Many people dream of opening their own business but don’t know what they want or where to start. Owning and operating a coffee shop can be fun and fulfilling, and a lot of hard work. Here are six steps to starting your own coffee shop.
Write a Business Plan
When starting any business, you must have a business plan before you begin. It should be the first step before going forward with any plans. It is suggested that you hire a professional to write your business plan for you. However, if you do enough research, you can write your business plan successfully. Your business plan should include the following:
- Executive summary: The executive summary is the first thing potential investors will read and should include your goals and summarize your business. Though it is first, it should be written last.
- Company Overview: The company overview will include an overview of its operations and structure and include your business’s mission statement.
- Market Analysis: The Market analysis will need to include an analysis of the market in the area you intend to enter. It will also include a competitor and customer analysis.
- Marketing Plan: The marketing will be a detailed plan of how you intend to market the business and its costs.
- Operating Plan: The operating plan will be how you intend the business to operate and those costs.
- Management Team: The management team will include who will be included in the business’s administrative operation function.
- Financial Plan: The financial plan will be at least the six-month financial plans and your business projections.
Find a Location
The location of your coffee shop will be as important as the cost of the lease. Most coffee shops need to be in an area where they will receive a lot of foot traffic. A café is not a business that will be successful tucked away where no one can see or find it. When searching for the location, consider the other businesses around you to positively and negatively affect your business. The location of your coffee shop is extremely important and could be the difference between success or failure.
Develop a Floor Plan
Once you have chosen a location, you need to make a floor plan. The floor plan needs to include the following:
- Seating and tables
- Equipment setup
- Walking space
- Distancing
- Line location
Hire an Accountant
Though you have not taken the crucial step to obtain financing, you hire an accountant specializing in starting a new business. An accountant will help you keep track of your funds once you obtain them and assist in the business’s financial operations. Starting with an accounting professional will ensure the business’s success and set the tone for tracking your business finances.
Find Funding Options
There are several options when it comes to funding your business. Here are the options most business owners should consider:
- Personal savings
- Investors
- Small business loan
- Friends or Family
Save Money for Initial Expenses
You will need some capital for the initial expenses and to keep you afloat while you get the business started. Most businesses are not going to operate in the black right away; it will take time. Therefore, having enough saved to pay operations and payroll for the first three to six months of the business. These savings will help sustain you while you wait for funding and for the business to turn a profit.
Develop a Marketing Plan
While you should already have set forth a marketing strategy in your business plan, you must develop that further in a comprehensive way that can be implemented easily. Since your business is virtually unknown, you have to do a bit of a media blitz to let people know about your business, the location, and the products and services you offer.
Set High Standards
Coffee shops are a dime a dozen, and you will be competing against coffee giants. To combat the competition in the market, you need to set high standards. The standards need to be in every aspect of the business. You need to offer quality products, exceptional service, an inviting atmosphere and décor, and accessibility. You need to have the standards set high and keep them there to give you and your employee’s goals to achieve daily.
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