Shawn Larson asked:




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. While looking at coffee shop business plans try to poke through to find out what made them successful or unsuccessful. Their success, or lack thereof can do a lot to help you plan to make yours a success.

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.