Common Mistakes People Make When Operating A Coffee Shop

The most important and common problems people make when operating a coffee shop are listed in this article as well as its consequences and how to avoid them.

operating a coffee shopWhen operating a coffee shop you want to make sure that not only are you making things right but you are also not making mistakes. The following are the most common and important mistakes you can easily make, the consequences of those mistakes as well as what you will gain from avoiding them.

Common Mistakes People Make When Operating A Coffee Shop

Mistake # 1: Not Having a Marketing And Advertising Plan For Your Coffee Shop

Marketing is a very important part of any business including coffee shops. If there are no sales there is no business, period.  Before opening your coffee shop, start with a market research. With the market research you can get an idea of how many people will visit your business and how much money are they willing to spend on it. With this type of research you can then make calculations on know how much money you will probably make.

Another important factor is advertising. If you open and run the best quality coffee shop in town but nobody knows about it, you are ruining your success. For this reason, you should plan which is the most cost effective way to market and advertise your business to increase sales.

Mistake # 2: Not Preparing Quality Coffee

Sometimes in an effort to minimize costs, coffee shop owners make the mistake of compromising the quality of coffee so as to cut back on costs. This can be disastrous. The main reason people buy coffee is because they like the quality of the flavor. If they don´t like it, they will simply stop buying it. Quality coffee and high preparation standards are a must in this business.

Mistake # 3: Not Understanding What You Are Selling

As a coffee shop owner, you should know that you are not just selling coffee. What does a person want when he or she goes to a coffee shop? They want a comfortable environment where they can relax or catch up with friends or family. If all they wanted was a cup of coffee they could have prepared it at the comfort of their own home at a cheaper price.

Understand that you are selling a comfortable environment where people can relax while taking a high quality cup of coffee with a muffin or whatever other snacks or bitings that you sell. You should therefore strive to make your coffee shop´s environment to make it customer friendly.

Mistake # 4: Not Leasing Your Coffee Shop Equipment:

Probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not leasing your coffee shop equipment. Leasing refers to a type of financing in which you pay a monthly amount of money. This is known as lease payments for using the equipment. At the end of the lease (usually 2 to 5 years) you have the option of purchasing the equipment for a very small amount of money.

There are a number of great benefits to leasing your equipment. The first and probably most popular benefit is the tax break you get from leasing coffee shop equipment. With a regular loan you can get a tax break only from the interest portion of it but with a lease you can get a tax break for the entire amount that you pay for this purpose. This means that you will be renting and buying your equipment with money that would otherwise go to the Government in terms of taxes.

Other benefit of leasing your coffee shop equipment is that you will be able to keep a part of your start-up capital. You can use this money in other profitable investments and hence increase your overall earnings. When you lease your equipment you are also risk free in terms of repairing costs since the machine dealer will be doing regular maintenance to the equipment.

You can also upgrade to new machines after your initial leasing contract is done by renewing your contract for new equipment. This way you will be always using up to date equipment. Some items that can be leased are the blender, coffee drip, beverage service carts, coffee bean dispenser and grinder, espresso and cappuccino maker, tea brewer and dispenser, etc.

For more information on leasing coffee shop equipment, simply CLICK HERE.

 

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