Why a Busy Café Can Still Lose Money | ERICA ESCALANTE!

A queue out the door doesn’t mean there’s money in the bank. Café consultant Erica Escalante joins Rohan and Ben to unpack why busy cafés can still struggle to pay the bills, and what owners can actually do about it.

From pricing your menu and selling more retail coffee to getting your team across the numbers, Erica shares lessons from nearly a decade running her own café and bakery business. We also get into burnout, better leadership and why loving coffee isn’t enough to run a healthy business. Somehow, the solutions involve colourful spreadsheets, puppets and taking ourselves a little less seriously.

If you’re new here, welcome! We get into the big debates, brilliant people and everyday chaos of the coffee world. There’s plenty to take seriously, but at the end of the day, it’s just coffee!

CHAPTERS!
00:00 Busy Doesn’t Always Mean Profitable
01:10 APAX LAB
02:02 Meet Erica Escalante
04:03 From Barista to Café Owner
06:27 Learning Your Costs the Hard Way
08:15 Is Your Café Actually Making Money?
11:25 Why Your Team Should Understand the Numbers
19:05 The Café’s Role in the Coffee Supply Chain
21:52 How Do You Raise Coffee Prices?
24:35 Better Margins Without More Customers
27:42 Getting Over Your Fear of the Books
33:00 Stress Is Not a Badge of Honour
42:47 Building Systems That Work
47:23 Where Café Leadership Goes Wrong
52:22 Why Owners Wait to Ask for Help
54:13 Inside The Cafe Operator
57:15 A Hotline for Café Owners
59:44 Erica’s Advice for Struggling Owners
01:01:49 Hot Take: Loving Coffee Isn’t Enough
01:04:55 Industry Shout-Out
01:06:19 Building a Café in France
01:07:28 Where to Find Erica

Find Erica:
Consulting, resources and workshops: [ericaescalante.com](ericaescalante.com)

Want more coffee content?
IT’S JUST COFFEE: [Find everything here](linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod)

Want to get in touch?
Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com with your questions, hot takes or guest suggestions.

Proudly sponsored by:
APAX LAB: [apaxlab.com](apaxlab.com)

Thanks for listening!

#EricaEscalante #CafeBusiness #ItsJustCoffee

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