If business ownership is the way to go and coffee is the love of your life, then it might sound logical to try opening a coffee shop. Seems easy enough, right? Well, before you go picking out vintage mugs, consider some business questions first. Where’s your product going to come from? Do you have good sustainability for the items that you will be using every day? How will you tell others about your new business?
We’ve put together a few things that might help with the answers to some essential questions.
1. Know Your Coffee.
You may love coffee, but do you have what it takes to be able to pick out the right beans, and to decide what type of coffee-making process you will choose? When it comes to offering coffee, it’s important to know facts about what country it was manufactured in, what the prices are and how it will be shipped. Get yourself a coffee subscription as a gift to try out different flavors and roasts that you might want to incorporate into your business.
By being able to try a variety of coffees, you can choose unique ones that your customers will be sure to come to you for. According to The Better Sip, offering a few different unique choices for your potential customers is always a good way to prove that you are an expert to be trusted when it comes to coffee.
2. Coffee Shop Necessities.
Having what you need for your coffee shop is about more than just picking a location and filling it with furniture. You will also need to consider the type of look and feel you want your shop to have. And if you will decide on a pour-over coffee maker or one that also makes espresso. It’s also helpful to know about specialty coffees. Cappuccino and latte are quite common, but other drinks such as mocha are not as well known.
You also need to decide on more or less space, depending on the type of shop you want to have and whether you’ll need a kitchen or just a cooler. Locate restaurant supply resources that can handle large quantity orders and ship them out regularly. VEGA Direct Inc., for example, is a restaurant source company that can provide a one-stop shop for startup essentials. Acquiring a regular resource for all your shop’s essentials means less business-flow interruptions.
3. A Solid Business Plan.
Every entrepreneur knows that you can’t have a successful business without a business plan. Don’t even try to approach an investor without one. Don’t worry, you’ll find a lot of resources to help you create one. Most coffee shops sell more than just coffee, so including a nice menu of items with your business plan can show potential investors other products to make a profit from. When you can offer taste test examples of the product you plan to offer, you reassure others that you’ve done enough homework. You should include how you will market your business and what audience you are trying to target. Think outside the box and impress investors by targeting niche markets such as stay-at-home parents or college students. Your business plan is going to define your goals and how you plan to reach those goals, so doing essential research and talking to business professionals can help you prepare.
Opening your own business can be both scary and exciting. Asking yourself the hard questions and being prepared can be a lot to consider. However, if entrepreneurship is what your heart is set on, then it matters to put in the research that will enable the best possible outcome. Because already having a coffee appreciation is the first start, then just look at choosing the best blends, creating a pleasing environment and having a plan to back it up, as being the icing on top of your frappuccino; both necessary and worth it.
