Not opening day, when friends and family come to support you. Not the beautiful Saturday when the neighborhood is packed.
An ordinary Tuesday—when the excitement has settled and the business needs to stand on its own.
Before you commit to a space, picture that day from opening to closing.
1. Who is coming in—and how will they know you exist?
Within your lane, how do you cast the widest net without losing what makes you distinctive?
You need a plan for the people right in your neighborhood. But don’t count on them walking through the door simply because you opened it.
Your marketing should start well before you pull your first shots or brew your first pot. Give people a reason to notice you, understand what you offer and look forward to visiting.
And recognize that these are different stages: getting ready to open, announcing you’re open, and giving people a reason to keep coming six months or a year later. Each needs its own approach.
For your ordinary Tuesday, ask yourself: who are you expecting, what brings them in, and what have you done to reach them?
2. What does a normal customer spend—and what makes the visit special?
Think about your pairings as carefully as your monthly latte specials.
People often want something with their coffee. When that something is distinctive and thoughtfully chosen, it can make the whole visit more memorable—and give them another reason to return.
Don’t treat the food as an afterthought. An add-on can contribute as much profit as the drink—or more—but you need to know its costs.
That customer already chose you and walked through your door. You aren’t starting from a cold introduction. A relevant suggestion is an opportunity to make their visit better while making the transaction more valuable.
What would genuinely complement their order? What pairing would make them think, “I’m coming back for that”?
Then bring it back to the numbers: what does a realistic customer purchase look like, and how many of those purchases does your ordinary day need?
3. What does it take to operate that day?
You should know your break-even point, your cost of goods sold and how many hours the business requires from you—even when nobody calls off.
Break-even and cost of goods should be familiar enough that you can explain them without hunting through a spreadsheet.
For a very small café with unproven traffic, could you start solo—or with a second owner—and close one or two days a week? How does that compare with hiring staff to stay open seven days?
Know your break-even under both scenarios. More days open can mean more sales without more profit once you account for staffing and the cost of operating those extra days. You may be adding complexity and losing rest without improving what the business earns.
Starting with fewer people might mean a tighter menu, simpler service or more focused hours. It also requires a plan for breaks, illness and the point at which another person becomes necessary.
And those days off have value. Your rest, health and ability to keep making good decisions are part of what sustains the business. We’ll come back to that in a later post.
Starting lean is one thing. Building a business that only works because your time is permanently free is another.
Know what the day costs, including the work you contribute, and what level of demand would justify adding staff or another day.
The question isn’t how many days you can keep the doors open. It’s which schedule supports a viable business and a life you can sustain.
Build the ordinary day first.
I’m in my sixth year operating a café. These aren’t abstract questions to me.
You don’t need perfect predictions before you open. You do need to make your assumptions concrete enough to question.
Who comes in? What do they buy? What does it cost to serve them well—and what does that day demand from you?
Before your next property tour, write that day down. The answers may change the space, menu, hours or staffing plan you thought you needed.
Thinking about opening a café—or making your current one work better? Visit JesseArmenta.com and tell me where you’re getting stuck. Let’s identify a practical first step.