Day to day expenses

[hbperk]

I'm working on a business plan for a small coffeehouse and I've been having quite a bit of trouble getting a handle on what the day-to-day expenses of running a small place will be - how much coffee I'll need to buy, plus supplies, things like that. My plan is to only have about 20 seats, and I do not anticipate much of a morning rush - more of a hanging out/lingering type of crowd.

Aside from all the logistics of getting the place up and running, could anybody give me a sense of the actual day to day out of pocket will be for budgeting purposes?

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[Alun_evans]

Drop me a PM

 

[ElPugDiablo]

My plan is to only have about 20 seats, and I do not anticipate much of a morning rush - more of a hanging out/lingering type of crowd.

Be careful. A community hang out coffeehouse is nice and cool if you are the customer. But lingering crowds don't ring up the register. You can be "packed" with 20 people lingering for hours, some may even be internet freeloaders, and your piggy bank has nothing to show for. Unless you can turn those 20 seats so they give you $100+ an hour you will need to go customers. You need money which means you need volume, otherwise don't do it.

 

[Tophie2]

Have lots of money. What ever you think it will take quadruple it. Freeloaders are well, freeloaders. As of now I dont mind as there are very few people that hang out, any warm body in my shoppe is better than the alternative.

 

[John P]

Find statistics about the "average" coffee house.
Multiply the gross by about 30%, and that's what you should expect to make your first year or so.
Add 15% to all projected costs just to be safe.
If your COGS are more than 30% , they are too high. Personally, I shoot for 23%.

We ask everyone who stays to make a purchase. We don't accept freeloaders of any kind.
We're about 60/40 to go vs. to stay.