Do you think you have what it takes to create the next best coffee shop in your area? Unfortunately, you aren’t the only one. With over 22,000 coffee shops in the United States, you have a lot of competition to beat out.
If you’re opening a coffee shop, you need to take a few critical steps to get started. Keep reading to learn the basics of how to open a coffee shop.
Create a Business Plan
Starting a coffee business is more complicated than finding a location and opening up a shop. If you don’t have a target market, marketing plan, and suppliers, you’ll struggle to get off the ground.
A business plan is what informs your initial strategy. Spend time coming up with one so you can hit the ground running when you’re ready to start your business.
Find a Great Location
You aren’t going to run a successful coffee business operating from a location that nobody visits. If you want to be successful, try to find a popular spot frequented by your target audience.
Going this route means people can find you on the go. You’ll rely less on getting the word out with traditional marketing and more on getting someone’s attention when walking by your coffee shop.
Get Great Suppliers
You can’t survive in the coffee shop business by offering a subpar product. If you get off-the-shelf ground coffee that tastes bitter, you won’t be able to keep customers coming in the front door.
Find suppliers that offer superior coffee beans. Once you have those, you can focus on creating blends that make the most of your beans.
Check out this guide from ictcoffee.com to learn more about sourcing good coffee.
Find a Great Team
You aren’t going to run your coffee shop on your own. You don’t have the time to be in front of your customers all day. That’s why you need employees who provide excellent service in your place.
Do your due diligence when hiring people to make sure you find people who can paint your company in a great light. If you hire people with poor customer service skills, people won’t return to your coffee shop.
Create a Growth Plan
You can only get so far by opening your coffee shop in a high-traffic area. There will only be a certain number of people who travel through that area, so you won’t be able to reach people who don’t visit often.
You’ll need a great plan to reach people who live a little outside your area. In most cases, you can accomplish this with online marketing. Look into social media and search engine marketing to see how to establish your coffee brand online.
Now You Know How to Open a Coffee Shop
When starting a coffee shop, the last thing you want to do is to go into action without a plan. Now that you know more about how to open a coffee shop, you’re in a better position to be successful.
Of course, there is a lot more that goes into running a successful business. Head back to our blog to learn everything else you need to know.