Running a Coffee Shop? The Hidden Cost That Destroys More Cafés Than Rent
Everyone Pays for Their Own Perception People who run coffee shops love doing the math. They calculate rent, labor, cup cost, gross profit—everything that can be quantified ends up in their Excel sheet. But what truly drags a shop down is often not those “measurable” numbers. I’ve seen countless shops where the rent isn’t high and labor is well controlled, yet the longer they operate, the tighter and more exhausting things become. Eventually, you realize what really drains them is another kind of invisible cost— Being self-opinionated. Not the arrogant kind, but the more common and subtle one: “I think this is the right way.” 01. Many shops aren’t defeated by the market, but by the owner’s own taste I’ve seen plenty of new shops where the moment you open the menu, you can feel it: The owner is creating “what they like,” not what “customers are willing to pay for.” For example: The owner doesn’t drink sweet drinks, so the menu has almost no sweet options The ow...