Where to start? I want to start a coffee shop!

We started this page because many people ask us where to start when opening a coffee shop. What is the first step? Who to contact first? This is a tricky question because it depends on your circumstances but we try to answer it the best we can.

The first thing is obviously to think real hard. Ask yourself why you want to open a coffee shop. Is is because you like coffee? Or is it because you want to be independent? Are you making it sound better than it might be? Do you really understand the hard work that it involves and the hours it takes? Are you sure that you want to make coffee all day and deal with staff issues? If your answer is a definite yes, then GREAT.

The ideal scenario would be if you could find a job in a coffee shop for a while. Then work your way up to the top to learn the job. After you have the experience you can start your own shop. This however is not a viable option for many people and we understand this. 

One of the best ways for sure it to join a course that teaches you most of the things that you will need to know about starting a coffee shop. These courses are a great help and can teach you about the finance side of things as well as finding a good location. 

One of the first things we think you should work out is how much you need to earn to live. There is no point starting a coffee shop that in the end doesn't give you the earnings that you need to live on. This means that you need to learn how much you can earn with a coffee shop. Of course courses can help you with this but you could also try to get hold of the annual accounts of coffee shops in your area. Look for coffee shops that are for sale and ask for their accounts. This should give you a bit of an insight into things. 

Once you know how much you can earn with shops you should be able to start working out what size coffee shop you would be looking for. It might be a small 50 sqm shop or it could be a 200 sqm shop. At the same time you should be working out your takings per year. Then you have an idea of how many people you need to get through the door. 

All this might be hard to work out by yourself, which is why a course can really help you out.

Also, it would be a good idea to learn the basics of running a business. Courses for this are highly recommended. You could also read through gov.uk which is very helpful.

Plan of action?

This could be a good plan of action once you have worked out your initial research and have a business plan just about ready:

1. Come up with a plan that makes you stand out from the rest. Form an idea, a concept. Something that you are passionate about and at the same time works and has a demand. Prepare your business plan, do your SWOT analysis, break even analysis, cash flow forecasting etc.
2. Your accountant is helpful at the beginning with setting up the right style of company. Accountants are very important   contacts to have when starting and running a business and often offer a free consultancy for new clients.
3. Ensure your finance and set up your business banking. Work out the good deals and build a good relationship with your bank manager. The bank manager will want to see your business plan. We would recommend to first find out from the bank what they are looking for. Ask for a template and get to work. In the end, they are looking for figures. You often need to put up 50% of the funds. Also be sure to look into grants and private investors.
4. Find passionate suppliers. Suppliers can be contacted  throughout the whole procedure. Barista training, food training, health and safety training, till training, customer service training should be done long before opening and it is really recommended to talk to people who deal a lot with coffee shops, such as barista trainers.
5. Once you have found the location that you want the negotiating about the lease starts. This can be the most difficult process for sure and very stressful. It is important that this is done properly and make sure that you have a good solicitor by your side.
6. Contact the council for planning and permission of use. Don't wait to long with this. Councils are usually not the quickest so contact the council as soon as possible regarding any permissions such as outside seating. If you need to apply for a change of use then do this before you sign the lease as a change of use can sometimes take up to three months.
7. You have the option to do most of the work yourself or you can give the project to a shop fitter. The choice is yours. Most people however work with local builders. Do ensure that if you work with local builders that you have the time and experience to correctly project manage. Ensure that you have a clear time frame as a delay in building work can incur high cost and loss of income.
8. One of the most important jobs that you have to do is to find the correct team. Staff really make or break the place. Find people who are enthusiastic, not too shy and who are people persons. Go with your instinct. There will be plenty of people to choose from so take your time with your interviews. Application forms can really help here as well. 
9. Have a training program in place before you open. Extremely important and often not done correctly. Pre-opening training is one of the most important things you can do. Your staff need to learn to work as a team and they need to understand what you want from them. Teach them about customer service, service and cleaning procedures.
10. Don't forget to enjoy the whole process - although sometimes stressful, stay positive!

Having just completed the two day course I would like to say a very big thank you to Stu - he really is brilliant, very patient (he needed to be!) and knowledgable, the course provided hands on training and really useful informaion regarding the setting up of a coffee shop - I would highly recommend this course! - Janice