Three Things Before Opening Your Coffee Shop
July 23, 2010
There is more to running a successful coffee shop than deciding what kind of coffee you will serve. Don’t get me wrong, part of your job in running your thriving coffee shop is providing your customers with an all around flavorful experience which includes the coffee, however there is so much more to know. I believe there are three essential steps to take before starting your coffee shop. Let’s explore them together.
Step One – Do the research. Learn all you can about starting a coffee shop. You can do this in a variety of different ways. My personal favorite is going to several other coffee shops, having a cup of coffee and soaking in the experience. In doing this, watch the dynamics of both the social and business environment. Observe how the business treats their customers, what menu items they sell, what kind of equipment they carry and so on. Some people even choose to get a job at an existing coffee shop before starting their own.
The more obvious means of research you can do is reading. You can learn a lot from the materials out there. There are a lot of resources to choose from. When choosing what to read I recommend that you purchase books specifically on coffee shops, not re-released restaurant startup up books. The differences between the two are crucial. I recommend this book.You can also do a lot of good research on the internet. Library research can be sketchy. If you do do research at the library make sure you checkout current books. There is a difference in business dynamics between current and older Coffee shops.
Step Two – Put together an effective business plan. Notice that I use the word “effective”; developing a plan that covers every aspect of your business will save you a lot of money and heartache in the future. There are two aspects towards putting that business plan together. The first thing to do is search for coffee shop business plans on the web, and in books in either your library or purchasing books at a place like Amazon.com
Secondly, I would recommend using a software package like Business Plan Pro. Software packages like business plan pro will ask specific questions relevant to starting your business. Each question asked will help you develop in your mind what your coffee shop will look like and how it will operate. When finished the business plan software will have given you a professional business plan you can bring to your bank and give you something to keep you on target every step of the way.
In actuality you will do well to develop two distinct plans. The first plan will be a basic layout of what you want to do and what steps you plan to take to make you successful (some people call this an action plan). This plan will keep you on track. It should only be a page or two that you can tape up to your office wall that will remind you to stay on task.
The second plan type of plan I mentioned using a software package like Business Plan Pro. You will use this plan for specific long and short range goals and to share with some investors and bankers. Keep in mind that this is a plan that you are going to share with investors so try to keep it positive and realistic. Some people actually develop a third document that they will give to their investors or bankers that will be a summary page with their mission statement and a quick over view of their business plan. If you decide to go this route, give them the short documents on top of the more advanced document.
Step Three – Get Legal. You will save a lot of time later on by getting all of your legal affairs taken care of now. First, you will need to register your name with the state, get sales tax licenses, and possibly set up a corporation. This can be a daunting task. When I first opened up my business, I tried to do it myself. I hate spending extra money. In the end I paid someone to handle the initial forms for me. After the first time I used the service I no longer needed to go back to them because it is pretty simple to keep up with those forms after once you are familiar with the process. You can spend a lot of money on a Lawyer or a CPA, but you could just use a good online service to get things set up instead. In the process don’t just give someone on the internet all of your personal info. Instead, I recommend doing research and using a company like LegalZoom.com. Make sure that you Google the website first to see if they have any complaints against them or check sources like the BBB.
Even though you may not use a lawyer or CPA to help set up your business forms, it is still a good idea to acquaint yourself with a good CPA and Lawyer for tax preparations and potential legal issues that may come up.
Develop a disaster prevention plan. This would be something like a short what if / action plan. Ask yourself what could go wrong and how could I possibly get sued, and then develop strategies to prevent those things. You will also need to get insurance at this step too. Remember the “Hot Coffee Lawsuit” a few years back? There are definite lessons to learn from that.
Shawn Larson
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5 Responses to “Three Things Before Opening Your Coffee Shop”
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Can anyone give me their thoughts on my very short (and whimsical) story?
I enjoy writing short stories and was wondering if anyone could give me their thoughts on this latest one I’ve written. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Not long ago, in a modestly sized town in mid-western America, there lived a man called Richard Drake. And every day at 8:00 a.m. Richard Drake would wake up, and brush his teeth. Then he would shower, dress, and make himself three buttermilk pancakes along with a glass of orange juice. Upon finishing his meal, Richard Drake would drive to the local coffee shop for a little bit of caffeine. He would say hello to Mrs. Robinson, who was eating a cranberry scone. He would converse with old Seymour Stanton, and he would drop a coin in the ragged, tattered hat of the homeless veteran on the corner, who was always preaching something or other for the passersby. And after that, Richard Drake would make his way to his place of work, arriving at exactly 9 o’clock, to sort mail for seven hours. Richard Drake would then drive home, eat dinner, read the paper, and distract himself with an array of various other occupations of his time before going off to bed, to repeat it all over again.
And that, in essence, was the complete life of Richard Drake. Simple, easy, and unaffecting. It was exactly how he had always envisioned it. It was exactly how he liked it. And it went on for some time. Until one day, when the life of Richard Drake would be turned over upon itself.
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It was a completely ordinary morning in mid December. Patches of snow littered the landscape. A snippy breeze made its rounds through the town, and Richard Drake’s house had that air of a cozy, yet brisk bite of cold that welcomes the thought of a seat next to the fireplace. Richard Drake began his morning routine as normal. He showered and dressed himself. He brushed his teeth, and he made himself a breakfast of three buttermilk pancakes. It was upon stepping out front door that Richard Drake came upon a small parcel seated directly in front of him, wrapped in plain brown cardboard, on which there was a small note that in bold black print read the word: DRAKE.
“Why that’s odd,” Richard Drake thought to himself. “I didn’t come across this package while sorting the mail yesterday.” Puzzled and understandably interested, Richard Drake momentarily retreated back into his house and then emerged with a letter opener, with which he carefully cut the thick brown tape along the top of the box, so as not to damage the goods inside.
Upon opening the mysterious package, Richard Drake found a number of things. There was a perfectly circular pocket watch about the size of a quarter. There was a magnifying glass, and a brown pair of old aviator’s goggles. And beneath it all was a set of hastily written instructions on a sheet of scratch paper folded many times over. Written on the top of this piece of paper were the words, WARNING: Handle with care. Those who change the future will find that they can never return to the past. Those who change the past will find the future unattainable. Underneath this caution was a list of 5 steps. And they read:
1.Adjust watch to exact year, day, and time of your desired destination using the black knobs on the left hand side.
2.If device proves to be too small for accurate adjustment, please use the magnification lens provided.
3.Equip goggles over eyes, lest you lose them during travel.
4.Device allows for travel through time, not space, so please make your own way to desired destination in the first three dimensions.
5.Click the red knob on the right hand side of the watch, and be on your way.
Needless to say, Richard Drake was intrigued. But alas, he would be late for work if he did not depart soon, so he put the watch, and the magnifying glass, and the goggles, and the instructions back into the box, and he placed the box on the kitchen counter for later. And then he left for the local coffee shop, as usual. There he greeted Mrs. Robinson, eating her cranberry scone, and then he conversed with old Seymour Stanton. Then he dropped a coin in the old tattered hat of the homeless war veteran. And then he went to work as normal and sorted the mail for seven hours. When his work day was over, Richard Drake hurried home, filled with anticipation, to take a closer look at his new package.
He walked into the kitchen to examine the quarter sized watch. It contained four rows of information, which from top to bottom, included year, month, day, and of course time. Richard Drake struggled at first to adjust the miniscule dials on his own, with pursed lips and squinted eyes, but in the end his vision failed him, and so he resorted to the magnifying glass included. Holding the watch at an angle to the light, Richard Drake used the lens to examine the various numbers and knobs that littered the small contraption. He then carefully adjusted the date to December 13th 1996, exactly one day previous. He strapped on the old brown goggles as the directions
i dunno
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It sounds interesting enough, but it seems like it got cut off somewhere.
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it is a very fascinating story. i am very amazed about the character of richard drake. is he travelling life through time at 3 dimentions? i wanted to know whether you can insert story short a of his life at different ages through time.
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It’s not bad at all, but you say "Richard Drake" entirely TOO much. Don’t over do it.
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