I'm in the beginning stages of thinking about opening a coffeehouse and would appreciate just any little piece of advice. I currently work in a coffeehouse and I enjoy it a great deal and think I would enjoy owning one. Thanks in advance for all your advice!
Have AAA+ credit rating if you intend to finance any of your venture with a bank. Unfortunately today, many executives have been laid off and rather than working for the man again, they try their luck at running/owning a business. There is a glut of business loans out today and the banks are very picky and not willing to put 1% risk into a startup.
Do the research. Have not just a good business plan, but a great one.
You may like the job at the coffee shop, but have you ever ran a business? These are two entirely different things.
You really should investigate franchise opportunities for your new coffee shop venture. I work for a coffee roaster which has had 5 company stores for retail. After 11 years of learning how to do it right we have just started to sell franchises. It is a saftey net for someone who is new to the coffee business or business in general.
A franchise's goal is to develope successful systems that can be duplicated. I know that we offer site evaluation, store design, equipment recommendations and at dealer prices, operation manuals and much more. It would be worth your while to at least talk to some coffee franchisors.
As you continue your exploration of retail coffee business you will find that there are a differing and often directly contrasting opinions on most every topic. It is my recommendation that franchises are only a good idea for the franchisor and rarely the franchisee.
You may wish to read THIS THREAD from a previous post.
There are great franchises and poor ones. But the overall success rate of franchised businesses compared to independent start ups three years after opening is staggering. About 2 out 10 independent businesses are still operating 3 years after opening compared to 8 out of 10 franchised businesses. This was compiled by Gallup.
You do pay royalties and advertising costs that can range from 5% to 9% of revenues depending on the individual franchise and there is a one-time franchise fee that covers training, site evaluation, operations manuals etc. It isn't for everyone and if you are one of the 2 out of the 10 independents who are successful franchising probably seems stupid but you increase your chances of success greatly by franchising.
Do your research. Take your time. The more time you take, the better prepared you will be.
One suggestion I have is read "E-Myth Revisited". You don't go want to go into this business because you're good at making coffee. There are so many more aspects that you must take into consideration. This book does a good job of getting you to explore those other aspects. It helped me tremendously!
