New cafes are opening in Singapore at a faster rate than you can say “let’s go cafe-hopping”. Many people dream of opening their own cafe one day. But in Singapore’s competitive food & beverage industry, is it really that easy to start a cafe?
We had a chat with Miss Daphne Goh – owner of Assembly Coffee, one of our favourite coffee shops in Singapore – to find out more about the challenges of running a cafe. Before you jump on the bandwagon, here are 10 things you should know before opening a cafe:
Read: From rental, to interior design, labour cost, and kitchen equipment, here is a rough guide on how much it costs to open a cafe in Singapore.
#1 THE OWNER HAS TO BE HANDS ON
Clearing tables. Checked. Washing dirty plates and cups. Checked. Serving tables. Checked. Dealing with difficult customers. Checked. Getting your hands full in the kitchen. Checked. Working a full 12-hour shift and on weekends. Checked.
Unless you are hiring someone to run the operations, you have to be responsible for everything in the cafe. Not only do you have to set an example for your staff, you have to present to make sure that everything is running smoothly and to troubleshoot immediately.
#2 A MOUNTAIN OF PAPERWORK AND ADMIN STUFF
From settling the payroll, to rostering the work schedule for your staff, to filing the accounts for the cafe, there are a lot of paperwork that you have to do. These are the boring back-end stuff that you do not see.
#3 YOU HAVE TO DO ENOUGH RESEARCH ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SELL
These days, consumers are very discerning and savvy; they know exactly what they want. In short, you can’t expect to serve mediocre food and drinks and get away with it.
Recipes don’t just appear out of nowhere. They are only possible with many trials in the kitchen. One of the common misconceptions about opening a cafe is that most people think it is more important to focus only on the design and interior.
#4 DEALING WITH SUPPLIERS WILL BE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE
Your supplies don’t just appear magically. Dealing with suppliers is a skill on its own. Sometimes, suppliers will leave you hanging by not showing up, and that is when you have to think on your feet and figure out how to react.
You risk incurring the wrath of your customers when you do not have enough ingredients, you risk bearing the increased food cost due to the shortage of ingredients, and all these will eat into your (already very thin) profit margin.
#5 YOU HAVE TO BE AT THE CAFE EVERY DAY
Running a cafe is not easy. Period. You have to be at the cafe every day and you will be working so hard that you would question yourself about the heavy commitment and if it would be all worth it.
#6 YOU WON’T HAVE MUCH FREE TIME FOR YOURSELF. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SELF DEVELOPMENT
Because you are working at the cafe practically every day, you don’t have much free time for yourself or your loved ones. That means no afternoon tea dates with your friends, no vacations, no free time for anything. When you have a rare day off, chances are you will be repaying your sleep debts. Or preparing for the next day of operations.
#7 IT IS DIFFICULT – OR ALMOST MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – TO HIRE GOOD STAFF
Being a chef or a server is not exactly glamourous. Neither does it pay well. Very few people want to work in the food & beverage industry and one of the main challenges of opening a cafe is always finding good staff.
Naturally, people come and go, and it is difficult to find – much less, retain – good staff. Most part-timers are not committed, so you can suddenly find yourself in a situation whereby they disappear at the eleventh hour and not turn up at all.
When you can’t find enough staff, you have to end up doing even more things on your own. And your customers won’t care if you are short-handed. They are only concerned if they can get their food promptly.
#8 MOTIVATING YOUR STAFF – EASIER SAID THAN DONE
Equally challenging is the task of motivating your staff. So you think you are the boss and the staff have to listen to everything you say, right? Not exactly. When your staff are unhappy or feeling demoralised, it is your job to motivate them and make them continue to fight along with you. Maintaining staff morale is easier said than done.
Read: 5 Things you never knew about working at a cafe.
#9 DEALING WITH DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS IS PART AND PARCEL OF LIFE IN A CAFE
As with other businesses, dealing with difficult customers is inevitable. The customers may not always be right, but they sure as hell will make things difficult for you.
#10 YOU WILL BE CONSTANTLY WORRYING ABOUT MANY THINGS
Every moment, the owner of the cafe is worrying about something. Be it operations, staff rostering, dealing with suppliers, updating the various social media platforms, testing new recipes in the kitchen, maintaing staff morale, interviewing new staff, paying the bills – there are things that you have to constantly think about and your mind never really gets to rest.
If you are planning to open a cafe, read our guide on How much it costs to open a cafe in Singapore..
Which is why, start a cafe only if you’re really passionate about GOOD (emphasis!) coffee and not just because you want to hop on the bandwagon and hope to make some quick cash. That’s not going to work. Even better, start it as a hobby. Hobbies are for you to spend money anyway (think art collection, golfing, cycling, stamp collecting, any hobby). That way, you won’t be worried about profits and you can focus on what’s important – the coffee and making the place the way YOU like it to be. Losing money is the normality and earning some is a bonus.
Having inadequate funds means you’re not ready for the hobby. And having “inadequate time” just means you’re not passionate enough. After all, I’m sure many people willingly sacrifice sleep to do what they like, eg. playing computer games and what not.
Thanks for sharing…..
Amen to this. This article is written 100% spot on I feel like it was my soul who actually wrote it. I can add up my personal experience to every single point mentioned above. Opened a restaurant with my sister for almost 4 months now (We’re not from Singapore) and I know one thing for sure, it’s a lot of work and dedication. If you’re not ready to handle what seem to be the least important thing (and things you might have never done before) might as well not jump into the bandwagon.
I think same goes with any other business. (:
Feels like everyone and their mom is opening a cafe these days though. Came across this website that showed a map of all the cafes in Singapore by location, with something like upwards of 200 cafes??? I wonder how long any of these will last.
Re: #7 IT IS DIFFICULT – OR ALMOST MISSION POSSIBLE – TO HIRE GOOD STAFF, you mean it’s mission impossible?
Good staff are hard to hire, I would agree on that.
In my mind, #1 has always been the most important! With this, your staff will definitely be motivated to work for you, and you will not be at the mercy of your staff (the bad ones)
Very negative perspective IMHO. All jobs or businesses have pros and cons. You’re only speaking of the cons which again seem too juvenile to me. These kind of problems would bog you down if you’re a quitter or a pessimist, an optimist would be too busy enjoying his work to get worried about these ‘facts’.
I agree with Vivek. I only saw the cons, and I didn’t see any positive writings in this article. Yes, this article is “things to know before opening a cafe” but every tip was negative. Although it is helpful to know this information before starting a cafe’, it is nice to see articles that have BOTH pros and cons.
Some points are very useful. Thank you for sharing these stuffs. seen someone telling about posting Con’s.. actually Con’s are the best to read before opening a cafe.. we need to find what are the possible cons before we startup.. we need to get ready to block that.. Thank you
I have never thought of how hard owning and managing a restaurant or cafe is. It’s true that dealing with difficult customers will be inevitable might as well happen regularly. I’m thankful for all those who work hard to keep a smile within those cafes, great job. I’ll be happy enough to be a customer and enjoy their meals. Thanks for the new perspective!
Thanks for your sharing