How to Develop a Coffee Shop Business Plan

Business Plan section

Description

Executive Summary

Executive summary is the summary of the entire coffee business plan. It enumerates the content of the entire business plan, detailing the dates, location and every other important information. Executive summary is first on the list, but it is what you will write last.

Business Description – The Concept

Important information such as the name of your coffee shop, as well as its intended location (precise or approximate), product offerings and your competitive advantage will be detailed in the business description section.

Development-To-Date Details

As the title suggests, in this section you will describe what progress you have made towards the establishment of your coffee shop as at the time of developing the coffee shop business plan.

Ownership and Management

In this section, you will include details about you as the supposed business owner. If you have a management team, you will also include their details.

Business Structure Details

What legal business structure will your coffee shop adopt? Is it going to be a limited liability company, a franchise, or maybe another different kind of structure? You will indicate whichever it is in this section.

Coffee Shop Objective

While this question may sound like a simple one, you have to utilize this opportunity to succinctly state the objectives of establishing your coffee shop. Investors, creditors and property rentals are mostly interested in this part of your coffee shop business plan. Therefore, you want to make sure you are not getting anything wrong here.

Products and Services (Menu)

This section is also very important to investors and others. The selection of your product and service offerings will determine to a large extent the direction of your planning. Even the design of your coffee shop and the kind of equipment you will purchase all depend on your product and service offerings.

The Vison Statement

Your vision statement will appear in this section. Regardless of the size of your coffee shop, you must carve out both vision and mission statements for it. These statements are like an invisible compass that will direct your coffee shop as time goes on.

Unique Sales Proposition (USP)

Your unique sales proposition is what sets you apart from the rest of the competition. It may include the specialty coffee flavors you have to offer, or a different way you can sell your products to customers. Whatever sets you apart from the crowd, detail it in this section.

Marketing Details

This includes details about your marketing strategy. Marketing is very important, especially to new businesses. Investors are very interested in knowing how you plan to market your brand, products and services to your intended market. In this section, you must include every detail related to your marketing strategies and plans.

Location

If you already have a location in mind, include it in this section. What if you have two or more locations in mind? Include every location you have in mind, whether two, three or any amount. Just make sure the locations are in tandem with your coffee shop business goals and objectives.

Market Research

Market research in this context is what you have found out about your product and service offerings, as well as their prices from your competitors. This should be done as early as possible, and included in this section. Note that market research is to be carried out for each of your products and services.

Competition

The truth is that your coffee shop won’t be the first in the world, and most likely not the first in your vicinity. Whether you want it or not, some competitions will welcome you to the market. In this section, you must pen down how you will deal with your competition, and how you perceive your competitions will take your penetration into the market.

Coffee Equipment

Before you can decide which coffee equipment that you need, you have to first decide what your menu offerings will be. Once this is decided, you can now go ahead to make a list of every coffee equipment that you need.

Financials (Budget Details)

In the financial section, you will reveal your financial plans, including the financing options that you are considering. These may include a soft loan from friends or family members, a bank loan, or money from investors. You will also make a highlight of some of your financial documents including, an income statement, cash flow statements and break-even analysis.

Sales Projections

The sales projections of your coffee shop depend on important variables such as your products, your pricing, as well as the expected flow of customers.

Net Income Projections

Unlike sales projections, net income projections depend on variables such as fixed costs, variable costs, average customer purchases. Once all these are determined, you can then decide your projected coffee shop net income.

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)

The statement of financial position section will contain details about all your assets and liabilities. Remember that a balance sheet usually has two parts, i.e., the assets part and the liability part, in that order.

Permits and Regulatory Concerns

This section will include all regulatory permits that are required to open your coffee shop.

Your Timeline

This includes the date you have set aside for opening your coffee shop, beginning operation, etc.

Risks

This section details all the risks your coffee business faces. Make sure you write every one of them down, as well as how you plan to tackle them.

Exit Strategy

While a business is expected to run into the foreseeable future, it is still expected of every business owner to have an exit plan. Include your exit plan in this section.