Cafe Paladar

Information may not be reliable

Opening a cafe is exhilarating and exciting and if done well can be the most rewarding business for anyone who loves people (see my other articles on being a people person). Sales is what it's all about and sales come about by being proactive and friendly while offering a quality range of products.
In the case of a Cafe Coffee shop your products are food and drink and your environment where they enjoy your products.
The qualities YOU need to have in the culture of your business to succeed are:
An open mind to sell at all times: Your mindset is your best asset. Do not be afraid to sell and by that I mean be friendly helpful and interested in your customers and don't be shy at asking for the business. This is sales. Do whatever you can to find out about your customers needs and wants. This is sales. Never be afraid to ask for your customers input you will be well rewarded and often surprised. This is sales. Upsell in a helpful friendly and non intrusive manner. Practice, practice, practice.
Humour: People want to feel good and resonate with humour. Use it to create a happy fun place to work, it rubs off on everybody and when people feel good they anchor the feeling to you or your cafe. I have a favourite Cafe where I visit and every time I go there, Ken the owner puts a smile on my face because he is someone who laughs loud and often. It's contagious and makes me want to visit again just to hear the laughter. The Coffee and food is superb too.
Reliability: Your opening hours must be consistent and reliable. Your customers will build their habits around this and you will build your hours around their habits. So make sure when you first open your Cafe Coffee shop have enough lag time at each end of the day to establish a wide enough range to capture people. It's easier to trim a few hours at each end of the day once you know where the demand is.
Know your personal strengths and weaknesses: If you have a weakness then delegate the tasks around it to someone who is stronger on it than you. Don't procrastinate on this one because being successful is all about making the weak links strong. The strong ones look after themselves. If you cant delegate then you have no choice but to work on those weaknesses. A mentor or someone to be accountable is the best way to help with working on weaknesses.
Be healthy: Your Cafe Coffee shop business will be demanding and time consuming. Your health needs to be steady so you can be reliable and energetic. Make sure you look after yourself. Get a good nights sleep, eat nutritious food and don't go overboard on stimulants like Coffee. They work against you in the long run if you overdo them. When you feel sluggish you look sluggish. Customers see everything and more than you think. Being healthy is large a part of good presentation.
Presentation: Your presentation personally and environmentally is critical. How many times have you been put off because someone serving you is sluggish in appearance and attitude? It's a turn off. Be sharp, efficient and friendly and the world will beat a path to your doorway. Make your doorway open friendly and attractive and they will want to venture inside. Make the inside warm comfortable and relaxed and all the above will synchronise into one successful and exciting ride.