Starting a Coffee Shop

Bucking Starbucks

Comedian Louis Black once joked about an older man with Alzheimer's who, after having a cup of coffee at a Starbucks, walks out and sees another Starbucks across the street. He excitingly proclaims, "Look! A Starbucks. I could really go for a cup of coffee." If you are starting a coffee shop or cafe, how do you compete with the likes of Starbucks, seemingly on every corner? You may already be in operation and find yourself asking the same question. There are many factors that contribute to winning.

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Quality Always Wins

Beware of equipment companies with restrictive contracts. Buy your own and have freedom to choose your fresh roasted wholesale coffee roaster. Excellence in coffee is a pursuit, not an end. Focus on the highest quality to help differentiate your coffee shop. Specialty grade coffee costs more than off-the-shelf commodity grade, but is critical to producing the best cup. When you have it fresh roasted on order personally for your coffee shop you can be confident your customers will notice the difference.

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Plan To Win

Many start down the path to business ownership without really understanding what it takes to succeed. Some proceed on a wing and prayer. The number one reason for coffee shop failure is poor planning. Writing a business plan is the most important step in starting any business and is often given only cursory attention. The secret to developing a good business plan is asking yourself the right questions. The magic occurs when you crystallize your thoughts and put your answers in writing. Your vision, and the path to reach it, then becomes clear.

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Free Private Label Packaging

When you choose our free private label coffee packaging, we fresh roast your wholesale coffee order then package it with your branded packaging. Your gourmet specialty coffee is now exclusively tied to your business! In today's competitive world, a compelling brand is critical to promote your identity and to bring your customers back again and again. When your private label coffee brand is tied to an exceptional underlying product, your business can't easily be tumbled.

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Buck The Bronco & Win

Several years ago, a coffee shop (not a client at the time) closed six months after opening. One of our retail customers learned about the closure and she bought the failed coffee shop.

She proceeded to rebrand the coffee shop and upgrade to Fair Trade Organic wholesale coffee. Immediately, her coffee shop became a resounding success.

The Mocha Monkey coffeehouse, now with four locations, has been voted by its own customers in a CBS/WCCO TV online poll as the "Best Coffee Shop" in the entire state.

The question is: why did she succeed in the exact same location where her predecessors failed? See the video link below.

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