Leaving a good paying job for opening a coffee shop

[Goingindrain]

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?

No, I wouldn't risk everything.

This such an insanely bad idea.

What about running a coffee shop is your "dream", OP? Do you think you are in a sitcom? Buying in lovely cakes, wafting around chatting with people, and occasionally wiping a table prettily...

And the idea that running a coffee shop will give you more time with your children?! Madness.

As well as all the other things that PPs have mentioned, I bring you:

Business insurance
Employer's insurance
Public liability insurange
Allergy matrix
Marketing
Being at the mercy of online reviews
FSA surprise visits
Payroll
Worker's Rights Bill, soon
Commercial rubbish collection - look into that. It's a thread all on its own!

Also, you say it's a shop that's free. So you will have MASSIVE fitting out costs.

And you will have to have it all checked to make sure it follows regulations.

Given that you have no food service experience, no idea of the work and hours and money this would involve and add in a 1 and 4 year old, I think you'd be nuts to leave your job to try this.

You're looking for a turnkey business, something already set up with equipment, staff, and a customer base where you don't have to be there much. Food service is pretty much the opposite.

I work part time in an independent coffee shop (semi retirement job). It’s a lovely, successful coffee shop, even though it’s in a quiet town with lots of other coffee shops.

My boss (the owner) left a lucrative job ten years ago in his forties, and bought the shop, which was already a coffee shop. He knew nothing at all about coffee, or running a business, and had to learn fast. He refitted, but it did help that he already had a good customer base and experienced staff.

Now in his fifties, he works long hours, he’s in the shop 5 days a week, does admin one day a week, and is often in on his day off sorting issues/doing maintenance etc.

it helps massively that he doesn’t have kids - he’s never see them if he did!

That's not what optimism is about. That's just lack of business nouse and foolhardy.

The council will take you down in favour of a Turkish barber shop or a vape shop, all underhand deals down to create backhanders for the corrupt.

You would be crazy to open a coffee shop with absolutely no catering experience, no retail experience, no book keeping experience and a responsibility to two young children.

No, that’s not being an optimist. That’s being reckless, foolish and hapless.

This is bonkers OP. You’ve seen a shop for rent and just thought you could quit your job and open it up? 😭

Not with small kids, no. You’d need to work every weekend

Take the shop and embrace the opportunity if the rent and space work, BUT, not catering, it’s expensive and a headache. Choose a product to retail that you love, can manage mostly yourself and not have to worry about fresh stock and staff on the same way a coffee shop requires

It's not even remotely sad. It's little more than an idea. It's founded on nothing. It's like a 5 year old saying they want to be an astronaut. It's not ambitious or entrepreneurial or optimistic. It's not to be applauded. It's patronising to do so. Clearly you're capable in some way op to be earning a good salary, so I really can't understand why you'd not do your own bit of research and then quickly realise it's a complete non-starter.

I still can’t get my head around walking past a shop and thinking “I could have that” vs my first thought which would be “where would I even get £100k to get that shop” let alone start worrying about working weekends or pricing coffee 😂😂

I know lots of people who had a rethink of their priorities and career after kids, though a lot of those were forced into it. I’m one of them. I took a science A level when ds was 2 and went back to retrain as a speech therapist when he was 3. While he was a baby I went back to work as a part time medical secretary, so the retraining was about actually having a career and having the urgent priority to put food on the table, not stepping back. But I had a friend who decided after her first child was born that she was going to buy and sell second hand children’s clothes. That lasted about six months, she made about a tenner I think so she went back to her high level corporate job and is going to be able to retire with a good pension and her later work years being demanding but also quite flexible.

Listening to the voice that says ‘I want something different’ is perfectly reasonable but this doesn’t sound like it.

You’re in tech - how about starting with what you’re good at and going from there? If you want more time with your kids, what about a mobile service where you help out people’s elderly parents with their increasingly essential tech setups? Come on over to the Elderly Parents board for a chat about that one. I can’t be sure you’ll make a fortune, but it could be very flexible and it’s a market with money.

OP I don't think that this Forum is the best place to ask for advice on this.

I notice that any business idea posted on this site always gets a lot of negative feedback and it is probably because most people commenting do not run businesses and can't seem to see beyond office work.

I would do some proper market research and also speak to local businesses about how they are doing and make sure you do your sums but I would not discount the idea simply based on what you are reading here.

If you listened to Mumsnet no one would either start their own business...

This reallly.

I agree OP should certainly do her own research but some of us on here may actually know what we are talking about from a professional perspective
I am all for people starting their own Business, I used to lecture on the subject and a large part of my career would not have happened if nobody did BUT realistically so many fail and its bloody hard work. OP needs to know this not just "you go for it Hun"

I love a good coffee shop but having to pay a baker would make a severe dent in your profits I think.

As someone who’s entire family are self employed I do find this thread quite negative!

My mum set up some tearooms in the market town we live in about 15 years ago. Still
going strong.

Dad electrician, Sister has a hair dressers. In-laws have haulage firm, brither is a plasterer, brother in law builder,
me and husband have a business together. Although I work part time in finance. Business is our main income. Ex-husband has a hire firm.

So for me it’s the norm to start your own business/be self employed.

Yes of course it’s hard work but perhaps in our family we all like being our own boss too much 😆

It's a lot less about being self-employed than the reality of owning a coffee shop.

It's also very naive to think self-employed people work LESS than employees.
You have no flexibility when you have a shop - try to shut down randomly, and you will lose clients, it's not worth it.

There are 2 very successful coffee shops near me, they've been running for 12 & 4 years, but the 4 year one took over from another coffee shop that had been there for over 20 years. Neither of them bake, they both use the same local supplier for cakes and do things like pannini & bagels for hot food. But what both of them have in common is location. Both are less than 1 minute walk from a tube station on the route with the most footfall. One closes at 3, the other at 4 as they've worked out that most custom is in the morning!

No. It's because the people commenting on here do have experience in the relevant business.

Still, OP, you go and ask local cafes if they are doing well, and see what they say! Ask them for their (given for free) advice. Because, for sure, they will want to encourage a new competitor! 🙄

My BIL lost 80k opening a coffee shop…..which closed around 8 months later…..he worked ridiculously long hours to get it off the ground and it was always busy but he still didn’t make any money

You'd be better off carrying on in your well paid job and at the same time you could buy a portable coffee and snack van and hire an experienced person to run it on a daily basis. You could help out when you could and learn the ropes. Hospitality is on its knees ATM. You must know this. Once you've got the skills and so e expensive under your belt you could look to get a coffee shop once your DD are a bit older and you've saved up some capital behind you.

I am SE and so is DH. I also Mentor and Coach other SE people
Its how I know how hard it is and how its not for everyone
I would still recommend it to some though but coffee shop in the circumstances OP describes would be very very tough

The Bairns Play cafe