What are the Top Business Secrets for Owning a Successful Coffee Shop?

You need a business plan.

Before you even begin to think about opening the shop, you need to create a business plan. This will work as a roadmap for the direction your business can go in. Speak to any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that any business is fraught with distractions; minimizing these increases your chance of success.

Location, location, location.

Coffee shops are places people go to get their caffeine fix. They also often turn into date-spots and hangouts for younger people. If your shop is in an out of the way location, you’ll receive a much smaller amount of business than you might otherwise. Take the time to find a great location before opening your shop. You’ll benefit from being in a prime location.

Market early.

People should be hyped up and excited to visit your coffee shop long before the doors open. Begin networking and building a social media following at least two or three months before the grand opening of the store. Offer discounts on opening day if people share a Tweet or a Facebook status. This will entice people to spread the word to their own networks, helping you reach a much higher number of people than you could on your own.

Set up a great floorplan.

Coffee shops have to have great floorplans. Making it easy for customers to move from the counter back to their tables and chairs is essential for keeping people in the shop longer — and the longer someone hangs out in-store, the more likely they are to make repeated purchases. Coffee shops generate most of their revenue from customers working within the store.

Establish wifi.

Coffee shops have long been known as places where writers and creative types can go and hang out while they work. Wifi is essential for this. You need to set up a wifi connection in your shop to ensure customers hang around and take advantage of it. You can password protect it, giving the password only after someone purchases something from the shop.

These five tips barely scratch the surface, but they will help you generate early success in your coffee shop and build momentum towards long-term popularity.

Jonah Engler is a financial expert from NYC.