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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Leaving a good paying job for opening a coffee shop

153 replies

Goingindrain · 21/10/2025 11:53

There's a shop which is empty at my local high street and there are 3 restaurants and shops like Greggs, cake shop and dominos but no coffee shop where people can have a sit down grab a coffee and cake.
I am a working mum of 2 little kids - 1 and 4 years old. I earn more than 70k and have a good pension. I have been working for over 15 years and have opportunities to go up in the career ladder.
I feel like my priorities have changed so much after having kids.
Problem is I am not a baker myself so I will have to employ people. My work gives me flexibility but I want to run a business. I am into Tech so no experience of this.
Should I still consider it or scrap?

OP posts:

osamu · 21/10/2025 11:57

maybe open it up slowly while still working? It would be a terrible idea to go heads first without having a backup…
advertise the shop and ask around to see if anyone’s interested or would spend money in the shop.

it might be slow but if you’re making it while working, it will be easy for renovations, pay etc while your starting up! Regardless, when your the boss, your usually not required to be in the shop 24/7 so you could go to work then and only come in for emergencies etc..

hire a sitter for the kids, but on off days try and spend as much time with them..

it will be hard work but if it pays off, then great!

Hoppinggreen · 21/10/2025 11:58

Good way to lose all your money and get into debt I would say.
Write a detailed Business Plan and see what you would need to take in to at least pay yourself Minimum wage within certain time frame and then see how you could do that while also juggling small children
Employing people is a whole other thing too - your staff call in sick and you have no childcare for example
Nice ideea but I doubt its practical unfortunately

pinkdelight · 21/10/2025 12:00

Seems like a mad move to make with such little DC. If you're working for an employer, you'll presumably get the security and benefits of that and can get flexibility to be off if the kids are ill etc. If you work for yourself, no one covers you and you have to put your all into the business especially at the beginning. Unless you have a stack off cash as a buffer to get things up and running, I wouldn't make this change now - or any big change with a 1yo tbh. I'd wait until your life is on a more even keel and you're feeling yourself again - that feeling you have when they're babies doesn't last forever. But the main thing is it's not clear how running a coffee shop would give you a better family life than you have now.

childofthe607080s · 21/10/2025 12:01

Most small businesses fail within a year

profit may be small - have you done a back of envelope estimation of how many coffees/ cakes/sandwiches you would need to sell to make money ?

have you worked out how little you could live on for an extended period?

then it’s a 10 till 4 job 7 days a week / including school
holidays which are often the peak time for coffee shops. plus set up, baking time , clearing up time, coping when you can’t get staff or they are off sick or need holidays

slightlyunimpressed · 21/10/2025 12:01

I think the coffee shop type businesses are the most likely to fail as the fixed costs are high (staff, rent etc) and the sale costs are pretty low, even if it is busy and appears successful. The profit margin is going to be pretty low so you might well find you're working harder and longer hours for very little income.

Original poster

Goingindrain · 21/10/2025 12:01

osamu · 21/10/2025 11:57

hire a sitter for the kids, but on off days try and spend as much time with them..

it will be hard work but if it pays off, then great!

Thanks for the suggestions.

OP posts:

PermanentTemporary · 21/10/2025 12:01

I would expect a coffee shop to be much longer hours and more work than a corporate job, wouldn’t you see your kids less? If that’s the main aim I’m not sure it’s the way to go. I don’t own a coffee shop though.

Blueuggboots · 21/10/2025 12:03

I looked into doing this. You need to consider shop leases are usually tied in for a few years as are the leases for coffee equipment etc.
doing up a shop costs THOUSANDS.
it was quite depressing and I didn’t proceed.
unless you’ve got about £30k you don’t mind losing, and a very unique selling point, you’re likely to regret it.

Guildford321 · 21/10/2025 12:06

How have you got to the point in your career where you're earning £70k with promotion prospects (ie, you're bright, capable etc) and yet think that in any way this could be a good idea?

Viviennemary · 21/10/2025 12:08

How on earth can you run a coffee shop with two small children. Unless you've got a six figure sum in the bank that you are prepared to lose a chunk of or a rich partner its a very bad decision. A nice dream for retired folk with money and a good pension.

pinkdelight · 21/10/2025 12:10

Also if you've got the likes of Greggs, presumably the chain coffee stores would've swooped in too if there was a buck to be made. They've popped up everywhere else viable and even Greggs has cafes in-store if the opportunity is there. The fact that no one has could indicate the sums don't stack up, and that's for stores with all the systems in place to make it work. You've got no experience in the sector or even in customer-facing retail work by the sounds of it, so I'd be super wary. If you don't even bake, what's the bit that you think you'll enjoy? And won't you have to work weekends and holidays so will see the DC even less?

Climbingthemountain · 21/10/2025 12:11

You have no baking experience, I’m assuming no cafe working experience for at least 15 years if at all?
this is madness, it will be a money sink and you won’t have the protective net of being an employee and the hours will be extremely long

alpacamonstera · 21/10/2025 12:12

More research is needed here (apologies if you've already done this). I used to work in a coffee shop/bakery - it's hard work and was a labour of love for the owners who were passionate bakers.

A few things to think about which you may not have considered:

The upfront cost of kitting it out and setting it up. Coffee machine, kitchen, etc. You're definitely talking several thousand here.
Who is going to supply the baked goods? How much profit can you realistically make from this?
Business rates, rent, energy bills.
Staffing costs and finding good staff in the first place (really hard)
What the average overheads are for a coffee shop in your area. Beyond the obvious stuff mentioned above there's always extra things you didn't anticipate.
How much money do you realistically have to make each year to keep it going?

Is it actually that you're searching for a business to start, and some financial/career independence, but it doesn't have to be a coffee/cake shop at all? There are much more profitable businesses with lower upfront costs attached. Just don't go down the MLM route!

BallerinaRadio · 21/10/2025 12:13

Yeah put me in the camp of this is a terrible idea. It sounds lovely and dreamy but the reality will be so so different. You're on a wage most people can only dream of, I really wouldn't give that up

MyDownstairsLooisHaunted · 21/10/2025 12:17

There are multiple coffee shops closing down around here because the cost to heat and run them is just so expensive now.

If you're set on the coffee idea why not look into a coffee wagon? then you can keep your overheads down and control your own opening hours. You also don't have to offer the baked goods etc, just drinks

ThisGentleRaven · 21/10/2025 12:18

Have you even worked let alone managed a coffee shop first?

If you have no knowledge and experience, you should learn about the business first.

I feel like my priorities have changed so much after having kids.
fair enough, but you are very naive if you mean owning a coffee shop will give you more time and flexibility for your kids.

Gall10 · 21/10/2025 12:18

Advice to anyone opening a coffee shop….please make sure the coffee is hot, not just lukewarm like many places! Sorry I can’t give any other help….but in reality I’d just continue on my well paid job and let others pull the.ir hair out trying to make their business viable.

GAJLY · 21/10/2025 12:19

Our local cafe has been closed down and taken over 3 times in 6 years! All the cafe owners said they were breaking even with the energy bills. I would not do it. You'd make more profit having a mobile cafe, no rent only a permit and no out ragous energy bills.

weirdoboelady · 21/10/2025 12:21

Have you even looked to see the opening hours of coffee shops? Just look at any main chain - most open at 6am and are open for at least 12 hours a day....

Givingitago99 · 21/10/2025 12:21

NOO!! Think of the hours you'd need to put in. Staff hassle, health and safety stress. Even if business was good. Compared to your own ability to make wealth now and that's set to grow plus your pensions and NI. In short don't do it!

BingoWindow · 21/10/2025 12:22

Some friends left their corporate jobs to buy and run a pub. What a nightmare for them it has turned into.
Turns out they loved sitting in a pub but not being behind the bar.
Get a Saturday job in one first.

GargoylesofBeelzebub · 21/10/2025 12:22

Really really bad idea. You’ll be working far more hours than you are now and unlikely to make anything like the money you’re on now if you even make a profit.

Original poster

Goingindrain · 21/10/2025 12:23

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. It's much appreciated.

OP posts:

CrocsNotDocs · 21/10/2025 12:24

Coffee shops and cafes are the most brutal of all small businesses. If you want to find the owner of one, go in on a public holiday or weekend when wages are higher. They will be working themselves, trying to keep costs down and usually have their elderly mums working too.

My family business is bankruptcy and insolvency and failed coffee shops and cafes are our bread and butter.

Exhausting, almost impossible to make money, supply issues, food safety compliance issues. Kiss goodbye to your kid’s sports days, school plays, school holidays etc. You will be working and your business is almost certain to fail, unless you have a fabulous location which allows for constant coffee turnover all day, huge cash reserves and massive amount of experience.

If you listen to me, you’ve done yourself the biggest favour ever.

Qwerty21 · 21/10/2025 12:25

Honestly sounds like a midlife crisis to me.
I can't understand why you'd want to leave stability and a good income, with set working hours. To gamble on a coffee shop, with no experience of working for yourself, owning a business , not even being a baker. You'd have to work much harder , longer hours, get less time with your family. I think it's a pipe dream, sorry

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