Want to start a different type of cafe.

[runitecastles]

Hello everyone, my wife and I have been looking into starting our own cafe, it's been one of our goals to do for a long time. We want it to be a bit different that a cafe that is inspired by the Asian culture or in other words a Maid Cafe. We did research about it and we also went around asking local people about the idea and they seem to love it. We want to sale not only coffee but baked goods as well, and also helping out local farmers too. The cafe would also have monthly events to bring in more customers with something like seasonal themed drinks and pastries. We also have a good list of friends who has experience with the jobs we are looking for (e.g. barista, baker, waiter/waitress) so it would cut down hunting time for employees.

Is there any advice you guys can lend us?

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum runitecastles. Sounds like a good idea and like you've already done some homework about how viable the idea is. Location is a huge factor for any business with a physical presence. Do you have a location picked out? That's probably the next big thing to think about. You probably want to start figuring out how much capital you'll need to get started and what kind of expenses you'll have. That way you can estimate how much you need to charge and how much of everything you have to sell, etc.

[billbenson]

Harold is probably the most qualified person here to answer this question, but I wonder if location is that important for a niche business such as this. There is a Jamaican restaurant near me. It has great food and is the only Jamaican place within a few miles. It's also on a back street behind some stores. I know the owner. Not the best location but good rent. Place is always packed.

[Harold Mansfield]

Where you are and what kind of traffic you think you can get may determine a lot of things.
Having the idea of just coffee and pastries sounds great but there isn't a lot of profit in coffee ( even gourmet coffee) and generally it has 1 rush in the morning M-F and that's it.

If your location is close to businesses that may be fine with low rent and over head. If not, it's going to be a struggle. I'm assuming if you can bake you can cook a few items. Adding a light lunch menu may attract more customers consistently throughout the day and on weekends will attract more people for more reasons. May as well have something for the waitresses to serve. They won't stick around long making a buck on pastry service.

Again, this really all depends on location. I can see it working in the right setting and failing in others.

As far as hiring friends and family, be careful. Friends and family will take advantage of you more than strangers because they have a harder time separating business. You also hang onto them longer when they are bad for business out of a perceived obligation. If you do fill the place with all friends and family insure that you hire professionals, make the rules and management hierarchy are clear, as well as the professionalism that you expect.
Don't just assume that they will care about your business as much as you do. Most people don't.

You're not building a club house to hang out in. You're stating a business that you want to make money.

Last thing....it's great that feedback from people you know is good. Honestly, that's pretty easy to get and unless you live in a small town they won't be the majority of your regular customers. The real test is if people you don't know will support it because THEY are who your customers will be. Strangers.

[nealrm]

One of the thing that kills more restaurants than bad food is poor money management. We have all seen that business that looked like it was making a mint closed down overnight. What happens is even with all the money coming in the front door, more was going out the back. Too many started out with high debt loads assuming they could pay them off, in the end they were robbing Peter to pay Paul. Don't make that mistake. Plan for half the income and twice the cost that you expect.

[will.i.earn]

Who did you get feedback from? You have to be extra wary if all you did was ask close friends and family. They're naturally biased.

Harold is spot on with his highlights. Will you be getting the kind of traffic that will take notice of your business consistently. Breakdown your target demographic more. Don't just set your eyes on professionals or of a certain age. Find out what their likes, dislikes, hobbies and favorite things are. Know them better than anyone else.

[Gmoney137]

I was similar in your thought process when coming up with ideas of a cafe. Here is my opinion I made over the process. First, everyone is spot on with their remarks. Your location and demographics are gonna be key in determining all your financial projections, price points, profit margins, etc. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Go to the competition and just sit down for a couple hours. Watch who walks in at what times, competitive price points, etc. Use this for your preliminary research because this will increase your chances of success. Second, with creative and innovative ideas, you can work around the standard morning coffee rush and gain higher profit margins due to such. Just have fun within reason. If you do, then others will. This possibly creates the repeat customer which is who you want.

Having support before you begin is great as a ego booster but in my personal experience is a false hope. Don't dwell on them. This was a huge mistake I made and will never make again. Harold is completely on the ball with this. Keep friends and family away unless you can establish up front that you guys are not friends when you walk in the door. They will take full advantage of the situation and try to implement their own ways into doing things. This is NOT a good thing. You can't keep track of inventory, margins, and ultimately lose revenue due to this. Trust me I lost a lot of money because close friends stole from me. They just don't care like you do.

Last thing is this. Throughout the whole process, its been one lesson after another whether its with employees, marketing, or FFE. I've almost given up multiple times lol. But success comes with determination, perseverance, and hard work. Go get it.