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Free point of sale system for small stores, coffee shops, beauty salons & more.

When we think of coffee, we think of it as a product that people consume either in their own homes, in the office, or at a coffee shop. Most of the time, however, coffee served in a coffee shop has a socialization component allowing people to receive more than a portion of caffeine. So let us discuss how we can develop a coffee shop business that can provide people with a thriving and joyful environment and eventually grow into a coffee-chain. What are people expecting from a coffee shop? First and foremost is to save time - especially for people with busy schedules, saving time is fundamental. It is the reason why they usually prefer to buy their coffee from a coffee shop. The location of the stores should be strategic, visible, and easy to access by foot or by car. Professionals can prepare a product with excellent quality. Popular coffee shops are striving to make high-quality coffee from verified suppliers. New environment - for those who spend most of their time working in their offices or their own houses, the coffee shops come up with a unique setting with attractive design and atmosphere, where people can meet, communicate and even work. Friendly service - many clients prefer coffee shops where they feel comfortable with the staff working there. Socialization and connection. In the fifteenth century, coffee was cultivated and traded by the Arabs in the Middle East, and soon after, coffee houses became places of gathering to exchange information. In the 17th century, coffee was introduced in Europe, and the coffee houses were preferred by scholars who liked to meet, read, learn, and debate. Later, this concept was developed and expanded into coffee chains by American companies such as Starbucks, Mc Coffee, etc. Different elements contribute to the profitability of this type of business: location, the quality of the coffee served, the employees, and how they know to make themselves pleasant. How to grow my coffee business? There are three basic strategies to grow a business from one single store to a chain store: Franchising is the most popular and straightforward way to multiply a shop. Acquiring an existing business and developing it - here, the main difficulty is to find a growing market for sale. Build from scratch and create a new brand. It is the most difficult but gives you a lot of flexibility in creating something new. Why do some coffee shops fail while others grow into successful coffee chains? Many of us are wondering why some businesses become successful as time passes and are expanding all over the world while others hardly survive or even close within the first five years. Some common factors lead to such results. 1. Training and experience The character of the entrepreneur plays a significant role. Its passion for investment objects, devotion, and eagerness to change and take on new ideas are essential factors to the development of a business. A competent entrepreneur is the one who loves the product he brings on to the market and continuously improves it according to the development of the sphere he is working. An entrepreneur can study from his competitors and humbly accept the advice from more experienced people in the business. However, no one is born with all the needed information and with the necessary abilities to become successful immediately. Therefore, for an entrepreneur to become victorious, he/she needs to pass through a period of training and experience. Such a foundation is necessary before one's creative ideas can be implemented, and entrepreneurial vision is realized. For instance, Shultz had experience in business before he purchased Starbucks. He first worked for an international company, and then, for a few years, he worked with the founders of Starbucks. After a trip to Italy, he was inspired to create a coffee house where coffee was not only sold as freshly roasted beans but prepared and served in a cup in front of the customers. His idea was not welcomed, and so he decided to develop his cafe "Il Giornale." Later, when the founders of Starbuck chose to sell their business, Shultz purchased it and expanded it into a worldwide known coffee chain. Another successful example is "5 to Go," founded by Radu Savopol in Romania. In only three years, Savopol developed his coffee shop into a chain comprising 150 coffee shops operating across the nation. After 20 years of experience, while running 2 bars, he understood that his concept of business was old and needed to change. He studied the trend in the Romanian market and realized that while coffee shops were a popular business around the world, it was not appealing to the Romanian people. He concluded that Romanians were not ready to spend their time and money in a coffee shop. It led to Savapol's revolutionary vision: sell coffee to go for only 5 lei (the most used Romanian banknote). His ambition was to sell good coffee at a reasonable price. 2.Trustful relationships For a business to grow, the relationships with the employees and with the clients are crucial. The vision, the mission, and the values that the company promotes inspire employees to become a part of the team and invest themselves in achieving concrete objectives while preserving their character and personal goals. That is why wise entrepreneurs invest in their partners and employees by continually investing in their education and providing meetings where a transparent and honest environment is created. Such an example of a relationship would be practiced by the employees when serving the customers as well. Howard Schultz believed that strong brands create a powerful personal connection. It started first with his people, not with consumers. While most of the national brands in America are marketing-driven, Starbucks is product-driven, people-driven, and value-driven. In an interview with Andreea Rosca, Savapol expressed his belief that "Man sanctifies the place." He first asks 100% devotion from the person who wants to buy the franchise "5 to Go" and has him/her work for a minimum of six hours a day for the first six months. In the same interview, he says: "We have a location near Starbucks, much smaller than they are, and we do a better job than Starbucks because of the person. The person matters enormously. 3. Become a strong Brand What is a brand? A product becomes a brand when many people recognize its quality and when many people feel joy from using it. Simply put, a brand is constituted by the perceptions of those who experienced it, such as employees, investors, media, and perhaps most importantly, customers. As long as these perceptions live in people's minds, the brand has a great impact. It would then be interesting to know what the elements that create a brand are? Often brand researchers are talking about "brand compass," which is made up of 5 components: purpose, vision, mission, values, and objectives, respectively. Brand compass includes a fundamental tool for the striving of the company, and it can guide through the "waves of competition. So, why is it essential to become a brand? It has been said that a brand can sell better, attract more customers, and can ask for higher prices. These are the advantages of a brand from the viewpoint of profitability. However, a strong brand tells not only about the product but also about the fundamental truths included in the brand compass. Hence, by selling their products, the business can implement its ideas and become a trendsetter in a society. How coffee-chain can operate in a challenging time Currently, we are facing a difficult period, when in many countries, coffee shops are not allowed to work and serve customers as usual, because of the quarantine measures. To continue their businesses, experienced entrepreneurs are pioneering new ways to respond to the customers' expectations. Online sales, partnerships with other apps and providing delivery services, diversification of menu by adding necessary daily foods, social projects like delivering coffee for medical staff, sanitizing the environment so that everyone can stay healthy. These are only a few ideas implemented by entrepreneurs in order to continue their activity during this time of quarantine. However, the wisdom of entrepreneurs, the trustful relationships with employees and customers, as well as the quality of the product, remain actual for business development even in challenging times.

The motivation of any business is to bring joy to its customers. Therefore, when we talk about the purpose of a coffee-shop, we should consider the expectations of the consumers. Coffee is the second most popular drink to be consumed after water in the world and is preferred by millions of people due to its unique taste and its energizing effects. However, when it comes to choosing between one coffee shop or another, many factors make the difference. The idea behind a cafe Even though it is invisible, the idea the entrepreneur has when starting their business is essential because this idea develops the vision, mission, and business plan. If the focus of the business development is mainly on how to make a quick profit, then the effort will be put in investing on the external factors, such as the location, the surrounding environment, advertising, professional and experienced staff, high-quality coffee-machines, etc. All these factors mentioned are important for a coffee shop to become successful; however, these external factors cannot assure you that the business would strive for a long time. How can you get the idea for your business? The most important thing is that entrepreneurs study the market thoroughly, research other competitors, and even work with them. For example, you can experience working in a coffee-shop and gain some knowledge of the strategy of that coffee-shop and be able to examine how the owner runs the business, as well as learning the minds of the customers. Upon this foundation, it is possible to have a realistic point of view about the market, the resources needed, and about the clients’ expectations. New ideas come from education and investment in the field. Later they can transform into a vision and a mission of your company. What is the difference between a vision and a mission? While a vision is about the future, what the future development of the business would be like, a mission is about now, and what you can do now to successfully accomplish the future goal of the business. For example, in order to reach out to your target customers for your next business development, what you can do now is to implement accessible pricing, or high-quality coffee, or create an environment that helps people feel comfortable to stay. When we look at the well known Starbucks company, their idea was to make a coffee house "a third place between work and home" and feel a sort of connection, while tasting the best coffee. Its vision is “to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world and maintain uncompromising principles while growing." Its mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” The business plan The vision is about how you see the business in the future, and it keeps you connected with the values you follow; a mission is about how you can implement the vision, and the business plan is a tool which will help you understand what resources and steps you need to take in order to bring profit. To start with, you need to have a clear understanding of the budget you are ready to invest in, such as rent, renovation of the premises, the technical parts, bills, suppliers, employment, and advertising. Even though managing resources is instead a tedious task for an enthusiastic entrepreneur, a business cannot survive without a clear and systematic cash flow. That's why once starting the business, you need to continuously check all its financial parameters, such as sales, expenses, margin, profit, etc. Check if the actual parameters are different from the business plan, analyze it, and amend the business plan if it is necessary. The first six months are the most crucial time for your business, so you have to be ready to sustain it with the necessary resources, as well as your hard work and passion. How to compose menu for a cafe A quality product is necessary to make a business successful. In the case of a coffee shop, the menu should include a variety of products, so that your clients would come all day and not only in the morning. Such a list can include: Coffee: espresso, latte, americano Tea Sweets, baked pastries, cakes Grain bowls, yogurt parfaits Sandwiches, salads, fruit cups Ice cream and ice coffee for hot seasons Operating a cafe Successful entrepreneurs are well aware of their performance indicators, which goes beyond tracking sales. To understand the situation of your inventory and to control the efficiency of your employees, as well as the visits and the preferences of your customers, you need to create an operating system. Following that, you should train your staff to use it, then regularly check all the working processes and improve them. In this way, automatization is very useful; for example, using a proper POS system will help you to organize the sales process and control many business parameters in real time, wherever you are. Customer care What are the motivations of customers who visit the coffee shop? Of course, the most crucial factor is the unique and rich taste of the coffee. It means that it is vital to know who your suppliers are, what kind of coffee machines are used, and how the coffee is prepared. There is a lot of information on this matter (coffee suppliers, coffee makers, and the method used) out there. Therefore, it would be better to rely on those who are already experienced in the field and knowledgeable on this matter. If you do desire to become proficient in preparing coffee, or you want your employees to improve working more efficiently, then there are specialized barista courses out there. A friendly, polite, and professional service creates a pleasant atmosphere and will help the customers to feel confident in choosing your coffee shop. Using a loyalty system that rewards customers who often come to your cafe is another great idea. Loyal customers are the core of a successful business. They need special care, and you can do this through different discounts and bonuses. The ambiance, a vast space, especially if your clients come in groups, together with lightning, music, design, all offer your clients a welcoming environment to chat, to meet, or even to work. Advertising has the role of making your business known and boosts sales. It can be done by flyers, via the internet, or billboards if the budget allows. Associating your coffee shop with some events like masterclasses or cultural presentations, as well as live music, can be another way to attract customers. Location is important too. First, define the well-populated area with many other businesses around, or there are metro stations around, even close to the market or inside a shopping mall. Second, it is also good to consider if there are places for parking for the customers. As a matter of fact, even if your coffee is amazing and your coffee shop provides a beautiful and attractive environment, if customers would have to come a long way on foot to visit the shop, they may prefer to visit the shop by car and may find an alternative choice of a coffee shop on their way. Why do coffee shops fail? Opening a business and actually expanding it really requires your trust in the products you sell, as well as the trust in the ideas behind the product, moreover, the perseverance in your work, the ability to see the problem and change yourself. Most often, the problems of young entrepreneurs are: The lack of a strong vision and mission that any business should have when they want to operate in the long term. An enormous amount of effort is put on an operational aspect and how to make a profit. The real market is not sufficiently understood, which means that people are not interested in the products and services you offer. Poor management of resources and cash flow issues. Many young entrepreneurs are tempted to use profit as their personal gain, rather than reinvesting it in strengthening their position on the market. The customer relationship is not developed, so the customers do not become loyal and tend not to recommend to others. Lack of desire to learn from any mistakes or to invest more, or even to change. Starting and then actually running a successful coffee shop is not an easy task, but it can bring a lot of joy for you and your customers. It depends on how much desire you have to grow yourself by sharing your ideas and principles with your team and with your customers through the products and services you offer.

Hi, We run a cafe and some orders want both food from the kitchen and coffee from the barista. Is it possible to send the coffee part of an order to the barista and the food part of an order to the chef? Thank you for your help