It's essential that you spend time now understanding what it takes to run a successful cafe. This means reaching out to coffee business owners and learning from their experience; finding out what works, and what doesn’t.And here’s the fun part — it also means visiting lots of cafés to get an insight into what you want your business to be like. Consider what you will take from other businesses and what will make you different.Learn about your customer base. Who will they be? What are their needs? What time of the day will be busiest?