What questions should I ask a business advisor?

salj1980

I am in the process of trying to start up a cafe and have a preliminary meeting with a startups advisor from the local Enterprise Agency next week. He's asked me to take my business plan and everything I have put together so far, which is a fair amount as I've been working on it since March and have done quite a bit of market research as well.

I'm ready to answer all the questions he can possibly ask me (well I hope I am) but I feel I should also be armed with a list of questions for him...only it's late, my brain isn't working, and I can't think of any! :embarasse

Any suggestions please?!

Thanks!

Sal.

jexygirl

He is going to ask you about money - and your ability to make it / pay it back.
He wont care what colour you paint it.
Know the cost of EVERYTHING and the subsequent GP down to cost per portion of the menu and drinks you have planned, so you can then say how many coffees /teas / scones/ jacket potatoes whatever, you need to sell, to pay the outgoings on a daily / monthly / weekly basis - assuming you have premisies in mind ready to trade. If not, then know the average lease prices and terms, the cost of refurb, stocking it, price of equipment and terms etc.
Know where are the best and most cost effective places to buy what items, everything from furniture to napkins, degreaser to cucumber for salad. Be able to give prices on advertising including local paper and leafleting, blackboards /A boards etc, quotes you have for signage, literally know it inside out, to the penny
Not for the business advisor... but for you, so that it works.
If you don't know something, then you should, even tho there is only so much pre planning you can do, and learn 10 times more on the job, there is more than you think.
Devils advocate.... can you tell me how much your loo rolls will cost each? ( you need a toilet if its more than X amount of covers sit in - cant remember the number!)
The legislation regarding loos / baby changing facility?
The cost effectiveness of using an electric grill or griddle as opposed to a gas version or buying outright? (you will pay less for electric equipment than gas, but pay more in efficiency / use costs)
How much rental on an all singing all dancing coffee machine, if leased as opposed to leased to buy or buy outright- repair costs on options and which is therefore a better option dependant also on time to cup so that at busy times you make it as quick as possible, as well as ease of cleaning so you minimise your / staff time, taking it apart to flush and clean with expensive detergents?
What is the best price on take out cups and not just price but the best to use with lids? Cost of take out containers, time to make them up?
This is just off the top of my head that he might or could ask, if he doesnt, you should know them regardless!
They will also want to see some form of investment from you.
Questions for him.. if he isnt going to lend you money, and is simply an advisor, then you dont need to ask him what he can offer you as a buisness lender that others cant, he is just there for your benefit to help with start up advice.

salj1980

Hi Jexy, thanks for your reply.

I have spreadsheets as long as my arm for everything I will need and the various prices from different suppliers, for everything from menu items to catering equipment to cleaning equipment and sundries (including loo roll! ).

The premises I am looking at already have toilets and baby changing facilities, which are very important to me and I would be providing them regardless of legislation as the cafe will be aimed at families, with a good play area, nice appealing fresh food (eg not the usual 'everything-with-chips' childrens menu) and a variety of family-oriented services including a toy library, parent and toddler groups, breastfeeding support (in conjunction with the local Health Visitor, who has already asked me if she can move her non-clinical support services there as a permanent venue), children's activity sessions, etc. I live in a fantastic tourist town in Wales (with a large family population) which already has quite a lot of cafes, but NONE of them are suitable for families - you can't get buggies inside, the food is unhealthy and/or expensive, etc and the only one which has a 'play area' has a handful of coin-operated rides which are at least 20 years old, and all the electric cables for them running across the floor in a big tangle! :eek:

The advisor I am meeting with is from the local council's Enterprise Agency and partly funded by the Welsh Assembly - it's a free service and they do not offer funding themselves but will look at my business plan and my research and advise on what funding I may be able to find elsewhere, and how to develop the business, etc...

I agree that I don't need to worry about asking him about his experience (etc) and what he can offer me (actually he helped friends of mine a couple of years ago when they started up a very successful backpacker's hostel, and they can't recommend him enough), but just wondered if there was anything else that I should be asking?

(I'm a bit short on sleep at the moment having been up every night this week with a toddler full of coughs and sneezes, hence thought I'd ask for other people's ideas!)

paulwf

OP...what you need to do (only my opinion though) is travel to other towns and try and find cafes that match your concept and see how they are getting on. At the moment you have a concept and you need to prove that it will actually work in the marketplace.

A lot of the coffee chains are bland and middle of the road...this is on purpose as no one is alientated. Very family friendly cafes and restaurants can put off more people than they attract so be careful. It might be that there aren't any family friendly cafes in the area for a good reason.

You have to be brutally honest with yourself. This is hard to do but ask yourself honestly. Do you want a child orientated cafe because you like the idea or do you think it is the most profitable concept you can think of?

There are other questions to ask such as is the GP on healthy food as high as on junk food, do families actually want healthy food all the time, are families actually going to generate a high average spend per customer and how long will they tie up a table for?

You will need to do lots of research into opening hours, for example will you get an after school rush or will it absolutely die when parents go to pick up the kids from school? Will weekends be busy or will they be dead?

To be clear I am not making any judgement on whether or not the idea will work, just that you have a fairly niche concept so need to find some examples of others doing it.

Savvy_Sue

^^ what he said ...

I tend to avoid cafes full of buggies, now being equipped with grunting teenagers and the like who tend to fall over things. Even one buggy will put me off if there's any sign of screaming. Maybe when the grandchildren come along I'll have slightly fonder feelings towards small noisy children. These days I like my coffee to be in civilised company.

Mind you if you already have a number of activities and sessions lined up, I can see this working as long as you have a good model for being paid for this: either that parents DO spend on coffee etc, or that there's actually a per family admission charge coming to you.

salj1980

Hi Paul and Sue, thanks for your replies!

Paul...I have identified via the internet that there are a fair few similar ventures which *seem* to be quite successful (I appreciate that this is no guarantee though!), unfortunately none of them are anywhere that I can get to easily. My idea is based on a German concept which is popular over there and whilst I realise that European cafe culture is different to ours I don't see why it shouldn't catch on here.

Sue...whilst it's not strictly an indoor play centre with age restrictions I will be aiming the upper age 'limit' at around 8 or 9 years old...the 'draw' will be the play facilities and craft/activity sessions and so I wouldn't imagine that families with teenagers would be that interested anyway.

You've also hit on a point that I have been debating on...whether to charge for entry or not. With the play area, etc, it stands to reason that customers will be spending longer and therefore taking up tables for longer, which means that the number of customers I can have at any one time will be reduced. So my thoughts are either to charge a small admission fee, or to state a minimum spend on food/drinks with 'free' playing included...I just can't decide which would be the best option. The activity sessions would be charged either on a pre-booked basis (with a discount for block bookings) or on a slightly higher turn up and pay-on-the-day basis.

I know I've still got a lot to consider/plan for...hopefully this meeting with the advisor will help!

Thanks!

paddyrg

I would have a minimum catering spend to get the free play - you are in the catering business, not the play facilities business, so you don't want to run 2 sets of books, and deal with grumblers sayiing it was better 2 weeks ago - free is good, even if it is free with conditions.

Now, the problem, nannies and young mums who want to have adult conversation and dump the kids for a bit - even a £6.50 lunch with a £1.50 tea is only £8 to tie up at least 1 table (modern buggies are flippin HUGE) plus play area for £8 which includes the cost of the food, overheads, etc. 4 of them together, 3- tables, 8+ people altogether, for a miserable £32 for 2 hrs. I don't see much profit in that compared with Starbucks making ober £2 on every single coffee.

salj1980

Thanks for your reply Paddyrg! Fortunately the premises i am looking at is large enough that I can have a separate 'buggy park' area, as you are right - many modern buggies are stupidly big!

Hmmm...if I do go down the minimum spend with free play route maybe I could put a time limit on it (would an hour sound reasonable?) with the option to pay extra to extend the time if they want...

Savvy_Sue

salj1980 wrote: »

Hmmm...if I do go down the minimum spend with free play route maybe I could put a time limit on it (would an hour sound reasonable?) with the option to pay extra to extend the time if they want...

DEFINITELY put a time limit on it, although how you 'police' that I'm not quite sure ... And yes, an hour sounds reasonable to me, although you might find 90 minutes is more attractive, by the time you've fed the crabby, changed any nappies, and then set them loose in the ball park ...

paddyrg

If you have a time limit and make sure the terms of use of the play area are clear on the menu and walls (say 60 minutes free per £10 spent on catering, say), you have the choice whether to enforce it or not. I you don't have it, it's much harder to enforce retrospectively!

paulwf

salj1980 wrote: »

Paul...I have identified via the internet that there are a fair few similar ventures which *seem* to be quite successful (I appreciate that this is no guarantee though!), unfortunately none of them are anywhere that I can get to easily. My idea is based on a German concept which is popular over there and whilst I realise that European cafe culture is different to ours I don't see why it shouldn't catch on here.

You need to visit these places even if it means arranging your holiday destination around them Alternatively pick up the phone or drop them an email, some will tell you to get lost but it is generally a very friendly industry.

My experience of living in Sweden is that the cafe culture there bears absolutely no relation to that over here, I'm not sure about Germany but I don't think food and family concepts always translate that well between countries.

If you have loads of room for buggies and a play area that means your rent is going to skyrocket OR you will be stuck in some dead end location. Now, to be fair you do have something to attract people if you are a bit out of the way but the real goldmines tend to be small premises in prime locations that do lots of takeaway and turn over tables quickly.

Sadly you *will* get parents who will dump their kids on you and not supervise them, and you *will* get parents expecting to use all the play kit whilst nursing one can of coke. Be careful you don't end up needing extra staff to supervise play. Again, the real goldmines tend to be places that be run by a minimal crew, especially when it comes to dead times of the day.