Well, it's official! After years of wanting to, my parents finally opened up their very own bar and coffee shop! (The sign is still on its way, I'll be sure to post a pic of it when it gets here)
Hey u/aaave1244. Some tips from a seasoned vet to your parents.
Tips if you've never run a retail operation before.
The employees you don't think will steal from you are the ones that are stealing from you. The employees that you think are stealing from you might be stealing from you too. They also might be insanely loyal and dedicated service industry people. Cameras, accounting, and cameras. Friend discounts are a fast way to go out of business. if they are your friends, they'll pay full price. ADVERTISE. The only people that know about it are you, your parents, and immediate friends and family. If you don't get the word out you WILL fail. Set a budget. Know your run rate. If you don't see results, switch vendors. Don't underestimate social media, especially based on your target demo. If you don't know what that means, figure it out and pick a target. FB, Insta, Untappd, etc. Know your target audience, where they consume media and where to target them. Have backups for your backups in regards to staff. Food service staff can be the most loyal. They can also be the most unreliable. Your parents will probably start by killing themselves with hours to keep costs down. Eventually they'll realize a hire makes sense. If they're smart, they'll budget for a couple staff from the get go to cover hours. Coffee / Bar. Good combo. Open early, open late. Lots of opportunity to make money back to pay that lease, lots of hours to cover. See number 7 and check your sanity level to determine when that makes sense. Optimize staff based on busiest times after sales start trending. Follow trends by the day of week and hour of day. SPECIALIZE. Starbucks has mobile ordering and drive through. They have you beat on convenience. You had BETTER have a value prop that makes sense. Better coffee. Friendly. Rewards programs (easy, check out Square POS). There has got to be a reason , SOME REASON, to come to you instead of placing my mobile order and picking it up or hitting that drive through in the morning. Same on the bar side. There are lots of bars. What kind of bar are you? A whisky bar? Craft cocktail? Dive? When you figure that out, GET THE MESSAGE OUT. See numbers 5 and 6. Utilize relatively free labor with music and events. Other people are looking for places to do their thing. You have the place, they'll bring the people. Work out different nights. Open mic, certain bands, DJs, whatever you think will work. Sometimes you'll cut in the bar profits. Sometimes you'll give the door (if you allow a door charge). Sometimes you'll get one or both because people just need somewhere to do their thing and are happy to do it for free or for a bar tab. Good luck. Your parents have entered one of the most competitive markets possible. Not gonna sugar coat it. 50% of new businesses fail in the first year. Of those that survive, 50% of those will fail before the end of year 2. You've got a massive uphill battle in front of you. Figure out who you are FAST. Get the word out. Enlist others to advertise for you. Spend on ads.
Darranimo on January 3rd, 2020 at 01:42 UTC »
I noticed the Colorado beer signs so I googled it. That’s only a couple minutes from my work! I’ll be sure to swing by.
effyooautococonut on January 3rd, 2020 at 02:55 UTC »
Hey this is Centennial right? I work on Orchard and I25. Ill suggest it for our next after work happy to be off hour.
pcakes13 on January 3rd, 2020 at 06:21 UTC »
Hey u/aaave1244. Some tips from a seasoned vet to your parents.
Tips if you've never run a retail operation before.
The employees you don't think will steal from you are the ones that are stealing from you. The employees that you think are stealing from you might be stealing from you too. They also might be insanely loyal and dedicated service industry people. Cameras, accounting, and cameras. Friend discounts are a fast way to go out of business. if they are your friends, they'll pay full price. ADVERTISE. The only people that know about it are you, your parents, and immediate friends and family. If you don't get the word out you WILL fail. Set a budget. Know your run rate. If you don't see results, switch vendors. Don't underestimate social media, especially based on your target demo. If you don't know what that means, figure it out and pick a target. FB, Insta, Untappd, etc. Know your target audience, where they consume media and where to target them. Have backups for your backups in regards to staff. Food service staff can be the most loyal. They can also be the most unreliable. Your parents will probably start by killing themselves with hours to keep costs down. Eventually they'll realize a hire makes sense. If they're smart, they'll budget for a couple staff from the get go to cover hours. Coffee / Bar. Good combo. Open early, open late. Lots of opportunity to make money back to pay that lease, lots of hours to cover. See number 7 and check your sanity level to determine when that makes sense. Optimize staff based on busiest times after sales start trending. Follow trends by the day of week and hour of day. SPECIALIZE. Starbucks has mobile ordering and drive through. They have you beat on convenience. You had BETTER have a value prop that makes sense. Better coffee. Friendly. Rewards programs (easy, check out Square POS). There has got to be a reason , SOME REASON, to come to you instead of placing my mobile order and picking it up or hitting that drive through in the morning. Same on the bar side. There are lots of bars. What kind of bar are you? A whisky bar? Craft cocktail? Dive? When you figure that out, GET THE MESSAGE OUT. See numbers 5 and 6. Utilize relatively free labor with music and events. Other people are looking for places to do their thing. You have the place, they'll bring the people. Work out different nights. Open mic, certain bands, DJs, whatever you think will work. Sometimes you'll cut in the bar profits. Sometimes you'll give the door (if you allow a door charge). Sometimes you'll get one or both because people just need somewhere to do their thing and are happy to do it for free or for a bar tab. Good luck. Your parents have entered one of the most competitive markets possible. Not gonna sugar coat it. 50% of new businesses fail in the first year. Of those that survive, 50% of those will fail before the end of year 2. You've got a massive uphill battle in front of you. Figure out who you are FAST. Get the word out. Enlist others to advertise for you. Spend on ads.