How to Start Coffee Shop Businesses and Facing the Challenges of Starting a Coffee Shop
How to start coffee shop businesses is the first question which pops up when you plan to do so. Starting a coffee store is not as easy as others may think because there is a great deal of investment and planning required for the business to succeed.
About 52% of Americans drink coffee everyday and 15% of them buy at least one cup of coffee from shops daily. The average shop sells about $550K every year. This makes this type of store one of the new business ideas for young businesspeople. In the US, there are well over 15,000 coffee stores, and that does not include kiosks.
To start this business, you may consider getting a franchise. The most obvious advantage of franchising is the pre-built advertising and publicity campaign. Starting coffee shop businesses by buying a franchise can give you the expertise and support from the franchise owner. Plus, you will enjoy worry-free management of inventories, seating plans, floor plans, menus and furnishings.
However, to start coffee shop businesses thru franchising is most likely expensive. You know Tim Hortons and Starbucks? The average cost is $100K-300K. Another 10K-20K USD a year for training and plus 6%-11% of your gross sales a year.
If you want to start a coffee sstore of your own, that’s a different story then. This type of store provides a community gathering to the enjoyment for its owners – business meetings, college students and a dating couple. You can run this business if you enjoy being around people, love coffee and can survive in a multi-tasking environment. Running this business is not only a fulfilling experience but a profitable endeavor as well. There are many things you should consider though:
Location is topmost. Review where you will place your business in a local uptown, a mall, near a college campus or where there is a lot of foot traffic with provisions of drive thru.
Estimate a breakeven. Expect expenses and not so much of income at the early stage. Plus operating expenses for lease, insurance, utilities, employee salary, marketing/advertising, Internet services, etc. Then build a plan. Know how much money to invest and how much income you will get. Then start coffee shop businesses by gathering your funds and start negotiating for the lease, researching and acquiring equipment, installing paints, bars, chairs, counters and refrigeration. Starting a coffee store means you also start hiring your staff and advertising your business.
Many have long for the bustle and hustle of a shop that they own. The whirl of the milk steamer, the smell of roasted beans, the squirt of whipped cream on a just mixed mocha; what can be better than a business you most love to indulge in the first place?