Starting a coffee shop from scratch

Personally I have always seen franchising as almost a final resort. Conducting some market research by speaking to people in the area etc etc will give you a greater feel as to what will be the best way forward. You need to consider: Health & Safety Laws (a whole myriad of them!) Public Liability Insurance and numerous other insurances Competitors Planning Permission from the council Sourcing suppliers Branding Marketing There is a whole lot more you will need to consider too. Try www.bestforbusiness.com for a few tips on various matters. Also, try speaking to cafe owners in other areas of town and see the issues they faced. I hope I've been helpful (I'm a little rushed) and I'm sure you've thought of some of this before! Good luck though! PS US info can be helpful as long as you understand the differences!
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Marketeer
marketeer@lycos.co.uk

Marketeer is right about the law and also there are licensing considerations if you want to serve alcohol on the premises as well as a number of food hygiene laws as well as Health and Safety. I would suggest you start with the premises ( preferably those already in use recently as a coffee shop/cafe bar) and with the planning permission already in place. Once you have done the figures then email me for a free fact sheet on legal areas to look at.
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Lee Schwartz Lime One Ltd www.limeone.com 01244 852550

Hi - cant get Startups forum to email you directly but after reading your post I think you may be interested in :- www.BottleBar.com (The investors section gives info which I think you will find interesting)
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www.makemoneyonline-makemoneyonline.co.uk

Hi, many thanks for your helpful comments. Still haven't decided which way to go - franchise, new startup, established business...? I'm feeling uneasy about franchising because I've researched several catering and food franchises over the last 3 months and, for one reason or another, they've all fallen at the final hurdle. Bottom line is that you have to cough up 8-10% of T/O and you don't really own the business - only the licence to operate the business. Also you can't even change the price of a cappuccino without authorisation in triplicate! You catch my drift. A new start up looks like a logistical nightmare especially without any previous business experience - and time is not really on my side. I think buying an established business is looking like the favourite option though I'm sure this is fraught with potential disaster if one is not extremely careful. Anyway the question is: Is it adviseable to appoint some sort of business agent to deal with the intricacies of purchasing an established business - or is it sufficient to let your accountant and solicitor get on with it. Any advice, as usual, much appreciated. Many regards....

Hi,

We have just launched a new website that should help you out a little. It's called

http://www.howtostartacoffeeshop.co.uk.

You probably already started your coffee shop but it might help others.

Regards,

Youri

Hi

I’m going to be a real killjoy now and say, if you don’t have any direct experience - don’t start a coffee shop from scratch! Its way too competitive, as well as all the other reasons people have given above.

If you don’t like the idea of a franchise (which I can sort of understand) why not do some part time work at a local coffee shop, or even go the next town, find a local one and offer to work for free.. I guarantee you will learn loads there.

You also mention, that time isn’t on your side – what’s the rush? I set up a business once on what was really an artificial deadline and it didn’t go well..

Understanding the business you are going into is key, as is location of your shop - don’t rush into something as you may regret it for a very long time.

I hope that helps.

Hope this helps, went to their show last year and got lots of help, also met other people in my situation. There are no strings attached, just get free tickets to the startup show in london. Check our the site first though.
starting a business - Business Startup. Useful show and advice, and its all free!

Cheers

John