Small businesses are a vital part of the American economy. In fact, 99.9% of all U.S. businesses are considered small businesses, according to Forbes. Small businesses also employ nearly half of American employees! If you’re a small business owner of any type of brick-and-mortar store—from salons to retailers to repair shops—it might be worth considering how a coffee shop can add revenue to your existing business. We call this type of business/coffee shop a hybrid model. No matter your business, it adds a stream of revenue that can increase the number of your transactions and the value of each transaction.
In this article, learn more about the potential perks of adding a coffee shop to your business, plus a few success stories to inspire you.
Benefits of Adding a Coffee Shop or Cafe to Your Business
If you’re thinking about investing in coffee equipment and slinging specialty coffee drinks at your business, you might be on the right track. (Although we don’t recommend it without the proper coffee education, of course.) Here are a few benefits of adding a coffee program to consider:
Added Revenue
Adding an additional revenue stream can increase your average transaction, thus lowering the number of transactions you require each day to operate profitably. A cup of coffee adds additional profit to the purchase of a haircut, car wash, donuts, or a stack of books. Another fun fact: did you know that caffeinated people spend more money?
Increased Foot Traffic
Think of adding a coffee shop, coffee kiosk, or coffee program to an existing retail or service-based business as a self-sustaining marketing platform. If branded independently and connected to another business, a coffee shop can increase foot traffic and sales for the original business while making money on its own. One drives sales to the other (both ways), and they both do better together. (This is a model deployed successfully by many of Texas Coffee School’s former students with extremely positive results!)
Business Diversification
Business diversification is key to success if you’re hoping to grow, scale, or withstand challenging times. Adding an additional line of revenue makes your business more resilient and adaptable. As an existing business, you may find efficiencies as well–like a shared resource or similar employee skillsets. Take a close look at how your existing location and resources might be a fit for a coffee shop, or how much of an investment it would take to add a coffee program.
Diverse Customer Base
In a similar vein, adding another line of business can draw new customers that might not have been introduced to your business otherwise. Think about how large chain retailers are now accepting Amazon returns. This brings people into the stores that might not have originally planned on coming in and it provides them multiple opportunities to make purchases before they leave. In the case of an antique store, for instance, if a coffee shop was added inside it could bring people in off the street that might end up walking around and making a few purchases.
Improve Seasonal Downtime
Some types of businesses like ice cream shops and sno cone stands are seasonal. If you run a seasonal business, you might have a lot more demand during certain months than others. Adding a coffee shop can bring in traffic even during those slow seasons. This also applies to the time of day. For instance, if most of your regular customers come in after work, a coffee service could bring in more people earlier in the day.
Elevated Atmosphere
Who doesn’t love the ambiance of a coffee shop? The coffee smell, the sound of a grinder, and the hustle and bustle is a familiar environment for many people. Introducing that environment into your existing business could make the space feel cozier and more inviting than it already does.
Hybrid Model Success Stories That Started at Texas Coffee School
This Spa and Barbershop Duo Serves Coffee to Customers
Galindo’s in Conroe, TX, is just the spot to get a haircut, facial, coffee, and now even an elevated cocktail. Texas Coffee School former students Zak and Sophie Galindo began their empire with a barber shop that quickly outgrew their first location. The new, bigger location had space to start offering aesthetic services—as well as a coffee shop. After attending Texas Coffee School, they started selling coffee and earning more profit than they even expected. Galindo’s now welcomes coffee drinkers who might not have come through their doors otherwise, and barber and spa clients get to enjoy a specialty drink.
A Motorcycle Dealership Increases Traffic and Revenue with Added Coffee Shop
Pop’s Coffee Company in Roswell, GA, began as a motorcycle repair and fabrication shop. When the space next door opened up, former student Colin McDonald and his business partner Gordon Erickson seized the opportunity to turn it into a coffee shop. Ever since, motorcycle and coffee fanatics alike have flocked to Pop’s. Plus, adding a popular food menu doubled the average transaction.
New Parents Find Support, Community, Co-Working, and Coffee
Coffee shops are often known to create a sense of community among neighbors and remote workers, but what about parents and their kids? The Den, opened by former student Chandler Lipe in Denver, CO, is meeting a need for families to have a family-friendly place to gather. Baby gates, play areas, and crafts make it a safe and fun place for kids. And sleep deprived parents get to enjoy a delicious beverage!
More Businesses That Can Add Cafes or Mobile Coffee Carts
Many service and retail businesses lend themselves to the addition of a coffee shop or on-the-go coffee option. Do you have customers waiting as their service is completed? Shoppers browsing? Parents waiting for their kids to finish an activity? Colleagues meeting? Adding a coffee shop menu that complements your existing offerings (added protein or other boosters at a gym, for example) is a great way to add value to your customers and revenue to your bottom line.
Here are a few more ideas:
- Nurseries and greenhouses
- Thrift stores
- Tattoo shops
- Salons
- Fitness studios and gyms
- Medical spas
- Retailers
- Car washes
- Board gaming stores
- Surf shops
- Bicycle shops
- Watch stores
- Tackle and fly fishing shops
- Outdoors stores
- Bars
- Boutiques and clothing stores
- Libraries
- Arcades and kid entertainment spaces
Learn How to Add Revenue to Your Business at Texas Coffee School
What do the business owners mentioned above have in common? They all attended our 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class to learn the ins and outs of adding a profitable coffee program to an existing business concept. Having a successful (profitable) coffee program takes more than making great coffee. Sure, great coffee is critical and is a huge part of what is covered at Texas Coffee School, but, most coffee shops that go out of business don’t go under because of their coffee. They go under from not understanding the business of coffee. That’s where Texas Coffee School comes in. We teach a full 360 degree approach to opening and operating a profitable coffee shop business or adding a coffee program to an existing business. In fact, many of the lessons we teach in our program can positively impact your existing business’s operations and profitability! Come learn from the coffee school with the most proven track record in the entire industry!
View upcoming class dates and register for your spot today!
