South Australia’s John Prasad has just purchased his third Cafe2U van, and says he will expand again!
Six years ago, an opportunity arose for South Australian John Prasad to start his own business. John conducted extensive research before making the big decision to become a small business owner. When weighing up the benefits between running an independent coffee van and opting to go with Cafe2U, he found the latter worked more in his favour.
“I received a magazine about franchising and read a feature story about the café industry. Cafe2U was one of the opportunities featured, and after considerable research I came to the conclusion that Cafe2U provided the best fit for my situation and skill set,” John says.
“I researched all the mobile options available, which involved face-to-face meetings with franchisors. For me, Cafe2U succeeded in all capacities: start-up cost, product, quality, range, support, training, profitability, and resale value.”
John is now the proud owner of signature red Cafe2U vans in Glenelg and Salisbury, and is adding Mile End to his fleet!
“Cafe2U has provided me with a great lifestyle chance, and has allowed me to grow to three vans in the last six years. The businesses have grown to such a level that most weekends we are busy with supplementary event work,” says John.
While the Cafe2U business model is based on a core group of repeat daily customers during the working week, John’s weekend circuit has provided him with significant extra revenue.
This event work ranges from functions where up to 50-60 cups are required in a short period of time, to some of the largest events in Adelaide, where upward of 1,000 cups might be served in a day. Owning multiple vans allows John and his team to provide this volume of service.
“The second van provided me the opportunity to work with my son Josh, which has been very rewarding. Taking the next step up to three vans set a challenge to find the appropriate staff member to fit into both Cafe2U’s ways and our ways. The employee we chose, Kristie, has been a great find and I am confident all three vans will continue to do well. I can’t see any reason why further expansion wouldn’t be on the cards!” John says.
While things don’t seem to be slowing down for John, when he does have free time he really enjoys having someone else making his coffee.
