Starting Cafe in Syd - any advice appreciated..

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• askthecoffeeguy

  September 2009

  having owned three cafes now I would say start forming some strategic partnerships - that is align yourself with your roaster of choice then 'reverse engineer' the coffee industry from a roasting perspective, as this will give you the perspective from the bean upwards, which you will need to position yourself at the top end of the industry also spend a lot of time visiting cafes that you like and make a note of what works and what does not - see what sort of products the top cafes are using and then ask yourself why they choose to use these products for my first cafe I had a business coach and two business mentors - which went a long way towards breaking down the 'what if' and 'what do I do now' barriers - its good to align yourself with folks who are in the know and I've spent a lot of time talking to cafe owners and staff, as well as potential customers, recently, to find out their likes and dislikes, potential pitfalls, and just sussing out the vibe generally of places that you like also just opened my new cafe on the weekend, but already we've pulled over 2000 coffees through the coffee machine, and I'm still not completely happy with the final product - so be aware that there is always room for improvement and be prepared to change your mind often and to ask yourself: "what would happen if I tried this, and this, and this..." and so on finally be prepared to back your instinct and above all make decisive decisions and take responsibility for your actions because its better to make the wrong decision now and to change it latter on than to try and figure it all out from scratch once your doors are open feel free to personal message me if you want my contact details - I'm happy to be of service cheers, Pat aka ask the coffee guy

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• KittyKat2010

  October 2009

  Hi Pat, Thanks for the comprehensive post! I agree that I should reverse engineer - I am currently deliberating between my top 3 roasters and will be visiting a few of their Cafe's this weekend with my partner so I can obvseve, taste, comment & discuss etc... My partner is great to bounce ideas off but I agree I need help from people in the know. I have followed your Foxy Brown thread and I think it all sounds brilliant. I think its great that you are constantly asking questions and trying to improve as I dont think the industry has space for complacent operators - unless they are prepared to fail. I know I have a lot to learn before I swing open the doors and the learning wont stop then... Cheers Kat

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