Realistically speaking, can this be done

[waervin]

Before i ask my question here is the background.

I currently work full time am happy with my job and make decent money, but this is not enough. I am an Entrepreneur at heart and am looking to start a business with a partner who also works full time and his happy with his job. Between the two of us we are very well educated and have accounting, computer and business backgrounds.

We are entertaining the idea of starting a business and find the coffee industry very intriguing. We are both interested with the idea of overseeing from a high level a coffee shop, but do not want to work at the shop on a daily basis. We want to use our business experience to run an organization and grow it from the ground up.

The question is, does anyone here think it is possible to run a coffee shop without being hands on day to day? I already have a family member who works in the food industry that would be able to manage the day to day operations of the organization. What are the experts thoughts on this situation?

any advice is greatly appreciated.

Bill

 

[Muddycup]

although we spent three years every day in our shop before we were able to venture out. We can now leave the shop and everything runs well on its own but it took awhile.

This is how it is possible and what the multple store/chains do: Everything that you do must be standardized, you must have a procedure for everything, you must have a checks and balances system where everything is double checked, you must teach your staff to problem solve with clear solutions for every problem, you must have a backup plan for everything and everyone and lastly if all else fails you must be prepared to drop everything you are doing and go to work behind the counter if needed.

 

[ElPugDiablo]

Realistically speaking, no. Unless you are willing to spend good money to hire a good manager that will be responsible for everything otherwise you are just going to waste your money.

 

[Tartbird]

Have you read The E-myth? It is kind of along the lines of what you want. You don't want to buy a job, you want to impliment a system so that you run your business not work your business.

Obviously, everyone has different economic pluses and minuses so that can get tricky.

Tartbird

 

[Coffee Guy]

Sounds to me that you would rather invest in a business and not own one. Let me ask you, why would you want to start a business and not know how to operate it? That is the only way you are going to get a good understanding of how the business runs. How are you going to know if your employees are ripping you off or not? Making a model built on writing up a plan and penciling up the numbers are not enough. You will have to put some time in, unless of course you recruit experienced people in the industry that have operations expertise, and the staff to place in there. Half of the fun is being there in the beginning side by side with your staff and both learning and teaching at the same time. Follow some of the suggestions that M.C. posted, you can't go wrong with his thoughts on this.

 

[freetodream]

I too, am an entrepreneur at heart, and I have wanted to open a coffeehouse for years. Unlike the OP, I have - with my husband's blessing - decided to take a huge risk, leave my secure teaching job, and go for it. We close on the property Tuesday.

I absolutely can't wait to get the shop ready, and most importantly - I can't wait to be there everyday - running things the way I want them to be...I cannot imagine that my business would succeed if I was not there.....I am sure that there is no one that I can hire who will care as much as I do if things are done correctly.

It seems a recipe for disaster to not be in your establishment as it gets started.

I hope you find a way to make it work...

 

[Coffee Guy]

Great comments F.T.D. and good luck on your new venture. What kind of shop are you planning to open?

 

[BobbyE]

I suggest reading about business philosophy from Robert Kiyosaki's book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. My public library carries his books, they're also on bittorrent, or you can purchase them from richdad.com

Basically, he would argue that what you want is what every smart business owner would want: A business to run without you. That's an ideal goal, because your business is only as valuable as it is without you in it. That is, when you go to sell the business, how much would someone pay for it if you're not going to be there? So while you will have to start out on the ground, working with a goal of removing yourself is a great goal.

 

[freetodream]

Hi Coffee Guy - I plan to open what I guess you could call a coffeehouse. I will have the range of espresso based drinks, smoothies, bagles and light pastries for breakfast - for lunch panini grilled sandwiches, salads, and fresh fruit for lunch.....comfy couches and chairs, wifi - etc....

We closed on the bldg. Monday afternoon, and now my panic has begun. We have lots of work to do to renovate the bldg. which must be 100 years old....Not so much downstairs as upstairs - We want to refurbish the upstairs and have bands play up there on the weekends. (We have a community college here, and absolutely nothing for them to do on weekends.) This suggestion came from many of my highschool students - who are super excited about this venture...You would never believe how many caffeine addicted highschool students there are - and "yes" they have the money to spend daily....

Any suggestions are most appreciated!

 

[Coffee Guy]

Well F.D.:

Sounds like you have the makings of a good start. Since you have a lot of high schoolers around, and if they are legal to have work permits, you might offer some of them summer part time employment to help you refurbish the place. Nothing involving major construction, something light like minor clean up and painting projects. This could save you a ton of dough. And since there is a college scene, see if there are any art or designer students willing to paint murrals, etc. This will make everybody in town have a warm and fuzzie feeling for you before you open your doors. Sort of like an ownership feeling since they helped you in the beginning. How soon do you plan to break ground? You can always pm me if you have some special needs, etc. Just a couple of thoughts...Keep us posted and good luck. :wink: