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I’m sure plenty of us harbour dreams of a different role in life. I imagine that when many of us were children we had dreams of being Doctors or Teachers or dreams of running multi-million pound businesses. Of course, not everyone manages to make their dreams come true; often because of circumstances beyond their control or just plain old wrong timing for various things.
However, if you have new dreams of starting your own business then do it! You should never wait for life to happen for you – effect the changes you want. Here are three easy steps to making those dreams become a reality. My childhood dream was to have my own cafe (serving ice-cream of course!).
Step 1 – Location, Location, Location
If you’re setting up a brick and mortar business then getting the location right is key. Make sure you take time to search for the right location. For me, I would want something close by to minimise travel time and also ensure I’m close to hand if needed. It would make sense therefore for me to search for units near me. You might prefer something in a different location that is more suited to your product or the clientele you wish to attract.
Make sure you focus on what your business is. My dream was to have a little cafe so it would make sense for me to situate in an area with passing footfall. I’d have to find somewhere that wasn’t too expensive and had shops nearby that would also attract passing custom. I wouldn’t want to travel to the city, so a village cafe would suit me. I’d also want to be in decent reach of potential suppliers too.
Step 2 – Do your market research
Make sure the market needs what you’re offering. Who are your competitors and what can you offer that they don’t? How can you stand out from the crowd? Organisations such as ACCE International qualitative consumer research can help with product development and this can be invaluable in getting your product right at the outset, and save many wasted months and wasted expense.
Step 3 – Define and Decide your Product
If you’re opening a cafe (like my childhood dream) then don’t try to be all things to all people. Decide on what your core offer is going to be and make sure you do it well. Want to serve artisan coffee then make sure you buy the best coffee. Want to be the go-to place for lunch? Make sure you have a menu that is fresh and exciting and in line with what the local population wants (hence why step 2 – market research is so important!).
Want to specialise in an evening cafe bar-style menu then make sure you have a good menu that meets expectations and can be managed from the kitchen side too. Why not offer the best white wine gift sets to regular parties that book with you; as a way of valuing your customers and offering them something back.
Once the three stages are worked through you should be ready to launch your business. It’s something I tell my children about when they play cafes – we think about what it might look like in real life and how much work goes into those childhood dreams.
