If your dream is to own your own coffee shop — now is the time to make that dream come true. The $95.5 billion coffee market is increasing, and 46% of coffee shops have reached sales growth of 5% or more this year (Reuters). The coffee shop industry seems to be caffeinated itself — it shows no signs of slowing down!
Here’s What You Need to know How to Open a Coffee Shop in 9 Steps:
1. Research the Coffee Market
When wondering what you need to open a coffee shop, the first thing you should know about is the coffee industry. What are your customer demographics? How does a coffee shop run? There are many resources online to help you better understand the business.
2. Create a Business Plan
A business plan demonstrates the objectives and goals of your franchise as well as how you will achieve them. When opening a coffee shop franchise, the franchisor will provide assistance that will be essential to writing your business plan and understanding the coffee shop business model. Your business plan will need certain elements in it, such as
- Executive Summary
- Business Description
- Competitive Analysis
- Marketing Plan and Sales Plan
- Operations and Management
- Financial Plan
- Pro Forma
3. Coffee Cafe Startup Costs
If you’re looking for a lower-cost franchise opportunity, opening a Just Love Coffee Cafe can have a total investment range from $333,500-$563,000. Just Love Coffee Cafe startup costs are low because of the build-out costs that are specifically designed to be lower than other coffee shops in the market, in order to get your franchise up and running sooner. Some of the items that make up the coffee cafe startup costs are the franchise fee, supplies, licenses, point-of-sale systems, signage, grand opening marketing, 1-2 months’ rent payment, 2 months of employee salaries, insurance, utilities, furniture, and more.
4. Secure Financing
Once your business plan is written, it’s time to access capital. There are many ways to finance a coffee shop franchise. Start with your personal savings, and with your business plan ready, you can potentially receive funding from a bank and the SBA.
5. Location, Location, Location
Site selection is one of the most important decisions you will make when it comes to what you need to open a coffee shop. In order to find the best location for your business, you need to understand your customer demographics. The costs associated with opening a freestanding coffee shop are relatively high, so we prefer to build new locations inline (in a retail building), end caps, and in strip malls. At Just Love Coffee, we have a designated real estate team that helps new owners with this vital process and handles all steps within this process.
6. Menu
The menu you offer is one of the primary strategies that will keep your customers coming back for more. At Just Love Coffee Cafe, our innovative menu, served all day, is centered around specialty coffee as well as waffle makers. This means you won’t need a full kitchen, your footprint will be smaller, Equipment leads are minimized, and rent will be lower. When it comes to what you need to open a coffee shop, the established, Instagram-worthy menu at Just Love Coffee Cafe is a recipe for success.
7. Hire A Positive Staff
Hiring members of your community can make your coffee shop more approachable and desirable to your customers. Be sure to look for people with a positive attitude and people who are willing to learn the business to keep things running smoothly and keep customers happy with their experience at your store. Just Love Coffee Cafe will provide guidance on hiring the best baristas and staff for your business.
8. Training
You don’t have to be a coffee expert or have an MBA to have what you need to open a coffee shop. At Just Love Coffee Cafe, our team will support you through the process and train you in how to correctly pull expresso shots, pour the coffee, how to cook and prepare our unique menu, how to use the machinery, learn the sales process, how to hire and train baristas, and much more. Intensive training will take place at our headquarters in Murfreesboro and our stores in Nashville, Tennessee.
9. Grand Opening
After training and upon completion of the development of your store, your Just Love Coffee Cafe franchise will be ready to open to the public and you can start serving specialty coffee and delicious food in a welcoming atmosphere. The corporate team at Just Love Coffee Cafe will help you build up to the grand opening and will be on-site that day to ensure a smooth launch into your business venture. What an exciting moment that will be!
It’s clear that a lot of research and hard work goes into opening a coffee shop even if your start it from scratch or if you buy a coffee business for sale in your area, but the potential to become a true community spot with a healthy ROI is well worth it. Before you decide to open a coffee shop franchise, make sure you’re prepared for this work by following the steps above regarding what you need to open a coffee shop.
Is Just Love Coffee Cafe be the coffee shop you’ve been dreaming of owning? If so, please visit https://justlovecoffeefranchise.com/ to turn your dream into a reality.
