Many people dive into the coffee shop business with nothing but passion, only to end up closing down in confusion. Through real cases, this article analyzes several common "death traps" for coffee shops: the pursuit of perfectionism in decor and equipment leading to "death by quality first," the mindset of not making money early on leading to "death by collapsed confidence," and the cost pressures from skyrocketing rent causing "death by rent squeeze." The article further explores how to improve the success rate of opening a shop—from systematically learning about coffee, gaining industry experience, to developing solid operational skills, and calculating every expense. It also includes relevant recommendations for the "Front Street" brand, for coffee enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to reference.
With a rare moment of free time, I calm down to write something, hoping to offer some inspiration.
These days, many people rush into opening a coffee shop without knowing anything about coffee, acting purely on personal preferences, resulting in a wave of shops opening grandly and then quietly closing down. Such owners often act on impulse, blunder into becoming coffee shop owners, run the business in a daze for a while, and finally close up in confusion.
The most memorable case was a young man from Guizhou who came to study. Before arriving at Chongqing Barista Coffee Training School, he had already opened a coffee shop, but it lasted only three months from opening to closing, making me marvel, "How did that even happen?" After chatting, I learned that his goal in studying was to "get back up where you fell," planning to open another one after learning. In fact, many owners who have closed their shops initially entered blindly, as mentioned earlier.
Today, I'll chat with friends about the几种 ways coffee shops die, for your reference.
The first way to die: death by quality first.
Many people think that opening a coffee shop first requires the most exquisite decor and the best equipment. If a nearby shop spent 200,000 on decor, you have to spend 300,000 to make yours even more luxurious.
If a competitor uses a 10,000-yuan coffee machine, you have to buy a more expensive one to ensure your output completely surpasses theirs. Many see this as the only way to improve business.
From the first day of trial operation, they constantly tweak coffee drinks, rehearse repeatedly, invite all friends to taste and give feedback, and improve round after round. They are single-mindedly focused on achieving the ultimate coffee quality. Fooled by others, they sell you five different versions of the same coffee bean—different qualities, varieties, and prices—and you actually believe that higher price means better goods, spending hundreds of yuan for peace of mind. If you find out later, you'd regret it deeply.
Coffee itself is quite emotional and has a cultural and historical heritage, so among those wanting to open coffee shops, there are many emotional, even artistic owners. But please be clear-headed: you are opening a shop as a boss, and you need to invest money first. What's the point of investing? Of course, to make money. To make money from a coffee shop is truly difficult; many artistic types want to open coffee shops but don't understand business, and eventually the shop fails.
The second way to die: death by the notion of not making money early on.
Don't expect profit in the first year of a coffee shop; you have to nurture it. So they firmly believe that as long as enough time passes, they will make money. In the early days, besides tweaking the barista or chef, besides inviting friends for free food and drinks, at most they hand out flyers nearby, then sit and wait for customers to automatically flock in after a year.
As a result, facing increasingly sparse foot traffic, unable to withstand the endless expenses and trivial matters, employees jump ship one after another seeing no hope, and ultimately their mindset collapses.
Why is that newly opened Diao Ye Beef Brisket always queued up no matter when you go? And you have to wait two or three hours? And the owner is actually in cosmetics, opening a restaurant just on a whim. Don't listen to the experience of those who have never successfully opened a shop. To reach the peak, at least listen to what those who have been to the summit say. Anyone telling you that you need to nurture the shop early on must have no successful experience in opening a shop.
The third way to die: death by rent pressure.
There are many well-performing coffee shops where the owner managed well early on, but after a few years, the area suddenly becomes popular, rent skyrockets with housing prices. Originally, they managed well in the first year without much loss, and just as they started making a profit in the second year, the landlord shows up with a smile. Starbucks' first store in China also closed last year, right? Do you remember why? That store was always packed no matter when you went.
The only way to deal with rent increases is, in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, if you want to run a coffee shop long-term, the best solution is to buy the storefront, which greatly improves the success rate. If you don't have the funds, then you can only pray for a good landlord.
So, how can you open a coffee shop with a higher success rate? If you haven't eaten pork, you have to find a way to taste it yourself.
First, you need to understand coffee and enter the coffee industry. Since it's a coffee shop, no matter what you ultimately offer, you should at least know something about coffee. How can you quickly learn about coffee? Many are clueless and just gather some knowledge and information online.
Actually, the only secret is to have a thorough understanding of the industry, and to be able to make coffee and know coffee yourself, so at least you won't be cheated and won't waste money on professional aspects. So the final advice is to go to school to learn coffee, which has two benefits: first, you can immediately connect with coffee industry professionals who have been tempered in real combat, and through training gain a basic understanding of coffee making, coffee knowledge, and most importantly, coffee shop operations.
Second, after graduation, you can intern at a coffee shop. This point is especially important. By observing the foot traffic, average spending, and daily operations of the coffee shop, you can verify how much difference there is between what the teacher taught and reality.
At least, before you open your shop, you can understand how others run their coffee shops, what their business conditions are, and what their core competitiveness is.
There must be a fundamental understanding from imagination to reality. When talking, the future might seem infinitely wonderful, but when actually opened, it will be completely different from theory. Can you accept such a gap? If yes, OK, move to the next step.
Operational ability. This ability is your ultimate magic weapon for doing anything. Understanding this, you'll understand why Diao Ye Beef Brisket had queues right from opening, why McDonald's succeeds wherever it opens, and to hell with the saying that consistency in quality is the secret to success. Although it's important, what's the use of consistency if no one comes? As for someone saying consistency increases repeat customers, that's nonsense—that's about customer experience, okay?
Opening a shop is doing business, and doing business definitely means making money. Opening a shop not for profit is performance art, dying gracefully. Since it's about making money, never act on feelings or save face; you must learn to calculate—site selection, hiring, procurement, decoration, supplier selection, products and promotions, opening registration procedures, etc., all require calculation.
Except for the decor style which can be based on feeling and must feel good, all other aspects need analysis and calculation. It's best to do these things yourself, calculate well: if profitable, how much profit; if losing, can you afford the loss? Don't be tempted just because you think you can profit; only open a shop if you can afford the loss. This is very important. All these, in my personal opinion, fall under operational ability.
With more such lessons from the past, I believe your coffee shop will go smoothly.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
