right time. right price.

cafelawyer

Business planning for cafes is simple.

Here it is -

1 be cash +ve from day one.

2 sell your cafe at it's peak.

Q when is your cafe at it's peak??

A when your buyer's buyer can also sell.

The lease is everything.

askthecoffeeguy

hmm.. seems to be over simplifying things a little there - yes I agree that a solid head for figures is required -but most of us who are passionate about coffee are not simply in it for the money, otherwise we would be using Grinder's coffee, and crap milk for coffees Me, I'm in regular contact with my business broker and my accountant, as I like to know how I'm tracking, and I would add to your above list the need to have a purposeful exit strategy, including solid time lines, and the knowledge and expertise to prime your business for sale but without passion for what you're doing, and a contagious enthusiasm for your product and services, no proposed formula for potential sale is going stack up "It's what's in the cup that counts" ACg 

cafelawyer

on 1291810079:

hmm.. seems to be over simplifying things a little there - yes I agree that a solid head for figures is required -but most of us who are passionate about coffee are not simply in it for the money, otherwise we would be using Grinder's coffee, and crap milk for coffees Me, I'm in regular contact with my business broker and my accountant, as I like to know how I'm tracking, and I would add to your above list the need to have a purposeful exit strategy, including solid time lines, and the knowledge and expertise to prime your business for sale but without passion for what you're doing, and a contagious enthusiasm for your product and services, no proposed formula for potential sale is going stack up Passion and profit is a perfect mix. Like your grinders remark. From the deals that land on desk, the most profitable cafes use Giancarlo. "It's what's in the cup that counts" ACg 

thecafeninja

on 1291810079:

hmm.. seems to be over simplifying things a little there - yes I agree that a solid head for figures is required -but most of us who are passionate about coffee are not simply in it for the money, otherwise we would be using Grinder's coffee, and crap milk for coffees Me, I'm in regular contact with my business broker and my accountant, as I like to know how I'm tracking, and I would add to your above list the need to have a purposeful exit strategy, including solid time lines, and the knowledge and expertise to prime your business for sale but without passion for what you're doing, and a contagious enthusiasm for your product and services, no proposed formula for potential sale is going stack up "It's what's in the cup that counts" ACg 

I understand the passion for coffee but I c'mon we're all in business to make money, right?

thecafeninja

on 1291808131:

Business planning for cafes is simple. Here it is - 1 be cash +ve from day one. 2 sell your cafe at it's peak. Q when is your cafe at it's peak?? A when your buyer's buyer can also sell. The lease is everything.

Lease isn't everything but it's a major component. I agree with 1&2...the question is a hard one to answer...not all cafes are bought by existing cafe owners - in fact few seem to be.