Supporting you to gain clarity is my first step in building a profitable coffee shop and food business. Not money. Not outgoings. Not pricing. 

Why? Because when you have it everything starts to change. You wake up, go to your place of work and know exactly what matters to you. 

You can spot the important from the urgent. 

You make decisions with confidence. 

You become a proactive business owner, not just a reactive one.

What clarity in business looks like

Clarity in your business often starts with looking at your absolutely ideal world scenario and what you need to get there. So, there are 3 key areas that make up this dreamy (and increasingly profitable) coffee shop or cafe.

1. Your goals: personal and business

When we are blue sky thinking it has to start with you and what you want for your business

Why did you open your café?

What aspirations did you have for your coffee shop?

How was life supposed to be outside of work? 

Your dreams, ambitions and goal – both personally and professionally – should be the focus on how you run your business. It should not be a burden. If you’re not passionate about what you offer, your customers will feel it. It will seep through in to your offers and marketing too.

Start thinking about how your business can support you to have the lifestyle you always dreamed of. Start imagining how you would feel working in your coffee shop (when you want to) if this was the case.

2. Your ideal customer: loyal and supportive

Whilst we are dreaming big, we now want to think about our customers. Not everyone and anyone but your absolute ideal and loyal customer.

We can’t be everything to everyone…even we believe everyone loves coffee and cake. 

Importantly, get clarity on who you want to attract. Who do you want sitting at your tables? Who do you want queuing at your counter?

There are three main types:

• Type 1: Busy professionals who need quick service on their commute, prioritise quality and convenience over price.
• Type 2: Customers with more time (i.e. parents, retirees or remote workers) who research options, care about quality, local sourcing, and environmental impact.
• Type 3: Price-conscious customers meeting friends, willing to travel for savings, less concerned about quality.

But this is only the beginning, these are very broad generalisations. Get crystal clear because when you are everything from your menu to your messaging gets easier.

3. Your differentiator: what you do differently

Finally, be brave about stating what makes your establishment stand out. Why should they choose you? Identify the one thing you do exceptionally well that your ideal customers want.

Consider how this matches with the atmosphere you want to create. How do you want people to describe your venue? Why would people talk about your coffee shop? What about it makes it a place that people want to be?

Again, it’s time to dream big and really focus on what you want your customers to see, to experience and to feel. Most important of all, what are they going to talk about after their visit?

HOW TO FIND CLARITY

Gaining clarity is certainly easier said than done. It’s even harder to take the first steps towards fruition without support. The truth that is hardest to digest sometimes is that clarity will not come from chaos. 

This is why I recommend to my coffee shop owners that they have to make gaining clarity a priority. They need to commit to 5 steps to make it happen.

Step 1 –  Ensure the fires out – set a date when you are going to take time out to really think about what you want for your business. Choose the time, ensure anything urgent will be handled and delegate all of the other day-to-day tasks.

Step 2 – Keep that date and time as sacred, then choose a place where you can go to have space to think. 

Step 3 – Allow yourself to dream – on the day, be gentle with yourself and give yourself time to really daydream about what success would  look like if nothing held you back.

Step 4 – Bring a notebook (and maybe a nice slice of cake) – ask yourself:

• What do I really want from this business?
• What do I need my café or coffee shop to give to me financially, emotionally and practically?
• Who do I most enjoy serving?
• What do I want to be known for?

Journal your answers. Make mind maps. Really dive deep.

Step 5 – Set some goals – in light of your dreams and your journaling around the questions above, only then can you set some clear goals, with your absolute dream customer in mind and how you want your business to be. What small actions can help you get there?