Last week I spoke to several café owners about where they are currently at and what they need to do to prepare for their sale.
Three of the people that I spoke with were doing it really tough, working long hours and not seeing much return, they were all pretty close to walking away from the business.
The thing that really bothered me about these conversations was that each of these three people felt like it was just them and they felt alone.
If this is you, if you feel like this then I want you to know that it is not just you, there are probably several hundred people in this group that feel the same.
If you are struggling then reach out to the group for help, this community has some highly experienced operators as well as many industry professionals who will all be willing to offer advice and suggestions about your situation.
This is a hard industry, it always has been and always will be, don’t be afraid to ask for help. One of the many things I love about the hospitality trade it is how it brings people together more than any other industry I know of.
If you are struggling at the moment then here are three things that you should be on top of.
Check your Gross Profit
- • What is your Food Cost Percentage?
- • When did you last negotiate process with your suppliers?
- • Are you tracking wastage and loss?
- • What is your overall COGS %
- • When did you last cost out your menu?
Check Your Wages vs Sales
- • What is your current wage percentage?
- • What are you labour costs per hour?
- • What are your sales per hour?
- • Can you trim your operating hours?
Marketing
- • Are you proactively marketing the business?
- • Are you active on your social media accounts?
- • Are you training your staff how to sell?
- • Are you out marketing your competition?
The list above is pretty basic but it’s crucial that you are on top of these numbers, metrics and actions. With margins as tight as they are now even a small rise of COGS and wages can wipe out most of your profit.
Focus on YOUR numbers and don’t worry too much about industry averages or what others are doing, work on improving your results every month, a combination of small improvements can make a big difference.
Good luck and remember to reach out to the group if you need help.
