everything — from high-end equipment to world-class products and consumable supplies to cohesive marketing collaterals and barista and café management trainings, all the way to attractive kiosks — that every aspiring coffee shop owner needs to start up their dream business. The Total Solutions Bundle helps give future coffee-preneurs the basics to put up shop, thus allowing them to focus less on finding the right equipment and information, and more on earning big from their dreams becoming reality.
Equilibrium’s Total Solutions Bundle, along with other coffee-related bundles in partnership with Curve Coffee Collaborators, will be available for future cafe owners at the Filipino Franchise and Business Expo happening from February 28 to 29 and March 1, 2020, from 10:00am to 9:00pm at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
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