Merchant Cash Advance Blog

Coffee shops and cafes have become much more sophisticated than in years past and the competition amongst small businesses has been fierce. With large corporations dominating the landscape drawing in new customers has become extremely difficult. Simply having good coffee and other beverages is not enough to remain competitive. Customers expect to have their needs catered to and look to coffee shops as a refuge as well as a makeshift office. Here we’ve compiled a listed of must-haves in the café industry.

Food trucks have gained in popularity and acceptance over the last few years and the competition for customers and territory has heated up. This makes it imperative for small business owners to remain innovative. Cleanliness and convenience are the signatures of the food truck industry. Making repairs and improvements will always be necessary to maintain your reputation and avoid costly work stoppages. The increase in competition has made it more difficult for brands to stand out. Measures need to be taken to increase brand awareness while providing a top quality product fast.

Sometimes businesses just go through a period of downturn. Maybe a bad online review is scaring away customers or the economy is slowing down. Perhaps a new competitor just opened up down the street or the demand for your product has suddenly gone soft. The first key to stopping a downward slide is figuring out exactly why it is happening.

The latest trend in the food industry is convenience and small business owners should take note. Every process in the restaurant, bar, bakery and catering industries is being scrutinized and adopting new technology to enhance the customer experience is essential. Establishments that make it easy to order, pay and receive their food will prosper in a fast paced society. While speed and convenience is key, you want to make sure you don't sacrifice quality for convenience.

Hiring the right employees is an essential part of creating and maintaining a successful small business. A hiring mistake not only costs money, it can do irreversible damage to your company’s reputation. A large portion of how your business is viewed is largely contingent on your staff. This makes the interview process and getting it right the first time extremely important. Here we’ve outlined 10 tips to help you build an effective staff.