Being an entrepreneur or business owner is time consuming and difficult enough when you consider all of your day to day operations, plans and finances. Going out of your way to undertake industry research and readings may never seem like a priority.
However, according to the Australia Bureau of Statistics, more than 60% of small businesses in Australia close within their first 3 years. This is often due to cashflow issues and lack of knowledge – which can be remedied with proper research and planning.
But where do you start? It can be easy to get lost in the infinite source of knowledge out there.
Here’s our top 4 book recommendations that provide quick, easy and actionable knowledge to encourage improvements in your hospitality business – and hopefully save some of your time spent on research.
1. Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Author: Danny Meyer
This book is relevant to the hospitality industry as a whole, detailing how to stand out from the crowd and become a business worth remembering. Meyer introduces what he calls “Enlightened Hospitality” - which emphasises strong in-house relationships as well as customer satisfaction. The key idea is how to apply the power of hospitality first to employees, followed by customers, community, suppliers and then investors.
Filled with business tips, you are sure to find something useful to you about how to grow a hospitality business.
Price: $27.59
2. The Coffee Dictionary: An A-Z of coffee, from growing & roasting to brewing & tasting
Author: Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
If you’re even remotely overwhelmed by the amount of coffee information out there, or you don’t know what more there is to know, this guidebook is the perfect solution. Its handy size and accessible presentation, with colourful illustrations, means that it is well suited for the time poor business owner.
The structure is easy to follow, allowing you to find what you are looking for with minimum effort. While most of the knowledge may be accessible on the internet, this book complies everything into quick and easy explanations, without confusion and contention from multiple sources.
With more than 200 entries that explain coffee terms, techniques, beans and roasts, methods and equipment, this book offers itself as a handy reference to turn to time and time again as you expand your knowledge and make changes in your business.
Price: $10.25
3. Starting & Running a Coffee Shop: Brew Success with Proven Strategies for Every Aspect of Your Espresso Startup
Authors: Linda Formichelli and Melissa Villanueva
The how-to guide for every task that comes with the opening of a café, this book is perfect for start-ups or for any questions along the way. Even as an existing café owner, this book offers ideas that are not always initially considered, including advice on selecting the right coffee beans, methods for tracking sales and inventory, marketing strategies, negotiating contracts and more.
As a bonus, the fact that it was written towards the end of 2019 makes it very relevant in the current café industry.
Price: $23.69
4. Count More Beans: 7 Steps to making more profit, having more cash and maximising the value of your cafe
Author: Nadi Elias
This book focuses on the finance aspect of small businesses – which is crucial in terms of stimulating opportunities for growth and success. It explores 7 areas to focus on in order to increase profitability, generate predictable and sustainable cash flow, and overall grow in value.
The 7 step structure allows you to immediately search for what is relevant to you and leave what you already know, without being overwhelmed with an endless amount of information.
1. Get clarity on why you’re in business, where you’re going and how you’re getting there
2. Find out what you should really be selling
3. Build and motivate a winning team focused on one thing
4. Develop systems and automation to streamline and scale your operations
5. Take control over your pricing methodology
6. Understand how to position your business, brand and layout
7. Boost sales and marketing and capture more value
Price: $30.90
Our top 4 recommendations aim to cover all bases – but the list of written knowledge out there is endless. Mistakes are always going to be made, so reading up on how to proactively avoid or reactively fix them will never hurt.
It’s important to remember that what works for the majority might not work for you. Be conscious of individual circumstances, location, and finances, and consider if an alternative might be better. The best way to learn is from your own experiences.
When you’re done with these books – they tend to make a great addition to café décor as well.