Do you love cats? What do you think about a unique business idea that can allows you to run a one-of-a-kind cafe while providing a home for cats and a place for pet lovers to mingle with them? Sounds cool? Check out what startup Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium has got to offer…
Who doesn’t love cats? I mean, although you don’t like to have a cat as a pet, at least you’d enjoy watching funny cat videos, viewing kitten images and so on. Well, at least the majority of social media users agree that everything cats is interesting and everything cats are sure-fire ways to have a social media account that will bring you many visitors, fans and followers!
Unfortunately, not many have the privilege to have cats as their pets for one reason or another, such as no pets allowed by your landlord, lack of space, no time to take care of a pet due to long working hours, and some other reasons. Those are “chronic” problems in big cities… and people do need a break and do what they love.
How about starting a small business that answers the problems?
Lauren Pears, the entrepreneur who drives London-based Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium “stole” this idea from those who have successfully started up cat cafes in Asian countries, like Taiwan, South Korea and, most notably, Japan, and bring the concept to the United Kingdom.
So, what’s with all the fuss about a cat cafe?
Well, it’s just like an ordinary cafe – it sells coffee, tea, cakes and snacks; but it comes with one major difference: It’s full of cats.
Who’s the target market? Just like what I have mentioned above, it’s busy people who love cats but don’t have the time to have one and/or those who can’t have a pet in their homes. More target markets: Tourists, pet-loving children, and people who love novelty things.
As you can see, the cat cafe business idea has a unique proposition: It offers win-win situation for both cafe visitors and cats.
Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium adopts cats from shelters and gives them a new home in the cafe full of people who actually love them to be around.
Visitors can mingle with cats, while cats can have a place to stay. A win-win situation, indeed!
Want to support?
Ms. Pears is looking for crowdfunders’ help to turn her unique ideas into reality via Indiegogo crowdfunding platform, and has posted interesting video to back her idea – check this out:
The funding target is GBP 108,000. You can start supporting the idea for as little as GBP 5, giving you a chance to visit the cafe and pat a cat 🙂 If you are a die-hard fan of cats, you could go for the GBP 20,000 funding, allowing you to be their VIP and adopt a cat and have it well taken care of by Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium’s team – for life.
Go visit the Indiegogo’s crowdfunding project »
Takeaway
Sometimes it takes a bold move to take your brilliant idea to life. Being the pioneer in your community or region means that the spotlight is on you; one silly mistake will be overblown by the media, and your business could take hit by that. But looking at the glass half-full, that also means that if you are successful, you will enjoy all the benefits of a pioneer, such as quickly-grow customer base and market share.
Social-proofing your idea is also a crucial step every entrepreneur shouldn’t avoid: Pitch your audience with your idea and see how people respond to your idea, and try to refine it. Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium gets positive responses from its YouTube video; it’s a good sign.
Of course, there will be competitors – especially if the cat cafe concept works in your local area; but if you dominate your niche with top-notch services, your competitors will be kept at bay.
So, is cat cafe a good idea for your future business venture? Please share your thought!
