My parents decided they wanted to start a cafe business in a small town in Texas. The whole process has been a nightmare. Everything from improper planning to day-to-day operations. I was not supposed to be a part of this business at all since I already had my own career. I figured I’d help them come up with the menu, branding, and drink recipes because I have barista experience from my college days. Once the business was about to launch, they ended up selling our home, forcing me to move to Texas. I could not afford Boston rent so I had no choice but to quit my job and go with them.
We’ve been open for 6 months now and business is not doing well. We barely make enough to cover rent and utilities. My dad is also spending more money by investing in equipment to expand our menu. He invested about $150,000 so far and we profit about $200 at the end of each month. I understand this is how most small businesses are for the first few years. It’s starting to take a toll on me because I do all the bookkeeping, planning, drink-making, customer service, etc. I work about 80 hours a week with no pay and had to sell my car just to have some funds to cover my student loans.
They are also clueless when it comes to using the POS or making drinks. I can’t even use the bathroom without them yelling my name when a customer walks in. My old man doesn’t even know what’s on the menu.
I don’t even know what to do anymore. I’ve been telling my parents I want to go back to work in my career field. I’m not sure if we should hire a business consultant or just ride it out until the wheels fall off.
I would salvage it, automate it to the highest extent, and get away from that store.
Figure out how to turn this around. Set them up as absentee owners. You can’t rely on them actually operating the cafe and in fact they are forcing you to operate it. Something is selling. What’s most profitable? What is essential? Drop the rest. You can always expand a successful menu.
One of my business partners asked me to help him run a business. It is a kind of a medical office and he’s a good doctor in that niche. It’s not my core area of expertise since I am not a doctor, but the business relies on a lot of technology and that is my area of expertise. It got to the point where I wrote him a training document because some of the concepts are just too challenging to grasp.
So, that’s what I will do for him. Fly over, spend a week actively hands-on mentoring how their high tech equipment operates, and write extremely detailed materials you answer their questions. That’s basically what you must do to overcome their apprehensions of the POS.
You know what works for a cafe? Bagels. :)