COFFEE HOUSEBUSINESS PROPOSAL

INTRODUCTIONA coffee shop is an ideal business for a gregarious person who appreciates fine coffee. To open a successful coffee shop, you will need equipment for brewing and serving coffee, as well as decor and tables to create a friendly atmosphere. The equipment for opening a coffee shop can range from quite inexpensive to extremely costly, depending on the quality of the coffee you want to serve and the type of coffee shop experience you want to provide.

EQUIPMENT NEEDEDCoffee MakersCoffee shops make coffee, so you will need some kind of equipment for brewing coffee in order to open. You may choose an industrial coffee brewer, or an espresso machine or both. When choosing your coffee-brewing equipment, consider the type of clientele you intend to draw. A high-end coffee shop should have equipment to produce good quality coffee, while a coffee shop geared towards quickly serving a large volume of coffee should have equipment that can brew a lot of coffee efficiently.

EQUIPMENT NEEDEDCOFFEE GRINDERSIn order to serve a quality cup of coffee, you will need to grind the beans yourself. Purchase an industrial coffee grinder suitable for the type of brewing equipment that you have, such as a grinder that is typically used for espresso beans. Choose a grinder that can handle the volume of beans that you anticipate grinding.

EQUIPMENT NEEDEDREFRIGERATIONYou will need a refrigerator to hold your milk at a suitable temperature. A small coffee shop can often get by with a refrigerator designed for home use, but if you will be doing a considerable volume of business, you should invest in a commercial refrigeration unit that can hold plenty of inventory and keep your milk cold even when the cooler door is opened every few minutes.

EQUIPMENT NEEDEDTHERMAL POTSIf you will have a self-serve area for coffee refills or milk at your coffee shop, you will need to purchase thermal pots. These thermoses will keep coffee hot and milk cold even when they sit at room temperature. Purchase large thermal pots for coffee and smaller ones for milk.

EQUIPMENT NEEDEDOPEN SIGNA coffee shop should have a neon "open" sign to signal to regular and potential customers that they are open. A lit sign makes potential customers who are driving by much more likely to stop because they are not risking taking the time to make a detour only to find that your shop is closed.

EQUIMENT NEEDEDCASH REGISTERYour coffee shop should have a cash register to keep track of sales totals and track transactions by category. You can buy a cash register at an office supply store or at a supplier that specializes in business machines.

SERVICES & GOODS TO BE OFFERED• Hot and cold beverages• Video game lounge• Baked goods• Burgers• Free Wi-Fi• Shakes & sundaes• Delivery services

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO RUN THE COFFEE SHOPFurniture, Dishes and EquipmentThe size of your coffee shop will determine how much furniture and equipment you will need. Furniture needed includes tables and chairs and possibly bar stools. Depending on the beverages you choose to sell, the equipment you will need can include coffee makers, tea brewers and dispensers, espresso makers, smoothie makers, decanters and decanter brewers, air pots and air-pot brewers and coffee grinders. Additionally, you will need glasses, silverware and coffee cups. An ice maker can be a beneficial accessory as well. If you decide to include pies or pastries to compliment the coffee, you will also need plates. A dishwasher and a refrigerator are crucial in providing clean, efficient service.

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO RUN THE COFFEE SHOPPaper suppliesMany coffee drinkers enjoy having a cup of coffee on the go. For this reason, it is important to include disposable cups and lids in your supply list. Drinking straws, stir straws, coffee filters, carry-out trays, coffee sleeves, napkins and toiletries are also need to operate a coffee house. If you elected to serve food in your shop, carry-out trays are also important. It is also vital to include proper storage containers for opened products as well as labels so that they may be properly identified.

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO RUN THE COFFEE SHOPGrocery GoodsIn order for a coffee shop to run successfully, you will need to ensure that you have all of the necessary grocery goods. This includes coffee beans, milk, syrups, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, tea bags, sweeteners, creamers or any other foods you feel are useful in properly executing the items on your menu.

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO RUN THE COFFEE SHOPSafety and CleanlinessOne of the most important aspects of any business is maintaining customer and employee safety and cleanliness. Supplies needed for these aspects include mops, brooms, buckets, cleaners, oven mitts or gloves. Consider purchasing a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher in case of emergencies.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Open your coffee shop in the right

location. Target a local customer base. Get to know the neighbourhood and what types of people live there. In most cases, you will be able to choose the atmosphere of your coffee shop, because every locale contains many subsets of demographics. Make sure there are enough people in the area to patronize your business.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Scope out the competition. If another local

coffee shop attracts a funky, young customer base, opt for a more austere atmosphere and target a different customer base or plan to out-funk the other place and steal some of their loyal patrons. Learn how much the competition charges for a coffee, a mocha, a triple latte, a slice of pie. You can charge more or less for your coffee products, but the overall experience should reflect the price-point value of your product.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Set up free access to wireless Internet

for your coffee shop. This gets people in the door and gives them a reason to stay.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Make your coffee shop as comfortable

as possible. The more inviting the atmosphere, the longer customers will stay and the more loyal they will become. Include plenty of seating, but don't cramp the space. Sofas and booths help as well. Plenty of traditional table seating is also necessary.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Offer food. This keeps customers in your

coffee shop for longer periods of time.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Use "Buy Ten, Get One Free" stamp

cards to give customers incentive to buy often. Each time a customer buys a drink or food item, stamp the card. When it fills up, he can turn it in for a free drink of any size.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Play the right music. If you find that customers

come to your coffee shop to study, keep the volume down. Keep an eye on your demographics, and play the right music for the right crowd. Experiment with music tastes and listen to feedback. Once you find a style of music your customers like, try to stick with it. Your best bet is to pump in some customized satellite radio.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Keep everything clean, neat, orderly and self-

apparent. For example, if you are set up to have customers bus their own dishes, place the busing containers in plain sight. Fix any broken or rocking tables as they develop problems. Keep the sugar and condiment station fully stocked. Make sure nothing is sticky for longer than a few minutes. Situate the order, pick-up and payment counters in plain view.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Set employee schedules clearly, and

hold employees to their commitments. Overlap schedules so there is always someone available to fulfill customer orders.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Keep supplies well stocked at all times,

and do not stop serving anything because it is an hour to closing time.

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL COFFEE SHOP• Maintain transparent accounting. Run

cash-outs at the end of every cashier shift to maintain accountability. Never keep more than $200 of petty cash in the safe.

HOW TO GET A LICENSE FOR A COFFEE SHOP• Contact your county or city department

of public health and ask for a copy the food retailer's handbook. Most agencies publish a handbook that helps new food retailers understand the requirements of getting a food service license.

HOW TO GET A LICENSE FOR A COFFEE SHOP• Fill out the application for your food

retailers' or service license. Depending on your locale, you may need to submit a floor plan of your coffee shop as well as any zoning permissions you need to obtain through your municipality.

HOW TO GET A LICENSE FOR A COFFEE SHOP• Submit your application along with the

required fee to your state health department.

HOW TO GET A LICENSE FOR A COFFEE SHOP• Make an appointment with the health

department for an inspection of your coffee shop before it opens. It's important that your shop meet the requirements before it opens or you could be subject to heavy fines or closed down.

HOW TO GET A LICENSE FOR A COFFEE SHOP• Ask your city or county clerk's office if a

separate license or permit is required through your city or county. Submit that application and the appropriate fee.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Assess your appetite for speculation. All

humans have some affinity for risk-taking, but be sure you've the stomach to finance a business reliant upon a commodity. You'll be asked to come up with investment cash long before you see that first a cup of java poured into investors' cups and you won't see payoffs until long after seasonal harvests of coffee beans have come and gone, so if you need cash now, take a pass.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Obtain all of the sales, marketing and financial

data from the coffee businesses' owners to assess the time, money and effort they pledge to get the enterprise up and running. You'll take a risk on the owners in addition to future coffee crops and local economics. Vet principles carefully. If the sum of their collective work experience consists of being Starbucks baristas with big dreams, find another brew for your cash.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Commission a competitive analysis to assess the

neighbourhood or community that's to be home to the coffee business in question. Six coffee shops within a one-mile radius plus coffee-brewing drive-thru chains means that the business you'll help finance will require an expensive marketing effort to survive. If that component is missing, your return on investment could be a long shot at best.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Keep tabs on the international coffee market, as

your investment will depend upon successful growing seasons in nations like Jamaica, Columbia or Kenya. One weather disaster or period of social unrest can put your investment in jeopardy. Staying in the loop about global coffee traffic will also help you keep tabs on "short sellers," commodity speculators poised to pull profits on a dime, spiking coffee prices and your potential for profit taking.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Make a decision once you've weighed the pros

and cons of investing in the coffee business. If you jump in, make your financial commitment on your own terms after having your attorney vet financing agreements. Pay out your fiscal commitment over time if you want to stay liquid or infuse the business with a one-time pay out to gain a tax write-off or other financial advantage.

HOW TO FINANCE A COFFEE BUSINESS• Stay as close to your investment as you do to

the global coffee market, but don't be obtrusive. As a financier, you have a perfect right to maintain close ties to the coffee company enjoying the fruits of your financial help, but be sensible about your influence. Practice financier etiquette by working hard behind the scenes to build the business.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEAS• Coffee shops have become the new gathering

place for people outside of their homes, replacing the corner bar as the place to meet. A successful coffee shop will have many elements in its design that make customers feel comfortable, make them want to linger for a while, and get them to come back over and over again. Every part of a coffee shop design can result in repeat business, if you know what your customers are looking for.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEASFURNITUREPeople come to coffee shops for many different reasons, and the furniture should reflect this. Some come to meet with friends, and will need larger tables with chairs or stools to gather around. Some are there for meeting one special person, and will need smaller and more intimate tables. Some come on their own simply to relax, so come larger comfortable chairs with side tables would fit in. Good lighting for reading is important, and lots of electric outlets for plugging in laptops are appreciated, as well.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEASTHINGS TO DOMaking a coffee shop feel much like home will go a long way towards getting your customers to come back over and over. A fireplace along one wall or in the centre of the room can provide a focal point around which people will join and hold conversations. A bookshelf, perhaps added to by the shop regulars, gives lone coffee drinkers some quiet entertainment. Game tables decorated with chess and backgammon boards are naturals for people staying for a while. Quiet music is always a plus for relaxing and just enjoying the atmosphere. Put up a trivia quiz board, and have each customer guess the trivia question of the day, giving them a small discount for correct answers.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEASPERSONALIZE ITMaking the customers feel like home will help them to feel as if this is "their" shop. Personalize coffee mugs and put up a shelf behind the counter to display them. Pass out colouring sheets and crayons to customers' children and hang the resulting artwork on the walls. Put up a large bulletin board and post frequently-taken photographs of regular customers. If any regulars are musicians, ask them to play for an hour. If your shop is near a college campus, decorate with school logos. Make the shop a part of the community, and customers will make it a daily stop on their schedule.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEASMAKE IT SEASONALDecorate your shop according to the seasons. Let the customers decorate your Christmas tree. Put out baskets of artificial flowers in the spring. Hang autumn leaves in the fall. Find coloured mugs to use on holiday weeks: green for St. Patrick's Day, red for Valentine's Day. Keep the decorations simple, but constantly changing. Your regular customers will think of this as another home, so decorate it like it is.

COFFEE SHOP INTERIOR DESIGN IDEASTHE WALLSKeep your wall decorations homey, simple and personalized. Take pictures of regular customers in their favourite seat and frame and hang them. Name drinks after customers and create plaques celebrating them. Hang black and white photos of the neighbourhood, from past and present. Take a large group picture of all team members, and have everyone autograph it. Personalize everything in your shop, and it will feel more like home.