The Cafe Ninja

My Top 5 Tips for Cafe Success

I'm often asked what are the most important things to get right when starting or running a cafe. I thought long and hard about this - here are my top 5 tips for cafe success.

1. Be different - there are too many, bland run of the mill "bacon and egg" joints out there. Leap ahead of your competition by being different - have a theme that runs through your business - from your presentation, to your staff, to your menu.

2. Be professional - teach your staff properly, clean everything from head to toe, spend money on your presentation - website, menus, appearance. If you want to be respected and loved by your customers, give them the best you can afford. Would you rather be a Mac or a PC?

3. Be consistent. Nothing frustrates customers quite like inconsistency. Develop procedures that detail every aspect of your business so that staff know how they should be performing at all times (especially when you aren't there).

4. Think Outside-in. Put yourself in the customers shoes - how can you make their experience of your cafe easier and more enjoyable.

5. Never stop Marketing. Gone are the days when customers will beat a path to your door - you must get out there and battle for every customer. Get online - use the web, use social media - all it will cost you is time.

Cheers,

TCN

When Cafes Go Wrong...

On my lunchtime walk today I passed by this lovely little sandstone cafe.

I'd seen it before and had look at the interior and the menu - both fine, but the cafe was totally deserted - in fact I'd never seen a customer in it.

As I approached it from a distance I asked myself "I wonder if it has closed down yet?" As I approached closer I saw a sign on the window:

 Obviously it all went wrong. Sad, but so easily avoidable. 

When looking at a cafe location one of the simplest ways to assess viability is to look at footfall - that's a fancy word for how many people are walking past. It was clear to me from day 1 that no matter how good and how pretty this cafe was it was doomed to failure from the day it opened.

Don't make the same mistake - do your research and get sound, professional advice.

Cheers,

TPN

Useful Websites to Help You Find Cafes For Sale in Sydney

There are a plethora of websites out there where you can find cafes for sale in Sydney. To save you time and effort I've compiled a list of some of the key websites and brokers that can help you.

Independent "Businesses for sale" websites:

http://www.rs.realcommercial.com.au/

http://www.sbx.com.au/food.php

http://business.domain.com.au/

http://australia.businessesforsale.com

http://www.business2sell.com.au/

Brokers:

http://www.linkbusiness.com.au

http://agents.realestate.com.au

http://www.corebb.com.au

http://www.mccormackbrokers.com.au/businesses-for-sale.php (Franchise Only)

Let me know of any other websites that you have found to be useful in your search and I will add them to the list.

Cheers,

TCN

Cafe Design - Oliver Brown at Top Ryde City

Chocolate Cafe Oliver Brown has now opened at Top Ryde City. I had a look at it last weekend and I liked the design. Most of all I like the fact that the style and branding runs through everything in the cafe - the signage, cups, chocolates and the furniture - it all fits together nicely.

The fact that they don't seem to have a working website is a strange matter, but we'll give them some time to fix that up...

Cheers,

TCN

What Makes a Successful Cafe? My Feature in The Australian Newspaper Entrepreneur Section

What makes a successful cafe? Recently I was asked to contribute to an article in The Australian newspaper entrepreneur section to answer this question.

Click the image below to read in full screen view:

Choosing a Name for Your Cafe

When it comes to that critical moment when you choose a name for your cafe, please think long and hard about the consequences.

Your cafe is a business and should reflect everything that embodies the cafe. Novelty names and "of the moment" trends should be avoided at all costs. The name should reflect the food, service, atmosphere and, most importantly the customers you want to attract.

"What's in a name she said? It's just a string of words?" No, it's more important that that. Just a touch.

- TCN