Can anyone fill in the blanks for me?

[SeasideCafe]

Hey all, just joined, seems like a great forum so far. I'm sure you hear this a lot, but I'm thinking of starting up a coffee shop. Just something smallish and personable where people can go to have some caffeine and a treat, surf the internet, read, listen to music, appreciate some art, whatever. I have a lot of ideas but I've never tried to start a new business alone before and I'm kind of lost about the steps I need to take to get things moving. I know I need to have some funding and a business plan, but that's about it. Can anyone help me out with everything else that I'm overlooking? Do I need to apply for an EIN? Do I absolutely need an attorney/accountant, etc? What's the average length of time from concept to opening doors? If you need to know anything else about my ideas to answer anything let me know and I'll tell you. Thank you.

 

[msjcarroll]

You might want to get a book on opening a coffee shop. You could find them at B&N, Borders or Amazon, for exammple. They will provide all of the details, except for your state requirements.

 

[Tophie2]

Have lots of money.

 

[SeasideCafe]

You might want to get a book on opening a coffee shop. You could find them at B&N, Borders or Amazon, for exammple. They will provide all of the details, except for your state requirements.

Thanks for the tip. I didn't know they had books specifically for that. There's a huge B&N nearby that I try to visit as much as possible so I think I may have to tomorrow.

 

[Mark at Whole Latte Love]

There is so many great people on this forum as well as others that can give great advice.I also send a lot of people to specialty-coffee.com to read the forums.. Money is a big part, deciding to learn everything you can is extremely important, having legal and financial advice is important as well. I would suggest reading the forums and searching for answers to questions you may have. I also think it would be a good idea to think about doing food of some sort. You may also want to go tp a trade show such as Coffee Fest or the annual SCAA show. There is also local organizations that can help you put together a business plan such as your SBA or SCORE. Both good resources.It is a great fun business and I think you will learn in the forums the shops focused on quality are the ones that have potential to do well. So, read , have money,have a game plan(business plan) have a good team attorneys , accountants and make sure you are well prepared to start your own business. This certainly is a great place to start.