Coffee Shop Business Plans

Hi All!

I am in the planning stages of opening a coffee cart in a local community college. I have a question about business plans and I have read through all the posts on this subject so far.

My question is about the industry consuption statistics. Why is this information so very expensive? Doesn't somebody have the basic information that I will only need in two or three paragraphs for free or very low cost? It's not like this information is what will make or break my business or business plan. It just tells the reader how great the coffee industry is!!

All of the hard work that goes into a business plan are the financials (which I agree are best done by hand) and the presentation of the business concept. It seems almost unethical to charge so much for information that will basically give the reader a "wow" factor about the coffee industry but is information that will be the same is almost every well written plan.

I have done a lot of leg work working with all the local organizations that are available to small business interests. I have done tons of research on opening a business along with starting a coffee-based business. I have also researched coffee itself, the history and the quality issues. I still have marketing and demographic research to complete!

I am not interested in spending so much for the 10 or less facts and figures that I need from the National Coffee Drinking Trends report. But I know I will have to because they greedily guard this information and charge way too much for it. $435 to become a member and get it or $350 for non-members. THEN the hard part of writing the entire business plan is still be to done!!

Sorry about the rant! But does anybody know of a way to get the basic statistics for a more reasonable fee?
 
I have to tell you that I have worked on my business plan. It was not easy. It was exhausting and I felt like I worked on it day and night, but when I presented it to the SBDC consultant for review, he was impressed. He said, "It was very well-written, you have obviously done lots of research, you know what you want to do and you know how to go about it." You see, I wanted to know EVERYTHING about this business.. good and bad. I know it will be years before I truly know anything about this business, but I want to be prepared. I want to make this work and I'm not afraid of hard work and my plan showed that. When he said that, I cannot tell you the sense of accomplishment I had. I agree with the comment about the term paper. Of course it would be easy to buy a plan and try to modify it, but what's that saying, "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy." That's true with this. I asked myself, if you can't put some words down on paper and invest some time in research, how are you ever going to run a business? This is supposed to be the fun part! I used the internet for lots of research. Wikipedia for demographic information, DOT for roads, SCORE has been helpful. Contact suppliers for prices. Don't be cheap. Invest in quality and use those figures in you start up, pro forma, etc. Some suppliers can even provide you with statistics.

I have to be honest. No one is going to do the work for you or make it easy for you. There is also no one stop, quick answer. I am not trying to be rude, just sharing my experience.
 
Hi ajpratt,

I completely AGREE with all of the hard work that goes into a business plan. I have done very much of it myself so far. Much, much more to do. I know about sources for location demographics and supplier-based information. I understand about preparing pro formas, and have my first basic reports for all of that! I am using, as I said, several local organizations to help with all of that (including professional legal and accounting advice as well as a graphic designer) like SCORE, SBDC, DOT, Asheville Chamber of Commerce and more.

What I am talking about is coffee drinking trends. That is the wow factor of the business plan and the influence behind all of the statics that will be used in the financials as well. This information is pretty much the same in every coffee-based business report. But I only need about 8-10, not the intricate complicated ones that I will read in the expensive "National Associations Coffee Drinking Trends, 2007."

I wasn't asking anyone to give this information away! I was just wondering if anyone knew of a book, web site or maybe magazine or periodical that I could use to purchase just what I need? I am trying to be frugal using my start-up capital for other needs, and I know I am on a limited budget. I am also in a little bit of a rush, because I have a location semi-secured and need these reports (The Business Plan and the Lease Proposal) to get it locked in.

Perhaps I was unclear in what I am looking for because I do not expect anyone to do any of my work for me. Like you, I want to do it myself so that I clearly understand every aspect of my business and can explain every single word and figure that I am presenting. I am not looking for a template or to copy individual ideas or figures.

So, does anyone have an answer to my question now? I do apprectiate all opinions because they help me narrow down what I need and all opposing opinions will help me defend any ideas I may have!!!

Thanks ajpratt. Your opinion is valued. I understand what you are saying, and I agree completely.
 
cherylann324: Gosh... I hope you don't think I'm following you around giving you a hard time! I wasn't directing my response at you, just the business plan thing in general. You have reminded me that when I post I have to be more specific in who I am addressing. So, I am sorry.

I have to admit when I saw business plans available for purchase, I would have loved to buy one, print it and be done. But I have a sense of accoplishment now, don't you? It seemed impossible and overwhelming at first, but once I got started I just didn't want to quit. Like you, I know I still have a way to go, but I feel good about the investment I made doing this.

I can tell YOU are putting much thought into this and you sound like your are in the same boat I am. I didn't find one site that had everything I wanted. I did find one HUGE file with info, but I have to look for it. You probably already thought of this, but I did a search for "coffee trends" and used info from a number of sites. Here are a couple that might help you out, depending if you are looking for consumption trends or just industry trends in general:

http://www.hospnews.com/images/1_Specia ... uction.pdf
www.arabica.com also had some great ones as well as some fun facts.

I suggested asking a supplier because when I requested info from them, some sent me info on cost vs consumption and other things with their materials. It was a real eye opener. I would be happy to share with you whatever I found. I just don't have it on this computer.
 
Hi ajpratt!

Yes, I would love to find a business plan that is exactly what I needed! That, of course, is not going to happen. But my business plan is exactly what I need! It is written by me, for me and contains all my information.

I know you are not "following me around" but you are watching all the posts and picking up information along the way. I have not done a "coffee trends" seach, but I will!! And thanks for the web site information, I will check it out in detail and follow all the links! If you remember any more, please pass them on.

And thanks for the supplier idea of finding consumption statistics. I am planning on leasing all the major equipment from one supplier and I will contact them for any available statistics they may have. As I said, I only need a very few for my business plan and corresponding leasing proposal.

Thanks so much for your input. Invaluable!

Cheryl Ann
 
Hi FutureCoffeeShop - did you ever hear any follow up on those traffic percentages? We are looking at starting a drive-thru and are projecting the same figures, but really don't know for sure how realistic they are. Thanks!
 
Hi i was just planning to open a coffe bar but dont know where to start from, I know there is easy money in it, but please people help me out.

Thankyou
 
Coffee Supplier.

Hello,

We offer four brands of Arabica, Roasted coffee: Cuzca Plus Gourmet, Cuzcachapa, Dos Soles and Familiar.

Using moving hot air vanes, we roast our coffee, in 150 lb. lots, through contact with hot air more than hot metal, thereby improving both the consistency and speed of the roast.

We also offer coffee in bean form with the current certifications: Kosher, Rain Forest, UTZ Kapeh, Coffee Practices, Organic, and we will be offering Fair Trade and, in the future, Bird Friendly.

If interested in doing business with us, contact Ricardo E. Castaneda.

Email: [email protected]
Skype ID: rcast_99
_________________
 
Very good business.

I have read one article regarding coffee shop business plan...
I liked the following points very much.I just share those with you...

What makes a coffee shop successful?
* Coffee quality and convenient location (70% of adults cited this factor)
* Friendly and knowledgeable staff (40%)
* Variety (35%)
* Price (26%)

These points might be useful for you....
 
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