The Secrets of Coffee Shop Success: Insights from Café Success Hub Founders

In this episode of Inside the Market, we sit down with the founders of Café Success Hub, who have not only successfully run a chain of coffee shops but have also authored the best-selling book, “The Daily Grind – How to Open and Run a Coffee Shop That Makes Money.”

Andrew and Claire share their insights and experiences from the world of coffee shop consulting, addressing common questions and concerns faced by coffee shop owners. From startup costs and initial challenges to the impact of AI and the importance of customer experience, this interview provides some advice and strategies for anyone looking to thrive in the coffee business.

First of all, write a few lines about Cafe Success and the consulting activity you run with Claire.

Having run a chain of successful coffee shops, we wrote a book all about our experience. After we published ‘The Daily Grind – How to Open and run a Coffee Shop That Makes Money’ it became a best-selling book and we now work with coffee shop and café owners all over the world.

Our www.startupacoffeeshop.com coaching club is the distillation of all our knowledge and is perfect for those starting a coffee shop. We also work 1:1 with established coffee shops owners who want to develop their business.

What are the most common questions you receive from coffee shop owners?

Many operators are so busy working in their business that they can’t see the wood for the trees. Depending on how busy they are, it is either why aren’t I getting more guests or how do I make the job less stressful? Often, they have no idea what their margins or costs are and are blind to where they need to invest their time to improve their business.

What are the main concerns of coffee operators regarding startup costs?

People tend to underestimate the costs and timescales for opening. There can be many unexpected bills that should have been expected if they had done enough research.

The cost of structural changes like plumbing or electricals to a building to accommodate a café can be huge. If compromised, these changes will be a bigger issue later and will affect your ability to trade while they are rectified.

People are tempted to do lots of things themselves, which takes extra time so is a hidden cost in the set up.

What are the biggest challenges that coffee shop owners face in the first year of activity?

Suddenly becoming a boss can be daunting for many; the realisation that you are responsible for other people’s rent or mortgage being paid is very sobering. In the first few months, they may not be taking any money out of their business while their team and suppliers get paid, being the boss suddenly becomes less attractive!

Recruiting and developing a brilliant team can be a massive challenge in the first year but getting this right is the foundation of a successful opening. Less staff turnover results in a smoother operation and allows real connections to be made with the guests.

It is also challenging to maintain standards and consistency while updating the menu to keep it exciting for regular guests.

Keeping on top of cash flow is critical, and doing weekly stock takes to provide a weekly profit figure will give early warning of any cash issues.

How attentive are coffee shops to customer experience, and do they adopt a service model?

The best coffee shops are very attentive to their customers and strive to build long-term relationships with them. The best form of advertising is word-of-mouth recommendation. Building a tribe of superfans who spread the news of their favourite coffee place is very clever and can be a massively effective strategy.

Many new coffee businesses face the challenge of providing speedy service while maintaining consistency, and too many fail on both.

Coffee shop customers are often time-pressed, so a delay in preparing their drink will result in them not coming back to you. They are also very discerning over the quality of their coffee and again, will desert you quickly if they get a different-tasting coffee every time they visit.

Do they see the web more as an opportunity or a risk? And artificial intelligence?

The web is a massive opportunity and threat, and AI accentuates both of them.  Many coffee shop owners think they don’t need a website as they have social media. This is a mistake as they can never take control of their digital reputation if it belongs to a social media company.

Guests use the web to find new places to visit and will check reviews and ratings as a matter of course, so without a website with all your info or not and replying to every review, people won’t choose your place.

Think about the future (or the present): how could AI help coffee shops?

Artificial Intelligence is already helping enlightened coffee shop owners by giving them ideas for marketing, menu development, and social media content, to name just a few.  In the future AI will be part of every coffee machine to ensure that every drink is exactly as each guest demands, We can vision a day when facial recognition is linked to a customer profile so that a guest will only need to walk in the door to trigger the drink being made.

The challenge for AI is that hospitality comes through a personal connection between the barista and the guest, so that connection must be enhanced through technology rather than diminished.

How could AI help your profession?

As consultants and coaches, we work with our clients on how they can use AI better in their businesses. The opportunities are almost limitless, but very few Coffee Shop owners are aware of what is available and how it can support them.

How can the web help brick-and-mortar coffee shops?

As we mentioned above, a coffee shop must have a website and an online presence. Online ordering and delivery can be a big part of a coffee shop’s turnover, and without a website, it is impossible!

Your website is your window into the world where most customers will go to see what you are like before they visit. This, along with your social media accounts, is where people get their first impression of you and like any relationship, it is first impressions that count.

Last but not least: like you and your wife Claire wrote in a book: how to open and run a coffee shop that makes money?

We wrote The Daily Grind for two reasons, the first is that as owners of a successful coffee business, we were getting hundreds of people wanting to ‘pick our brains’ and we thought that putting down our experience of opening coffee shops would be a great way to help them.

The second reason was that we saw far too many people who opened a coffee shop and fail within 18 months.

We knew if they were going to succeed or fail, and if these people had spoken with us, we would have advised against for example, opening in that location, paying the level of rent the landlord wanted and offering a menu not suited to the location.

When we started, their was very little available to support start-up coffee shops and we are very humbled to have written something that has become required reading for new coffee shop owners and has been awarded the accolade of “Best Coffee Book’ by Book Authority.