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Some folks dream of opening a coffee shop because it’s a romantic or fun endeavor. Researching and writing a comprehensive business plan, however, will help show a prospective coffee shop owner the real business operation and finances required for the café to perform well. You certainly don’t want to invest much of your savings into a business without a thorough understanding of how it needs to operate to succeed.

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Researching for the Business Plan

It is critical to research the coffee shop business to formulate an effective business plan. This will require you to research your local market, including what sort of café products local consumers value, what products local cafés sell successfully, and what products the local market lacks.

Surveying the population to find out about their coffee-drinking habits would provide valuable information toward this end. You may also find that other shops already offer a certain specialty drink (that you wanted to provide) with great success, or that had a theme too similar to one you were considering. This information would save you the trouble of creating a business that caters to a need that local coffee drinkers don’t actually have, or whose demand is already being met. It’s important to offer food as well, because coffee shops typically have to sell more than coffee to stay afloat. Keep your menu simple though to avoid creating indecision in customers.

Ultimately, you want to offer unique products or a unique experience that locals will want. Figuring these aspects out will also enable you to develop a strategy to market your products to the particular customers who want them. If you want to draw mostly a trendy, young crowd, for example, there may be specialty teas and coffees they prefer that other local cafés do not offer. You will also want to think about how the décor and operation of your coffee shop would match your customer base—should these be suited toward business people or hip people?

Also, these days it is crucial to offer Wi-Fi service, as many customers specifically want to use the Internet while at a café, and will avoid a café that lacks it.

How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan

After doing all of your research, you can develop your business plan, divided into the following sections:

• Executive Summary

• Products and Services

• Business Operation

• Marketing Strategy

• Financing

• Professional Biography

• Appendix with licenses or permits

In the executive summary, write a concise, compelling snapshot of your café’s goals and services. In the subsequent sections, you will go into detail about the specific products you will offer, the subset of customers you will cater to, how your products will appeal to them, your marketing strategy for appealing to that subset, your management structure, an outline of your projected revenue and costs, and any ancillary information that investors would need.

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