Does it make a profit? I looked into it but the startup and running costs means I would have to sell more than 100 pretty expensive coffees per day just to break even.
Yes. Margins are high in coffee. We serve a high quality product that customers feel is priced in the value range and we are at like 70-80% blended gross margin. There are plenty of busy shops at >80%.
It takes time to ramp up, but 100 orders a day is nothing. We do more than that in an inexpensive suburban strip mall. You can easily get into the hundreds in a high traffic location.
The key is to develop a base of regulars. Even a couple hundred of them is enough to keep the lights on.
We are open from 7:30-3 and do about $50k/mo. Work is like being at a party all day and cleaning up at the end. It’s the same people all the time so you’re basically hanging out and chatting with them all day.
I have so many questions. What was your initial startup investment? How did you pick the location to set this up in? What did your business plan look like? How many employees did you start with? How long did it take you to make a profit? Were you a coffee connoisseur before you got into the business? How do you select your beans? How did you do your marketing? I would love if you would answer these questions.
Alternatively, how did you figure all of this out when you first started out? Who did you go to so I can find a local analog here.
Does it make a profit? I looked into it but the startup and running costs means I would have to sell more than 100 pretty expensive coffees per day just to break even.
Yes. Margins are high in coffee. We serve a high quality product that customers feel is priced in the value range and we are at like 70-80% blended gross margin. There are plenty of busy shops at >80%.
It takes time to ramp up, but 100 orders a day is nothing. We do more than that in an inexpensive suburban strip mall. You can easily get into the hundreds in a high traffic location.
The key is to develop a base of regulars. Even a couple hundred of them is enough to keep the lights on.
We are open from 7:30-3 and do about $50k/mo. Work is like being at a party all day and cleaning up at the end. It’s the same people all the time so you’re basically hanging out and chatting with them all day.
I have so many questions. What was your initial startup investment? How did you pick the location to set this up in? What did your business plan look like? How many employees did you start with? How long did it take you to make a profit? Were you a coffee connoisseur before you got into the business? How do you select your beans? How did you do your marketing? I would love if you would answer these questions.
Alternatively, how did you figure all of this out when you first started out? Who did you go to so I can find a local analog here.
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What sized city/region?
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100 is no big deal