Consulting

OUR COFFEE BUSINESS CONSULTING SYSTEM

From independent coffee shops, all the way to large chains and product & service manufacturers, Barista Academy of Souther Africa consultancies have resulted in successful coffee shops & businesses across the nation.

Our coffee consulting program is designed to take the headache and confusion out of opening a coffee shop, refining an existing coffee shop, or developing and refining a product or service.

Why Coffee Consulting?

The Barista Academy of Southern Africa coffee consulting program and 3-day coffee business classes both have proven track records with small independent coffee shops all the way up to large chain coffee businesses. Our clients have received top accolades in their local markets including the titles of “best coffee shop,” “best coffee,” and “best latte.” Most importantly, they now have the tools and infrastructure necessary to run a successful coffee business! Maybe that’s why none of our consulting clients have ever gone out of business.

Coffee Consulting that Serves Clients

The Barista Academy of Southern Africa coffee consulting services are geared toward those who are looking to open a coffee shop. We have developed a coffee consulting system that leverages our team’s expertise in barista training, speciality coffee, coffee shop start-up costs, affordable coffee equipment sourcing, coffee bar design, smart coffee shop menu development, customer experience planning, coffee shop operations planning, barista development, on-site support, event promotions, publicity, and budget-minded marketing.

PHASE 1: ESTABLISH

COFFEE SHOP CONCEPT EVALUATION & DEVELOPMENT

This service will include our team personally working with you one-on-one to strategically evaluate or develop + refine your coffee business concept using our unique “Defining Your Business Concept” exercise. This process is designed to help you clearly define/refine your purpose/mission, company values, target audience, products and services, market and location needs, what makes your business different and special, the overall company concept, brand personality, and a company name that is in line with your concept/purpose/core values. This will get you well on your way toward completing most of the critical sections of your business plan as well as ensuring all key aspects of your company are on strategy, on message, and on mission/values. Barista Academy of Southern Africa will also provide feedback on areas of opportunity you may not have thought of for purpose of maximizing profitability and business efficiency.

COFFEE SHOP FINANCIAL PLAN

An important factor to a coffee business’s success is making sure it is in a location that serves it best. Don’t trust a gut feeling when it comes to selecting the right location for your business! This is how many coffee shops go out of business. When considering a location for a coffee shop business, there are specific data points we evaluate to project the business’s financial viability, total start-up investment (and budget), operating budget, rent, gross sales, net profit, return on investment timeline, 5-year growth, and more. When we are finished you will have your coffee shop financial plan spreadsheet in hand so you can make more informed decisions and you can complete the financial section of your coffee shop business plan more easily and professionally. (Note: A printed sample of this coffee shop financial plan spreadsheet and many other resources of this calibre are included with detailed instruction in our 3-Day Coffee Business Class)

COFFEE PROGRAM MENU DEVELOPMENT

Once the concept has been nailed down and the location has been selected we will begin collaborating with you to develop a menu. With your target audience in mind, we’ll help you craft a menu that promotes profitability through simplicity, quality, and efficiency.

COFFEE BAR DESIGN AND WORKFLOW

Now we’ve got a concept, a location, and a menu nailed down. At this point, we draft a coffee shop bar design and recommended equipment list based on the concept, menu, customer experience and workflow. We use our specialized expertise to maximize the customer experience while maintaining a streamlined ergonomic workflow, and labour efficiency. While many architects boast experience designing coffee houses and cafes, the vast majority have never worked in a coffee shop to know how many steps it takes to do a barista’s job, or where to place equipment to maximize on labour efficiency and minimize collisions and wasted transaction time.

COFFEE ROASTER RECOMMENDATION

Our consulting team will make a thoughtful recommendation regarding which speciality coffee roaster to do business with, as well as what coffees, in particular, are the best fit for the target audience and concept.

PHASE 2: PREPARE

STAFF TRAINING

Coffee business is only as good as its team, and Barista Academy of Southern Africa exists to consult, train, and develop your staff to the absolute highest standards. Eliminate the anxiety in trying to train your own staff prior to opening. Utilize our team of training professionals to get your coffee shop’s team up to speed and firing on all cylinders. We get your team focused and functioning as a cohesive unit focused on service, quality, efficiency, and up-sales.

SOFT LAUNCH AND OPENING

Our consulting team will help organize and host a soft launch event for your coffee shop business for purpose of building buzz, leak testing your process, and giving the staff an opportunity to practice in a fast-paced yet controlled environment. Afterwards, we stick with you to help fine-tune, reinforce training, and to tie up loose ends prior to opening. We’ll even assist you through the opening day to be sure things go off without a hitch.

EMPLOYEE OPERATIONS MANUAL

This is a valuable tool to help ensure from day one that your employees are all on the exact same page, they know what is expected of them, and they know how the coffee shop operates on a day-to-day basis. We will develop a customized operations manual that outlines your program philosophy, culture, expectations, customer service standards, daily responsibilities, efficiency procedures, and menu execution.

PHASE 3: REFINE

ONGOING CONSULTING AND SUPPORT

The only way to ensure the long-term success of your coffee business is to continually fine-tune your process, and your people. Once your doors are open, we provide an ongoing support system with checkups, milestones, and ongoing barista training to aid you in this critical aspect of owning and operating your speciality coffee business.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Our consulting team is genuinely invested in your success as a whole. There’s a reason you started this journey in the first place. As you walk this path there will be days when anyone would question their sanity. We’re here for you. We will constantly be assessing not only your business but ways we can help you be your best. We will provide you thoughtful and truthful guidance with support and encouragement along your journey. We keep it human. We don’t think of ourselves as coffee business consultants. We’re mentors who truly want to help you grow as an entrepreneur.

MARKETING CONSULTING

We take a hands-on approach to help you learn how to effectively promote and market your coffee shop. We’ll help you become proficient at utilizing social media, free publicity, events, online resources, and other marketing avenues to generate maximum buzz around your brand.

COFFEE CULTURE BUILDING

A cemented coffee culture doesn’t happen overnight. We will work with you over the duration of our partnership to continue building your brand and establishing your business as a coffee culture leader in your region.