It can be a lot of fun — and something of an adventure — to run your own coffee shop. However, it would be wrong to think that it’s a positive experience from beginning to end. As with all businesses, there are challenges that must be overcome. Coffee shops have always had difficulty maintaining cash flow and bringing in profit, but with costs rising all the time, things are more difficult than ever. 

The good news is that no matter what position you’re in, there are always things you can do that’ll help to bring in more cash. In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of the most effective methods for doing just that.

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Hosting Events

You’ll probably have a pretty nice coffee shop. So why not look at extra ways to use the space? Using the cafe to host an event can be a terrific way to bring in more money in multiple ways. For one thing, it’ll simply bring more people to the shop, to whom you can sell your goodies. If they like what they see and taste, then they’ll surely come back at a later date. It’s an effective marketing strategy, basically. You can also make more by renting out the space directly for private events. Common events that are suitable for coffee shops include concerts, book launches, and art presentations. 

Get Serious About Food 

You may have gotten into the coffee business because you love coffee, but you can’t expect to make too much money just by selling coffee alone. It could be time to get serious about the food that you offer. It’s a good idea to put together a specialist menu of limited but quality items. You’ll get plenty of people getting lunch or baked goods with their coffee. And talking of baked goods: learn how to do it correctly. Quality always attracts crowds, and you will also be able to offer your products to other vendors. You’ll just need to load your baked items onto full size sheet pans and deliver them to other businesses directly. Ultimately, you’ll get a lot of people buying coffee, but if you can upsell some delicious food while you’re at it, then profits will begin to rise. 

Boost Capacity

There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a customer nursing an empty coffee cup while potential customers walk out of the door because there’s no sitting. You can combat this annoyance by first adding more seating — there is probably a creative way to do this in your space that you haven’t thought of yet. It’s also useful to put a gentle reminder to people that it’s impolite to occupy tables for too long. Some will ignore it, but many will take it onboard and vacate a place when they’re finished. 

Sell Accessories and Supplies
Finally, consider selling accessories and supplies at your business. You could sell coffee-making equipment and your coffee beans for home consumption. If you’re locally famous, then you could also consider selling branded t-shirts.