independent coffee shop
Have you ever wanted to own your own coffee business? Many independent shops are finding their own niche in the popular coffee market.
Instructions
1. Staring an independent coffee business is a dream for many people. Here are some things you will need to get this small business going.
2. Have a business plan. How much is this venture going to cost? Where are you getting funding? Are you building from the ground up or using a pre-existing location for your coffee business? Try to figure what your costs will be for expenses, inventory, equipment, start up costs, employee wages and everything else needed to run this business.
3. You will also need to know what licenses and permits are required for running a coffee business. These can include health department, building permits, city and state licenses etc. Some licenses can take long periods of time to complete depending on how busy the agencies are or other factors. Check with your local government agencies for licensing requirements in your area. A valuable resource where you can find advice and information is the Small Business Administration or SBA.
4. Find out who your market is. What are the demographics for your coffee business in that area? This can be useful for choosing your decor or theme, planning your menu and more. Check out the other coffee businesses in close vicinity and study what kind of customers they have, the prices they charge and their hours of business. Is your business going to compete with theirs or are you filling a different market niche?
5. Locate where you will purchase inventory and supplies. This includes the coffee roaster you will purchase your espresso beans from, a milk vendor, suppliers for cups, dishes, coffee syrups and flavors, straws, napkins, sugars, food products, cleaning supplies and any other products required to run your coffee business. Several coffee roasters can help you locate supplies or they may even sell these items themselves. If not, wholesale clubs and supply companies such as Costco, Sam's Club, Cash & Carry, Sysco, Restaurant Supplies stores, and other sources may be useful to obtain many of these things. If you can have items delivered to your location this will make things much easier and will save lots of time.
6. Find out what equipment you will need and where you will acquire it from. Restaurant supply stores can be a good source, or you may want to purchase used equipment from a restaurant or coffee shop going out of business.
7. If you do not already know make coffee and espresso drinks you should seek training. Find out as much as possible about coffee and the products you will be serving. Coffee is likely to be the main portion of your business and it is important you and your staff are trained to serve quality drinks. This is crucial, as unhappy customers are likely to seek their coffee elsewhere if they are not satisfied with your business. Your coffee roaster may be able to either provide training or let you know where you can receive quality training. Be well versed in coffee shop vocabulary. Even if the names of the products on your menu are not terms such as "Tall" or "Grande", you will find it is helpful to be aware of these terms if a customer should order it.
8. Decide your menu and establish recipes for making your espresso coffee drinks and any other items you are selling. Be aware that coffee drinkers like consistency, so all of your employees should be making the drinks the same way. Figure out your prices. Make sure you are setting them to be profitable but not so expensive that no one will buy from you.
9. It can seem overwhelming, but there are many good resources where you can find valuable information. A few of these are mentioned below.
10. Coffee Fest. This is great for finding out many aspects of starting up and running a coffee business. This is a convention for people in the coffee trade held at a few places around the United States. You will find several classes, suppliers, and just about everything you wanted to know about coffee. If you're good at making espresso drinks you can even participate in the Barista competitions.
11. Specialty-Coffee.com. This is an online resource provided by the trade magazine Specialty Coffee Retailer. You will find useful articles and tons of information. Be sure to take advantage of the forum on this website. Many independent coffee shop owners frequent this forum and discuss everything to do with running this type of business.
12. Specialty Coffee Association. This is the worlds largest coffee trade association. Most information here is geared toward coffee roasters and those on the wholesale side of the coffee business, but you still may find some useful information.
13. See links in the resources section below to other useful information as well as the websites mentioned in this article.
Tags: coffee business, your coffee, your coffee business, coffee shop, independent coffee, will find, your business