Listen to your dreams but don’t be limited by them

July 28, 2021

A lot of people I meet have a fairly narrow concept that they want to develop.  It’s usually linked back to an experience they had at one point that they want to somehow recreate.

What I usually tell my clients is:  listen to your dreams but don’t be limited by them.  What do I mean by that?

Let’s look at food and beverage.  Even before COVID times, opening up a café or specialty food store required a lot of upfront investment—industrial equipment, ingredients, premises and personnel for starters. 

The revenue would be dependent not only on pricing but also location, foot traffic, reputation and, to some extent, sales and marketing. 

It’s a lot of investment and a lot of uncertainty, especially given the amount of competition (including from delivery services) and the margins on the products (particularly if they are made from scratch). 

There are ways to counter these issues, such as through offering a novel concept or product, but the risk of failure isn’t negligible.

So even though you might have always dreamed about opening up an ice cream shop, you shouldn’t tie yourself too tightly to this dream. 

First off, you must really understand your motivation, whether it is fleeting and whether you are better off trying to address it through some other experience. 

Is ice cream what really interests you or is it the satisfaction of seeing happy kids and families?  Or do you just really need a vacation?

Assuming you are completely committed and have determined that there is a path towards profitability, you need to understand your customer, your market and what other related activities you might also pursue in parallel. 

While you are perfecting your recipes, it might make sense to also look into fresh juice or cocktails, which you can first develop out of your kitchen before working your way up to owning an actual shop. 

And when you are ready to own a shop, make sure you are making the most of your offering and your space.  Is ice cream alone really going to help you leverage the rhythm of the local neighborhood?

This is one of the things that makes the New York diner such a brilliant idea.  It’s versatile enough to welcome families for pancakes in the morning but also laid-back (and open) at 3 a.m. to serve burgers and bagels to late-night partygoers. They also have robust take-away, catering and delivery businesses.  And some even sell merchandise.

Now, the diner is very different from the premium ice cream shop.  You certainly don’t go there for every meal.  But once the diner builds a relationship with a customer, they are more likely to come back.  It becomes comfort food.  They’ll probably even go there for ice cream, even if it isn’t artisanal. 

And this is a very important consideration in launching a business:  while your motivation is about how you want to feel, building a long-term, viable business will only be possible if you focus on how your customer will feel.

All to say that while you should listen to your dream, you shouldn’t be afraid to deviate from it.  You also need to make sure you are always thinking about your customer’s dream and how you can bring that to life. 

And if you are going to go through the trouble of opening an ice cream shop, you might as well open up a diner!

CPM