How to Be Prepared to Open a Coffee Shop

Why don’t you open a coffee shop? Practically everybody drinks coffee on a daily basis. Coffee is indispensable for a lot of people. Many of us drink 1 or 2 mugs in the morning. Busy working people rush to work every day and make a quick dash at a drive through before getting to work. Others like to enjoy their coffee at a sit-down coffee house.

Today, some people are too busy to brew their own coffee at home and drop by a coffee cart to get a cup of their favorite brew. Hanging out at coffee houses is a common indulgence for some people. They find it enjoyable to spend an afternoon with friends at a cafe and chit-chat for hours over coffee.

If you like coffee and spend a lot of time at cafes, why not open a coffee shop? Maybe you have been thinking of starting business for some time but don’t know how to get started in the coffee business. Well, it isn’t that hard to get started, the hard part is making it profitable enough to make it worthwhile. Anyone can open a coffee shop but most new outlets close up after several month.

The culprit isn’t in the amount of experience you have, nor is it due to lack of capital. You will need a lot of knowledge about the coffee business to make it successful enough to stay open for years. If you are going to open a coffee shop, you might as well make it work. It would be a pity not to be able to get your investment back or enjoy the profits for many years.

You can open a coffee shop of any size depending on your capital. There are coffee carts that only need $20,000 or less to capitalize. If you have a bigger budget, you can open a coffee shop with a drivethru and dining area. Sit-down outlets would cost $180,000 to $370,000. A coffee kiosk is also an option and will be more affordable to start than a large coffee house. Determine if you can open a coffee shop on your own or if you need to look for additional funding.

If you have a good business plan, you might be able to convince your banker to loan you some money. Study the coffee business first, learn about all aspects connected to it like accounting, purchasing coffee machines, marketing, PR, management, location, and training staff. Write all those details in your business plan. Your lender will want to see a comprehensive business plan that shows you can open a coffee shop that is going to be profitable.

Search for the perfect location that is visible from the street and has a lot of foot traffic. Speaking of traffic, make sure that you have the right kind of traffic that matches your concept, prices and market. You should not open a coffee shop serving expensive organic coffee to community college students or teenagers, nor do you want to serve low end coffee blends at a first class neighborhood.

Prepare an impressive marketing plan to announce that you are about to open a coffee shop. That includes putting out ads in the papers, radio, and the net. The net is like the new yellow pages. Then, you still need to learn about the management aspect, service crew training, looking for affordable coffee bean suppliers, and buying cheap equipment. Try to get all the info you need before you create a business plan. Start a business armed with all the knowledge you need to make it profitable.

If you want to open a coffee shop, then you need to know more about the coffee shop business. Visit our website at coffeeshopprofits.com.