What could be more pleasant than drinking a morning cup of aromatic coffee with a delicious croissant in a small cozy coffee shop? Enjoy the smell of coffee and fresh pastries, have a leisurely conversation and enjoy the unique atmosphere... And how pleasant it must be to be the owner of such a coffee establishment. Do you want to become one? Let's figure out how to open a coffee shop and how much this pleasure will cost.
Create a concept
So, first of all, you need to decide on the concept of the future coffee shop. Will it only serve coffee and desserts? Will you offer visitors the opportunity to have a tasty and inexpensive snack, such as a business lunch? Will you do alcoholic cocktails or add liqueurs and cognac to coffee? Will this be a place for coffee lovers or a quick coffee to go? Maybe you have your own original idea?
One more thing to think about. If you came up with the idea of opening a coffee shop under the “wing” of some well-known chain by purchasing a franchise from it, then you will be required to find a suitable premises and invest the amount specified in the agreement. The franchisor company will help you organize everything else. But then it will no longer be your own “brainchild”. It will most likely be impossible to make any changes to the “corporate style”, product range and service model at will.
It’s much more pleasant to open your own coffee shop from scratch, think through the interior down to the smallest detail and create a unique atmosphere and cozy atmosphere. Of course, creating a coffee shop “with your own face” is expensive, but it’s worth it.
Complete the necessary documents
You should start creating a business by choosing organizational form activities. It could be or. Register your company by submitting an application and necessary documents to the tax office.
To start working in the optimal tax regime, you need to immediately notify the tax authorities about the transition to a special tax regime immediately after registering the enterprise. For a coffee shop, a diagram (if possible in your region) or a “simplified” one is suitable. If you think that it would be more profitable for you, keep in mind that you have only 5 days from the date of registration of the organization to submit an application to switch to this system. In this case, it is better to choose the “income minus expenses” object as the tax base, since the expenses in your coffee shop will be large.
The tax office must also conclude an agreement for servicing the cash register with a licensed organization.
If you plan to sell alcohol, submit documents for a retail license to the territorial department of the consumer market. Please note that the license is not issued to individual entrepreneurs. Keep this in mind when choosing the legal form of your organization.
At the next stage, it is necessary to issue a set of permitting and sanitary-epidemiological documents. Their list is established by legislative acts and regulations of Rospotrebnadzor (“Rules for indicating services in the field of catering", Federal Law "On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population" and others).
The list of documents required to open and operate a coffee shop includes:
- conclusion of the SES and OGPS for the premises;
- agreements with utility providers;
- PPK (industrial sanitary control program);
- an agreement with the SES for disinfestation, disinfection and deratization;
- contract for the removal of solid waste and organic waste;
- agreement for the destruction of mercury-containing lamps;
- an agreement for disinfection of the ventilation system if the coffee shop opens in a residential building;
- an agreement with a laundry (dry cleaning) for washing employee uniforms and table textiles;
- consumer stand;
- documents regulating the activities of catering facilities;
- internal sanitary documents (Registers of disinfectants, waste removal, etc.);
- security agreement.
Find and renovate the premises
The premises for a coffee shop should be in a very busy place. It is best in a business or student area, close to major transport stations or train stations, in a large shopping center. A quiet residential neighborhood should not even be considered as an option: a coffee shop will only pay for itself if there is a lot of traffic.
The requirements of sanitary and fire services for the premises of a coffee shop do not differ from the requirements for other public catering establishments.
You can open a mini-coffee shop on an area of 50 sq.m., for a larger scale you need 100-150 sq.m., of which allocate sufficient space for preparing drinks and trading, separated from the hall by a display case or bar counter.
Bringing the premises to current sanitary, hygienic and fire safety standards, requirements of the licensing authority (in the case of alcohol sales) is carried out during repairs. Pre-coordinate the redevelopment project with the concerned authorities (SES, fire supervision, architectural bureau). Based on these approvals, you can obtain a permit from the local interdepartmental commission.
Interior renovation is a very important part of preparing the premises. The design must correspond to the concept of the coffee shop. For example, for the coffee-to-go format, minimalism is welcomed and a high-tech design is more suitable; for a mini-coffee shop, a cozy home environment is more suitable. The interior should display a corporate style that distinguishes your coffee shop from any other. A coffee shop is a fairly democratic establishment, so you can show a fair amount of imagination in its design.
Select furniture and purchase equipment
Of course, the furniture must obey the general concept. For guests you will need tables and chairs, optionally comfortable sofas or ottomans, depending on the number of seats. Provide a place for outerwear, preferably next to each table if these are wall hangers, or one rack hanger for several adjacent tables. Interior items designed in a general style will give your coffee shop coziness and an individual “zest”.
Decorate the coffee brewing area with a bar counter or a beautiful display case for baking. Don't forget to buy suitable utensils. Each type of coffee is served in its own special cup.
Equipment for the kitchen and coffee making is a fairly expensive item in a coffee shop business plan. Since your guests will be coffee connoisseurs, you won’t be able to save on the quality of coffee equipment. Each type of bean needs its own coffee grinder. You can enter into an exclusive agreement with a coffee supplier with the condition of providing you with a coffee machine or professional coffee grinder for use.
So, you will need:
- refrigerators and freezers;
- coffee machine and several coffee grinders, mixer, juicer;
- microwave and oven for baking;
- cash register, mobile terminals for waiters;
- necessary furniture for the kitchen.
Hire and train staff
A lot depends on the coffee shop staff. What's the use of your “magical” atmosphere and expensive design if the waiters are sluggish and the barista makes tasteless coffee.
If you do not have your own production, this will make the task somewhat easier. It will only be necessary to establish relationships with suppliers of semi-finished products and finished baked goods. If you are planning a kitchen, you will need cooks and a technologist.
To work in the hall, find waiters and organize training for them. Their fast and high-quality work will determine whether the guests of your coffee shop will want to come back to you again.
A coffee shop must have specialists in brewing coffee - baristas, otherwise you will not have a coffee shop, but just an ordinary cafe. Unlike bartenders, who may not be present in a coffee shop if the amount of work involved in pouring alcoholic beverages and preparing cocktails is planned to be small.
You can keep the coffee shop clean with the help of cleaners, or you can offer this function to one of the employees for an additional fee.
If you do not plan to manage the operation of your coffee shop yourself, then hire a competent manager. You can invite an accountant to come.
Let's calculate how much it costs to open a coffee shop
The costs of opening a coffee shop depend on its format, the range of services provided, and the cost of rent.
For example, opening a mini-coffee shop with 8 tables without your own production will cost at least 1.3 - 1.5 million rubles.
This amount includes: renting premises, repairs, paperwork, obtaining permits - about 1 million rubles. Equipment, furniture, dishes - another 300 - 500 thousand rubles. Monthly costs will be at least 250 thousand rubles.
A coffee shop with 20 tables and its own kitchen will cost you at least 5-6 million rubles.
Registration of a company, rental of premises, preparation and implementation of redevelopment, obtaining approvals and licenses may well take up to six months and will require about 1.8 - 2 million rubles. Furniture and equipment will cost approximately 2.6 million rubles, since organizing your own production is quite expensive due to the purchase of all kinds of equipment and special furniture. With the right approach, your kitchen expenses will pay off quickly: the markup on baked goods can reach up to 600%, on snacks and salads – 250-350%. Your costs for personnel, rent and utility bills, operating expenses will be about 1 million rubles per month.
In addition, it is necessary to provide an advertising budget of 30–50 thousand rubles. It is better to identify your target audience (business center employees, students, shopping center visitors) and direct efforts to promote your establishment towards them purposefully, without wasting time and money on a full-scale advertising campaign. It’s unlikely that anyone will travel from the other end of the city to drink coffee in your coffee shop, but for visitors from the adjacent area it may well become the most favorite place where they can have a snack, “sit out” a free couple, and chat with friends.
In addition to the above figures of total costs, it is worth adding about 30% of reserve funds for unforeseen expenses and project financing in the first 1-2 years of work.
How soon will your coffee shop break even? Expect that the markup in a coffee shop is much higher than in ordinary cafes, but the average bill is much less - about 150-200 rubles. Everything will depend on the activity of visitors. Please note that some guests will sit for quite a long time over one cup of coffee, talking with their neighbors at the table, or “hovering” on their laptop or tablet. Therefore, in a very busy place, provide enough seating to constantly maintain customer turnover.
The average payback period for a coffee shop is 1-3 years.
- Do not try to skimp on the quality of coffee and equipment for its preparation.
- Pay special attention to the staff. Employees are the face of your coffee shop.
- The style of the coffee shop must be maintained in everything: music, menu, napkins, staff uniforms. Own style- this is yours business card"and your pride.
- Focus more on women's tastes; women go to coffee shops more often.
- Create a free Wi-Fi zone and provide sockets for charging devices.
- Set up a small children's room.
- Remember that the best advertising is word of mouth. Treat your visitors as your most valuable guests, and they will come back to you.
Currently, coffee shops are in great demand, even despite the economic crisis. Not everyone can afford a full lunch in a cafe or restaurant, but every second person is ready to treat themselves to a piece of cake.
Despite the abundance of mobile coffee shops, where coffee costs 2-3 times cheaper, people prefer to sit for 15-20 minutes in a cozy, quiet place and enjoy their vacation. Therefore, small coffee shops are and will be in great demand.
So, you decided to open a mini-cafe from scratch and don’t know where to start. For this we have prepared for you step by step instructions, which will certainly help with launching a coffee business.
1. Determine the right location and rent the premises
First, you need to decide on a location, you don’t need to choose the city center because of a lot of competition, we’re sure there are already several cafes of this type there. Better analyze the places where universities, schools and business centers are located. That is, where there are always large crowds of people.
Also, in such areas the price of renting premises is significantly lower than in the very center of the city. Therefore, the key to success mainly lies in the careful selection and final selection of a location that will provide maximum returns.
2. Select furniture and equipment in a certain style
After we have found the room, we need to decide on the interior design. From experience, I can recommend a minimalist style in muted colors. So that visitors can relax and not be distracted.
Furniture required: a bar counter, tables, chairs and several shelves on which decorative elements can be placed.
Among other things, allocate space for the bathroom, kitchen and work area. Since a coffee shop is not only a hall with tables and a bar counter. Create the most comfortable conditions for both clients and staff.
3. We buy high-quality coffee machines
A coffee shop cannot exist without a coffee machine, and one will clearly not be enough. Study the market and choose reliable manufacturers who supply quality machines with warranty service in the future.
There are three types of such equipment: professional, household and something in between. We immediately discard the household ones, since such a coffee machine will work for a maximum of a week, and then it will break down from the load. The best option There will be professional equipment that will pay for itself over time. But it will last much longer.
4. We create a menu and negotiate with bakeries
An important step is to resolve the issue with the menu and price list. To do this, conduct a social survey about what your target audience prefers to a cup of coffee. For example, if the coffee shop is located near a university, survey 100-200 students and make sketches for yourself.
Then agree with the bakeries that they will supply you N-number of cakes or pies every day. Buying desserts is much more profitable than running your own kitchen - you will need fewer documents, and costs are reduced significantly.
Make a price list taking into account all costs: purchase of raw materials, rental of premises, wages employees and more. But prices should be competitive, so there is no need to overestimate or underestimate them. Choose average market prices, but arrange discounts and promotions to attract customers.
5. We hire workers and open a coffee shop
Now all that remains is to find people who will work for you. Namely: a bartender, several waiters and a cleaning lady. Agree with them in advance, test their work before opening and always have several other contacts in reserve to ensure that someone does not show up for work.
Working with people is the most difficult stage in any business. Therefore, get ready for the fact that new people will always be accepted and trained. It is very rare for a team in such an area to remain constant for many years.
6. We are engaged in promotion and attraction of visitors
You can also print out flyers with the opening date and promise a discount to those who come and bring a friend. Hire someone to hand them out and advertise the new location. Believe me, it’s better to start promoting at least a couple of weeks in advance so as not to make a mistake on opening day.
As you can see, nothing complicated - follow our recommendations and you will succeed. The main thing is to put a piece of your soul into it and pay attention to all the little things, as details are important for the reputation of the establishment.
To summarize, we can say that choosing the right place and audience, creating comfortable conditions and advantageous offers, as well as active advertising – already 80% of success. And the rest will depend on you and the hired staff.
The catering industry is rightfully considered one of the most relevant niches for business. Modern man often snacks on the go, without having time to have a full breakfast or lunch at home. A coffee shop is one of the most attractive formats for opening your own establishment. A simple but also exquisite menu allows you to attract visitors, making them regular customers. A properly developed concept and detailed coffee shop will help a novice entrepreneur open his own business and receive not only pleasure from it, but also profit.
Is it worth opening a coffee shop as a franchise?
Inexperienced businessmen often hesitate to start their own business. Such people can turn to more experienced representatives of the field for help. They will help not only beat competitors, but also create a full-fledged concept and think through the menu. And a well-known brand will allow you to immediately reach good level income and attract many customers. Here are some interesting franchises that allow you to open coffee shops different types Today:
Coffeeshop Company Coffee Smile Coffee Machine Work concept Full-service coffee shop (it is possible to open small stationary points of sale in business centers) Coffee bar in “coffee to go” format Drive-through coffee shop Investments 4,000,000 – 15,000,000 rubles From 450,000 rubles 2,600,000 – 4,100,000 rubles Entry fee 1,500,000 rubles 150,000 rubles 600,000 rubles Royalty 6% of revenue 2.5 rubles for each glass of coffee sold 2% of revenue (+1% of marketing revenue) Payback period 2.5 years 3 – 6 months 9 – 12 months Brand recognition will allow you to save on advertising, and a ready-made business model will reduce risks and increase profitability. The main thing is to choose the right franchisee who is interested not only in selling his franchise, but also in obtaining a good joint result.
Menu: range of products sold
The main place on the menu of any coffee shop is delicious and high-quality coffee. People come here to enjoy the special aroma and unusual variety. The more coffee items there are on the menu, the more customers will leave the establishment satisfied. Be sure to include the following types of coffee drinks:
- espresso;
- macchiato;
- mocha;
- Americano;
- cappuccino;
- latte.
Each of them has its own composition and preparation principle, which not only the barista, but also any coffee gourmet knows about.
The establishment's menu may include other coffee drinks. In addition to them, the range should include various additives:
- alcohol - liqueur, cognac (will require an additional license, only the sale of beer is not licensed in Russia);
- syrups - caramel, maple, tiramisu, gingerbread, cinnamon and others;
- toppings – peanut, chocolate, caramel, orange, banana and others;
- ground nuts – hazelnuts, walnuts, coconut, almonds, pine;
- spices – pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, ginger;
- whipped cream;
- chocolate;
- marshmallow;
- ice cream.
The coffee shop menu usually has delicious snacks, sweets, pastries and desserts paired with drinks. Croissants, light cakes and pastries are ideal. Full-service establishments even include salads and main courses. In this case, it is additionally worth organizing time for business lunches in order to attract favorable prices even more visitors.
The entrepreneur must be confident in the quality of the coffee supplied. The popularity and reputation of the establishment will depend on this. It is better to purchase grains from trusted producers.
Choice of concept
One of the determining factors for the success of a future coffee shop is the correctly chosen concept. Russian enterprises In this area, they usually build their business according to one of the following models:
- American style coffee shop. This concept goes by other names: Seattle espresso bar. In its classical sense, the Starbucks coffee chain operates. The fundamental principles of such establishments are the absence of hot food and alcohol (even in coffee drinks), a ban on smoking, a minimalist style and customer service exclusively at the bar counter.
- Coffee house of French (Austro-Belgian) type. Completed in classic style, has high quality of all interior items and cutlery. Clients are always served by waiters. There are smoking areas in the halls, alcohol is included in the menu. Among the common Russian brands, Shokoladnitsa works on this principle.
In the classical sense, a coffee shop is a large stationary establishment. Therefore, an entrepreneur aimed at maximum results and large sales volumes should pay attention to this concept.
In addition to arranging seats in the hall and selling coffee and baked goods to go, you can organize in the establishment courier delivery finished products, pre-booking tables by phone, catering for large offices located nearby and in remote areas of the city. All this will allow you to maximize profits and attract as many customers as possible.
Where to open a coffee shop
The number of visitors to the establishment will directly depend on the correctness of its location. The ideal option is a city center with high traffic. It is better to find a quiet place in the area so that customers can enjoy not only the taste of coffee, but also the silence and calm atmosphere. It would be good if the establishments are located near:
- educational institutions;
- stations (railway, bus);
- office buildings;
- business centers.
This will ensure an influx of different customers into the coffee shop. A properly designed work schedule will maximize profits. Office workers they come in for a cup of coffee in the morning, students - during breaks between classes or after their end, business people have meetings with partners at lunchtime and in the afternoon. Therefore, the work schedule from 8:00 to 22:00 will be most suitable.
You need to pay attention to the room itself. A full-fledged coffee shop should be located on the ground floor of low-rise buildings. Basements would be unsuitable. There are other accommodation options:
- in shopping centers - modular coffee shops are located on different floors; stationary establishments are best placed on the ground floor or near cinemas and game rooms;
- in a separate building - if we are talking about opening an elite coffee shop with a famous brand;
- in a residential building - only for coffee shops in the low price segment and exclusively in apartment buildings.
The following factors will also have a positive effect on the work of the coffee shop:
- availability of space on the facade for advertising;
- window opening to the street or scenic view(river, lake, park, cultural attraction);
- good hydro- and sound insulation in the room.
Coupled with excellent coffee quality and a well-thought-out strategy, this will allow you to achieve large amounts of profit and quickly return your initial investment.
Premises requirements
It is not enough to choose a suitable place to open a coffee shop; you also need to make sure that it has sufficient area and meets the requirements of regulatory authorities. First you need to determine how many guests the establishment will accommodate. Simultaneous service for 50 people is possible on an area of 150 m2. This includes a reception hall and a bar counter. Additionally, the following premises will need to be equipped:
- kitchen – if you plan to prepare baked goods and other dishes directly in the coffee shop;
- utility room - for storing food and preparations;
- bathroom - for visitors and staff (coffee shops are not allowed to share toilets);
- locker room - for workers.
All together may require at least 200 m2. If the cost of renting such a space is too high for an entrepreneur, he can remove the seating and sell coffee to go. You can find a middle ground - reduce the seats in the hall by half and additionally provide a “coffee to go” service.
When calculating the area, you need to remember that a residential building should not have more than 50 seats. And when placing tables, you should allocate at least 1.6 m2 for each.
The coffee shop is a catering outlet. Therefore, the sanitary and hygienic requirements for it are very strict. An entrepreneur needs to study the following documents and check his premises for compliance:
- SanPiN 2.3.6.1079-01;
- Decree of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation No. 29 of March 31, 2011;
- Federal Law No. 123-FZ “Technical Regulations on Fire Safety Requirements”.
The room must have good sound insulation, a ventilation system, water supply, sewerage and proper electrical wiring (minimum permissible electrical power is 40 kW).
Coffee shop registration
Any coffee shop business plan takes into account the need to register your own business. You need to start by choosing a legal form. for a small establishment. with large sales volumes. This option will also be mandatory in the case of the sale of alcoholic beverages in an establishment, since the license for it is issued exclusively by LLC.
When submitting an application to the Federal Tax Service, a businessman must indicate OKVED codes for his activities. You need to select them from latest edition Classifier OKVED 2. Code 56.10 – “Restaurant activities and food delivery services” is suitable for a stationary coffee shop. If the company has full restaurant services, then code 56.10.1 is more suitable. And the sale of coffee exclusively for takeaway is carried out under the code 56.10.21.
Additionally on large production Dough mixers, blenders, slicers, meat grinders, combi ovens and other specialized equipment may be required. All together it will cost about 1,084,000 rubles or more.
Staff
The number of coffee shop staff will depend on production volumes and the number of visitors. A medium-sized establishment will require the following employees:
- cooks;
- waiters;
- barista;
- bartender;
- cleaners;
- control;
- accountant.
Additionally, the company may need a technologist to draw up costing cards and introduce new dishes to the menu. The establishment may require a security guard.
All coffee shop employees must have health certificates and undergo an annual inspection on time.
Effective ways to promote a coffee shop
The final profit of the coffee shop will be influenced by the correct promotion of the establishment. The most effective methods are:
- placement of colorful signs and window display design;
- thoughtful interior design;
- loyalty programs (discount cards for regular customers, gift or promotional coupons);
- advertising in the media, on the Internet;
- coffee shop website promotion.
To expand the customer base, it is worth considering the possibility of creating a working atmosphere for freelancers, playrooms for children, areas for cooking and other master classes, selling take-away goods with a significant discount (20 - 30%), holding various holidays and corporate events in the establishment. You can implement a cinema, karaoke or hookah bar on the basis of a coffee shop, and place them in separate enclosed rooms, for example. The presence of free Wi-Fi will attract the younger generation to the establishment. For them, you can provide business lunches and other promotional programs during the daytime.
Financial results
To calculate the bakery's planned profit, you will have to take into account costs and revenue. In small coffee shops, a person usually buys 2 – 2.5 items for an average amount of 265 rubles. This establishment can be visited by 130 clients per day. It turns out that daily revenue will be 34,450 rubles, and monthly income will be 1,033,500 rubles.
The initial investment to open your own coffee shop will also be significant. This will include the following costs:
- equipment – 1,084,000 rubles;
- repairs – 600,000 rubles;
- receiving permitting documents, licenses, certificates of conformity – 150,000 rubles;
- current expenses – 400,000 rubles.
In total, no less than 2,234,000 rubles will be required to open a serious establishment. Monthly costs will include the following items:
- rental payments – 150,000 rubles;
- staff salary – 250,000 rubles;
- advertising – 15,000 rubles;
- purchase of raw materials – 350,000 rubles.
Therefore, profit before tax will be 268,500 rubles. After paying the simplified tax system, the amount of net profit will be equal to 233,595 rubles.
The profitability of the coffee shop will be 233,595/1,033,500 = 22.6%, which corresponds to the market average. The payback period will be equal to 2,234,000/233,595 = 9.56. Consequently, in no less than 10 months the company will begin to receive actual income and recoup the investment.
Conclusion
Opening a coffee shop is not a simple matter. Even experienced entrepreneurs will not be able to do without drawing up a clear business plan. A lot of time, money and effort will be required to prepare all the documents and obtain licenses, certificates, and permits. But if a businessman can build a clear concept, ensure high quality products, create an effective sales and promotion system, then he will be able to receive a high income within a few months after opening his own enterprise.
♦ Capital investments – 1,700,000 rubles
♦ Payback – 1.5–2 years
Coffee is one of the favorite drinks of many people in our country. The morning begins with a cup of aromatic coffee; it is a constant partner in all work meetings, friendly gatherings and romantic dates.
But who said that you have to drink coffee at home?
All more people prefer to enjoy this drink in specialized establishments, so it’s worth considering how to open a coffee shop from scratch, if you are looking for a business idea.
A coffee shop is an establishment where you can drink several types of coffee and tea, soft drinks, and enjoy desserts and other snacks.
P.S. You can, of course, introduce salads and hot dishes to the menu, but in this case, minimal capital investments are not enough.
You will learn from this article what you need to open a coffee shop and how much money it will take to launch this business project.
Features and benefits of opening a coffee shop
A business like a coffee shop is significantly different from a restaurant or fast food. This must be taken into account when forming the concept of your establishment, menu, thinking through the interior and other details.
If you are just thinking about what kind of establishment to open so that you can give customers drinks and snacks to take away, then it would be a good idea to learn about the features and advantages of owning a coffee shop:
- When opening a small coffee shop, you can get by minimal investment, because the area required for this type of activity is small, you won’t have to employ several dozen cooks and waiters, and you don’t need to spend a lot on monthly purchases of food and other consumables.
In general, this is a great business for people with small start-up capital. - You should make sure that you can add a summer veranda to your coffee shop, or at least simply move the tables outside so that people can enjoy coffee and desserts in the warm season fresh air.
This means that premises with a narrow sidewalk are not suitable for opening a coffee shop from scratch. - The main visitors to coffee shops are students, women's groups and business people, so it is best to open your own tea or coffee shop near educational institutions or office buildings.
- Depending on where exactly you decide to locate your coffee shop, create a menu and pricing policy.
For example, in the city center or at the train station, coffee and snacks that you can take away will be great.
If you place your establishment in a large shopping and entertainment center or in the historical part of the city, then you should take care of the interior, because most visitors will want to drink coffee directly from you. - It is very important to think through the concept of your establishment and come up with a feature for it.
A modern coffee shop is a place where they not only drink coffee, but where they have a good time with friends and colleagues, and work if necessary.
The business will become profitable if you take care of the details: interior, background music, menu, uniform for waiters, etc. - This type of business pays off quickly enough, which cannot be said about the same restaurant or pizzeria.
This is one of its main advantages. - You have a choice of what kind of coffee shop to open: a romantic one for ladies and couples, a mix of a coffee shop and fast food, where you can stock up on drinks and food to take away, on wheels, themed, etc.
How to create a competitive advantage for your coffee shop?
In Moscow itself alone there are several hundred different coffee shops, which indicates how popular this is in our country.
Competition is really high in this sector, so without forming competitive advantages no way.
Be sure to ensure that in your coffee shop:
- You could either drink coffee on the spot in a cozy atmosphere or take any item on the menu with you to take away.
- There was a reasonable pricing policy.
Remember that you are selling coffee and snacks, not... jewelry, so there is no need to inflate prices. - The client received impeccable service in your establishment.
- There was a loyalty program for customers who are serviced here on a regular basis.
- It was possible to sit outside in the warm season.
- There was a beautiful interior that would attract not only residents of your city, but also tourists.
- They made excellent coffee and served delicious desserts.
Does a coffee shop need an advertising campaign?
Interesting fact:
Coffee is one of the most traded commodities on world exchanges. In terms of volume, only oil is ahead of it.
If we are talking about a mobile coffee shop with minimal capital investment, then you can do without advertising altogether. It is enough to paint your car so that it can be seen from a distance.
- advertisements in the press;
- advertising leaflets that should be distributed in crowded areas in the area where your coffee shop operates;
- city forums and social networks;
- a bright official opening that will be remembered by the residents of your city.
This approach will allow you to quickly form a client base and avoid the main problem of a newly opened establishment: working in the first months at a loss.
Is it worth opening a mobile coffee shop?
Today in any big city you can see many cars decorated with coffee-themed images that offer customers tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soft drinks and packaged snacks to go.
Since this business is becoming more and more popular every day, we should dwell separately on how to open a mobile coffee shop, and is it worth doing it at all?
Advantages of opening a mobile coffee shop:
- Minimum capital investment.
- Saving on personnel - you can do this business yourself.
- Large cash flow, especially in high season.
- The ease of running this type of business.
- Simplicity of the registration procedure.
Disadvantages of opening a mobile coffee shop:
- Limiting activities to the sale of drinks and snacks that you can take with you.
- The seasonality of this type of business, for example, in winter, mobile coffee shops are not in great demand, because no one will drink coffee while sitting on a bench in a park at sub-zero temperatures.
- Inability to make big money from a mobile coffee shop.
How to open a mobile coffee shop?
Everything is extremely simple:
- you register as an individual entrepreneur;
- obtain all necessary business permits;
- you buy a roomy car, which you decorate so that it is immediately clear what exactly you are doing;
- purchase equipment, disposable tableware, consumables for making coffee and other drinks.
After all this, you can immediately start making money selling coffee, tea and other things.
The main components of opening a coffee shop
If the business associated with catering establishments is new to you, then you should carefully consider all the nuances.
And you don’t need to immediately try to become the owner of a huge establishment!
If you have minimal capital investment and no experience in entrepreneurship, then you should think about opening a mini-coffee shop with 20–30 seats with original menu: several dozen types of hot and cold drinks (mainly coffee and tea), some snacks and desserts.
Business registration
The official procedure for opening a coffee shop is quite simple.
First, you register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC, choose the form of taxation: UTII or simplified tax system 15%. When indicating OKVED codes, you can select 55.30, which regulates the activities of cafes and restaurants.
If you are going to sell not only coffee, tea and other soft drinks in your establishment, but want to increase profits by selling alcohol, then you will need an appropriate license. This will slow down the process of opening a coffee shop and increase the amount you need to spend on registration.
If you are going to open not a mobile coffee shop, but a stationary establishment, then you will need permission from the fire department and the SEZ, and you will also need to draw up a number of contracts standard for business, for example, for garbage removal, etc.
Coffee shop location
This business will be profitable only when the coffee shop is located in an area with high traffic, preferably in the business center of the city or in its historical part.
The desire to save money and open a coffee shop in a residential area can be fatal and lead to ruin.
To open a coffee shop, both an isolated room and a corner in a shopping and entertainment center are suitable. The main thing is to choose a place that will help you get as many random clients as possible.
All the secrets on how to open a mobile coffee shop on wheels -
advantages of this type of business:
Coffee shop premises
It is better to choose a non-residential building to open a coffee shop. Otherwise, you will have to take care of soundproofing so as not to disturb the residents of the house.
The area of the room depends on the scale of your project. To accommodate 25–30 people, 60–70 sq.m. is enough. meters.
If you want your coffee shop to accommodate at least 50 people at the same time, then you should look for a room with a total area of 120 sq. m. m.
You should not choose buildings that are too small, because in addition to the main hall, you need to place a kitchen, two bathrooms (for visitors and staff), and a service room in your coffee shop.
Even if the premises you find are in good condition, you still need to make repairs to it. Pay special attention to the interior so that customers enjoy being in your coffee shop. It is better to entrust such an important work to a professional designer.
Coffee shop equipment
Interesting to know:
Every year, more than 500 billion cups of coffee are drunk around the world. More than half - at breakfast!
The most important thing is a coffee machine!
Coffee shop owners can choose an automatic or semi-automatic coffee machine.
It's better to stick with a semi-automatic coffee machine. Firstly, it is cheaper, secondly, it is easy to work with, and thirdly, it is suitable even for small coffee shops with little traffic.
It is better to purchase professional Italian equipment from the brands La Cimbali, Faema, Rancilio and others.
The cost of a good semi-automatic coffee machine is 80,000 rubles.
Since coffee shops buy coffee beans, you will also need coffee grinders, at least two of them. You need to allocate 40,000 rubles for their purchase.
To equip the room, you need to purchase tables, chairs, lamps, a display case and a bar counter, and decorative interior items. To complete the hall of a small coffee shop, you need 10 tables, 40 chairs, a bar counter, 2-3 hangers, lamps, figurines and other interior items. All this will cost you 50–100,000 rubles.
Before buying kitchen equipment, you should decide on the menu (will you serve hot dishes to customers) or will everything be limited to desserts and sandwiches.
P.S. You don’t even have to prepare desserts in your coffee shop, but buy them somewhere, but customers don’t really like that.
If you are going to prepare only desserts, sandwiches and salads in your coffee shop, then you should purchase the following kitchen equipment:
| Expense item | Amount (rub.) |
|---|---|
| Total: | 230,000 rub. |
| Hoods | 10 000 |
Freezer  | 15 000 |
Microwave  | 8 000 |
Oven and stove  | 50 000 |
| Food processor | 10 000 |
Dishes  | 60 000 |
Furniture  | 30 000 |
| Other | 47 000 |
Among other expenses for coffee shop equipment:
| Expense item | Amount (rub.) |
|---|---|
| Total: | 250,000 rub. |
Arrangement of two bathrooms  | 70 000 |
| Furniture for office space: shelving, lockers, chairs, etc. | 80 000 |
Stereo system  | 20 000 |
Control and accounting equipment (computers, cash register, etc.)  | 50 000 |
| Other | 30 000 |
As you can see, the costs of equipment for even a small coffee shop are quite serious. At least 800,000 rubles.
Coffee shop menu
Coffee shop owners who have been in this business for many years claim that the optimal menu should be like this:
- 6–10 types of coffee-based drinks;
- 5–10 types of teas;
- hot chocolate;
- assorted juices;
- 5–10 types of desserts;
- pancakes with savory and sweet fillings;
- 5–7 types of simple salads;
- 4–8 types of hot and regular sandwiches.
This menu is quite sufficient to satisfy the needs of different customers.
Revenue will increase if you provide customers with the opportunity to take food and drinks to-go.
Coffee shop staff
Most coffee shops are open 7 days a week, so you will need to hire enough staff to create two shifts.
For a small coffee shop it is enough:
| Qty. | Salary (rub.) | Total (RUB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total: | 120,000 rub. | ||
| Pastry chefs | 2 | 20 000 | 40 000 |
| Waiters | 4 | 10 000 | 40 000 |
| Bartenders | 2 | 12 000 | 24 000 |
| Cleaners | 2 | 8 000 | 16 000 |
Calendar plan for opening a coffee shop
To open a catering establishment, even such a light version as a coffee shop, it will take at least 4–6 months.
If you are going to obtain a license to sell alcohol or the premises you have chosen require serious redevelopment, then this period may increase by 1.5 - 2 times.
| Stage | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration and obtaining necessary business permits | ||||||
| Renting premises and repairs | ||||||
| Purchase of equipment and furniture | ||||||
| Recruitment | ||||||
| Advertising campaign | ||||||
| Opening a coffee shop |
How much money do you need to have to open a coffee shop?
No matter how hard we try, we can clearly answer the question “ How much does it cost to open a coffee shop?? - impossible.
The size of your capital investment depends on:
- the city where you are going to open a business and the cost of rent in it;
- the size of your coffee shop;
- the cost of services of a designer, builders and other specialists that you need;
- menu;
- your ability to negotiate a discount and much more.
If we talk about opening a small coffee shop (with 25–30 seats) in a small provincial town (the number of inhabitants is no more than 500,000), then the average figures look like this:
| Expense item | Amount (rub.) |
|---|---|
| Total: | 1 800 000 |
| Registration procedure and obtaining all necessary business permits | 40 000 |
| Annual rental of premises | 450 000 |
| Renovation of premises (without significant redevelopment) | 200 000 |
| Purchase of furniture and necessary equipment | 800 000 |
| Purchase of the first batch of coffee beans, products and other consumables | 200 000 |
| Advertising | 30 000 |
| Additional costs | 80 000 |
Interesting tips from experts and comments from coffee shop owners about
how to open your own coffee shop from scratch and get a good cash income.
Is it profitable to open a coffee shop?
It is not for nothing that businessmen ask this question, because catering establishments do not always pay off due to the high level of competition in this area.
And yet a coffee shop is a profitable business!
This is evidenced by the following indicators: to make a cup of coffee, you need to use 7–8 g of ground beans (the cost of one serving is about 10 rubles). The average price of a cup of espresso is 60 rubles. That is, business profitability is 500%.
The amount of your income largely depends on the number of clients who visit you and the amount of their average check.
Let’s say 60 people visit you every day, the average bill for each is 250 rubles. That is, the amount of daily revenue will be 15,000 rubles. You can earn 400,000–450,000 rubles per month. Even with the deduction of expenses for public utilities, staff salaries, taxes, advertising and consumables, your net profit will be 100,000–150,000 rubles per month.
Download a ready-made coffee shop business plan with quality guarantee.
Contents of the business plan:
1. Privacy
2. Summary
3. Project implementation stages
4. Characteristics of the object
5. Marketing plan
6. Technical and economic data of equipment
7. Financial plan
8. Risk assessment
9. Financial and economic justification for investments
10. Conclusions
If you try, you can demonstrate the same result after six months of activity. Capital investments in this case will pay off in 1.5–2 years.
Don't let the amount you need to invest in the business scare you. initial stage. It is not for nothing that entrepreneurs constantly wonder: how to open a coffee shop. This business is promising and profitable.
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Many people dream of opening a coffee shop to make money. This article will help you move from dreams to actions. We will tell you how to open a coffee shop with minimal investment.
Concept Definition
Based on the operating format, coffee shops can be divided into several large groups:
- "island" in a shopping center;
- coffee point "to go";
- coffee shop with seating.
"Island" in the shopping center
This format is convenient because it eliminates most of the issues related to security of the premises, interaction with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and attracting client traffic. But it usually has the highest rent per square meter. Often this is the starting method for those who want to open their own coffee shop from scratch.
An island will require a minimum of six square meters, which in large cities can cost hundreds of thousands of rubles. In order to understand how effectively a point in this format will pay for itself, you need to decide on the target audience and calculate its presence in a specific shopping center.
Then decide on the conversion and average check. After this, the potential revenue of the coffee shop will become visible. If it is enough to pay all expenses, taking into account the large rent, then placement in a shopping center makes sense.
From experience, in small towns shopping centers are not as crowded, and rental prices are quite consistent with large cities. It is imperative to consider how effective the location will be from a commercial point of view. Possibly attractive shopping mall in fact it will turn out to be a losing option.
Coffee to go point
A separate point in the format of a small pavilion, where you can take coffee to go. Typically, the land on which the point is located is leased from the city. Here everything depends on the local authorities.
As an option: look for renting a premises where you can organize the sale of coffee to go through the window opening.
In most cases, an auction is held, the winner of which receives the right to lease the land. For a season, for a year or for a longer period. It all depends on the specific site and municipality.
Rental costs are often low. But difficulties arise with connecting the pavilion to the power grid. Here the approval process can take several months. The government is making efforts to speed up approval procedures, but now they take more than 180 days and officials cheerfully report that this is a very good figure, because previously some facilities could not connect to electricity, gas or water for two or three years.
Therefore, when choosing this option, you need to carefully calculate your strengths and resources. There are many cases when, due to bureaucratic delays, good projects never saw the light of day.
It is worth locating the point in areas with high traffic, only then will the investment pay off.
The step-by-step instructions on how to open a coffee-to-go outlet are almost the same as the steps to open an indoor coffee shop.
Coffee shop with seating
One of the most popular formats, requiring decent investments from the very start. Distinctive feature The advantage of coffee shops with seating is that you can drink coffee not in a paper cup, but in a well-heated porcelain cup.
The average bill at them is also two to three times higher than at points with coffee to go, due to guests who came to relax, drink coffee, and eat dessert.
The main difficulty is to find a suitable premises that will be located near the flow of human traffic and at the same time meet the requirements for public catering facilities from Rospotrebnadzor and the Centers for Hygiene and Epidemiology.
In large cities, this problem usually does not arise, but in small cities, be prepared for the fact that most of the premises will be ideal for retail, but not for catering facilities.
Using the example of a coffee shop with seating, we will look at all the other aspects of running a coffee business - where to start opening a coffee shop from scratch, and how to make it profitable.
Who are you, our guest?
Understanding which guests will prefer your product is almost half the battle. It is very important to understand the habits of your target audience, their tastes and interests. The big picture The coffee shop's target audience looks like this:
Morning hours
- students hurrying to get together;
- office workers rushing about their business.
Lunch hours
- girls stopping by for coffee. They often refuse dessert with the phrase “We are on a diet”;
- respectable men who decided to discuss their affairs. Most often they order two classic Americanos and leave a good tip;
- students who decided to have a sandwich and coffee. They respond very well to all kinds of promotions and discounts;
- workers from nearby offices. Often they do not stay in a coffee shop, but take several glasses of coffee with them;
- mothers with children. They usually meet on a walk and come in for coffee. Children are ordered cocoa or a milkshake. People often ask to make it warm. They prefer latte.
Evening hours
- walking couples. Two coffees to go. Most often a cappuccino or latte;
- couples who decided to sit in a cozy corner. The same two cappuccinos or latte, but a dessert for the girl can be added to them. Guys most often trust the choice of coffee to a girl, but if they figure it out themselves, they order an Americano;
- families with children. Almost always, mother and child found a coffee shop, visited several times during the day, and pulled dad out evening walk, they persuade me to come in and have some coffee. The head of the family always pays, and the order always includes desserts for each family member. If the service is good, they leave a tip and come back a month later.
As you can see, each type of audience requires its own approach, and often even separate drinks and desserts. Accordingly, promotions should be separate for each audience.
Determining the target audience will make it possible to competently build a marketing policy, which will lead to the prosperity of the establishment.
What to choose: LLC or individual entrepreneur?
There are many different articles on this topic. My opinion is this: at the start, if there is only one owner, it is worth becoming an individual entrepreneur, and then, as soon as the business gets on its feet, creating an LLC.
For individual entrepreneurs, the registration procedure is simpler, accounting is simplified, and there are no particular difficulties with reporting. But the individual entrepreneur is also responsible for his actions with all his property.
In the case of an LLC, the opposite is true. It’s a little more difficult to create, manage and report much more difficult than an individual entrepreneur, but responsibility is only within the authorized capital.
Society with limited liability worth choosing if you are more than one business owner. Then this form of organization will make it possible to clearly state the percentages of each participant and not worry about the division of profits.
Small coffee shop tax form
If your municipality allows food service establishments to switch to Single tax on imputed income (UTII), then definitely worth choosing this form taxation.
Pros:
- Minimum reporting. One declaration once a quarter.
- Easy to count. You don’t need to calculate revenues and losses, you simply determine the imputed income from the area of the establishment, and the tax percentage from it with all the coefficients.
- There is no need to purchase cash register equipment.
Cons:
- You pay tax regardless of whether you work or not, earn money or are at a loss.
- Often the imputed income turns out to be lower than the real one. On the one hand, this is good, you pay less taxes, on the other hand, it interferes with obtaining a loan from banks.
Whether to choose UTII or not is up to you.
If you think that this form of taxation is not suitable for you, then you can choose the Simplified taxation system, income minus expenses.
In this case, you will need a cash register with an EKLZ (electronic control tape, protected), with the help of which the tax inspector will determine your income. In addition, you will need to maintain all accounts and invoices with special care.
The tax office likes to refuse to use some acquisitions to reduce the tax base. In other words, 500 liters of milk purchased per month at the nearest store may not be taken into account by the tax authorities for the reason that there is no agreement between you and the store.
In this case, it is better to include in the expenses a column for the accountant’s salary and delegate all “paper” issues to him.
Selection of premises for a coffee shop
Almost 90% of the success of a coffee shop depends on its location.
It is very important to choose those places where there is the greatest flow of people who belong to your target audience. Business centers, educational institutions, walking areas - each such object attracts a specific target audience, on which your revenue depends.
In addition to passability, the room must comply with the standards of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station: be equipped with a toilet, exhaust hood, etc. In addition, Fire Supervision makes its own demands. When preparing to open an establishment, do not be lazy, visit these organizations and check the list of requirements. It is updated frequently.
A seemingly suitable premises must be carefully checked and the theoretical number of sales per day calculated. To do this, you need to make several time slices, counting how many people who correspond to the target audience pass by the future coffee shop. An hour in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. After that, you will have an average number of people who pass near you every hour.
The conversion, derived empirically for different premises and types of coffee shops, varies from 1 to 3 percent. Taking approximately one and a half percent of the number of people passing by, you will get the theoretical number of sales per day.
Coffee shop equipment
For an easy start of a coffee shop there is one very interesting tool. Instead of buying a coffee machine and coffee grinder, you can rent it. Coffee supply companies are happy to provide equipment for rent, provided that you purchase coffee only from them. In this case, you save about 250 thousand rubles at the start.
In the future, if the coffee shop’s business goes well, it makes sense to buy its own equipment. In this case, you will immediately reduce the purchase price of coffee and get the opportunity to talk with suppliers about other conditions for purchasing.
All other equipment can cost 150-200 thousand.
- coffee machine - 0 rub.
- coffee grinder - 0 rub.
- mixer for milkshakes - 8,000 rub.
- ice maker - 12,000 rub.
- mini-refrigerators for milk - 24,000 rub.
- refrigerator for consumables - 20,000 rub.
- grill for sandwiches - 12,000 rub.
- display case for desserts - 30,000 rub.
- microwave oven - 5,000 rub.
- oven for desserts - 7,000 rub.
- thermopot - 4,000 rub.
- automation system - 35,000 rub.
Total 157 thousand rubles.
That's all you need to open a small coffee shop. By adding repairs, rent and purchase of consumables to this amount, you will understand how much it costs to open a coffee shop according to your plan. In practice, this is already a business plan for opening a coffee shop. All that remains is to decide on the remaining expense items and start taking action.
Coffee shop furniture
In a coffee shop, you immediately need to decide what kind of furniture will be.
From experience, it is best to use tables for 4-6 people, instead of small tables for two.
We realized too late that the girls, even if they came together, took up four places. It's all about women's handbags, which are given a special place. Therefore, it is better to foresee this in advance and use large tables.
There is a rule: if you want guests to quickly come in, take their order and not stay in the room for long, put chairs.
If you want the guest to sit longer and place an order several times, put sofas. This is also true. Tables with sofas have a higher average check, while tables with chairs accommodate more people.
Furniture should be non-staining so that it can be easily washed from the footprints of children that parents place directly on the sofa, from the traces of ballpoint pens left by students and from coffee stains. There is no way without this.
Coffee shop staff
To operate a small coffee shop you will need two baristas and two waiters. You also need to have at least one barista and waiter as a replacement, so that in the event of illness or unforeseen circumstances in the life of one of the employees, the enterprise continues its work.
Recruitment should begin two to three weeks before the opening of the coffee shop. Baristas can be hired from outside or trained on your own.
It is important to understand that the barista profession is one of the few where the quality of the drink radically depends on a person’s passion for his work.
How to teach?
First of all, theory. A barista should study the book “The Barista Bible,” which explains in detail what types of coffee there are, where they are grown, how they are processed, how they are roasted and prepared. Theory will create the basis for practice.
For the practical part, it is better to invite someone who is already a barista. In theory, you can understand how to make coffee, but in practice it is very difficult to independently implement the acquired knowledge.
A few hours of practice with someone who understands how to properly brew espresso and froth, and your would-be barista can slowly and flawlessly begin making his first test batches of coffee.
If a person does not show interest in his work, does it correctly, but “without a soul,” believe me, he will probably make delicious coffee. But no one will come to him.
For most coffee shop regulars, the barista is a magician who can put together a drink exactly the way the guest wants it. To do this, the barista communicates with guests, gets opinions on drinks and cocktails, makes changes to the menu and invents new drinks.
The situation with waiters is a little simpler. High-quality service is the strict implementation of all instructions and a unique “feeling” of a guest that comes with experience.
The waiter, who has many satisfied guests behind him, always feels what the guest wants to say, order and do.
Therefore, it seems to us that the waiter is guessing thoughts. In fact, he simply knows what we want to order based on our previous orders or passing phrases thrown out while studying the menu.
Give your waiters step-by-step instructions on how you want them to serve guests. How they greet, how they smile, from which side they approach, how the menu is served, and so on.
The more detailed you describe everything, the more accurate the waiters’ actions will be, the better the service in the establishment will be.
How to motivate?
Salary motivates only up to a certain threshold. Above the individual level, a person ceases to perceive a bonus as gratitude for outstanding achievements in work and takes it for granted.
Set a small salary, add a bonus, organize competitions between baristas and waiters. Clearly state what you reward financially and what you deprive of money for.
Once clear rules of the game are established, the system will stabilize. But all this is just monetary motivation. It is effective, but in the short term.
Open up new horizons
Help employees grow and develop. This is one of the most powerful incentives for young people. The feeling that you are not just working as a barista in a coffee shop in a town of 700 thousand people, but that you are constantly developing as a professional in your field, it spurs you on and forces you to be better every day. And this is what binds the employee to the company.
Form an effective team
There is nothing worse than going to work where you are satisfied with everything except the team. In this case, professionals are the first to lose motivation. It is important for them that the team supports each other, achieving new results together.
Sometimes you have to fire high-level professionals because they couldn’t find a common language with the team, sometimes you have to call every rebel “on the carpet”, trying to understand the reasons for this behavior.
If the leader has enough strength and patience to gather different people into one effective effective mechanism, then this team will be able to work with virtually no participation from the manager. It is very important to be able to remove yourself from business processes. We will return to this later.
Coffee shop suppliers
In any business, suppliers play a big role. In our case, they supply equipment free of charge and supply the coffee shop with everything necessary for work. For them, coffee to go is a business where they earn money through your efforts.
- equipment;
- raw materials (coffee, milk, water);
- consumables (cups, stirrers, bags, chemicals);
- desserts.
It is better to search for equipment suppliers on the Internet, and then look at the results contextual advertising. If the supplier company can afford to spend a budget on advertising on the Internet, then it understands modern trends and will be on the same page with you.
Coffee for the machine is selected either based on the equipment supplier, or thanks to useful contacts at various events dedicated to the hospitality industry. Exhibitions of this kind often feature well-established suppliers.
The supply of milk and water should be adjusted based on the territorial proximity of the companies supplying this type of raw material.
You need a lot of different consumables. The key parameter here is the price-quality ratio.
Desserts are a separate issue. On the one hand, local confectionery shops are good because they can deliver everything fresh and on time. On the other hand, the same desserts can be bought much cheaper in any store in your city.
Not every confectionery shop will make certain quantities to order just for you. We have to look for other options. Companies involved in supplying food to various restaurants perform well in this case. They have a wide variety of high quality desserts that you can't buy in a store.
Desserts are usually delivered extremely frozen at a temperature of minus 18 degrees. In the morning, the shift moves cheesecakes, Viennese waffles and other desserts from the freezer to the refrigerator. Within three to four hours, desserts undergo a defrosting process, after which they are ready to serve. Fresh, beautiful and unique.
How to ask for a discount or deferment
Never hesitate to ask what discounts and promotions the supplier currently has, and what kind of discount he can provide. Managers often have a special threshold discount system for each type of client.
Perhaps you could get the same desserts a little cheaper than you do now. Even ten rubles a day turns into almost four thousand over the course of a year. And this is very good.
In the same way, find out about deferred payments. A kind of commodity loan, in which you take goods for sale, and after some time you pay for it. During the period of establishment of a coffee shop, deferred payment can be very useful.
Calculations
In order to competently create a menu, you need to know the cost of each drink and the minimum price at which it can be sold at your potential level of attendance.
Each cup includes rent, salary, taxes and other expenses, so it makes sense that the more cups sold per day, the lower the percentage of additional expenses in each of them.
The cost of a cup of coffee based on raw materials is determined based on the cost of the main components.
Let’s say you buy a kilogram of coffee for 1,600 rubles. There are from 7 to 9 grams per serving of espresso. During operation, the grind may change slightly due to changes in room humidity. Therefore, for convenience, we will consider the rounded version - 10 grams.
Therefore, to prepare one serving of espresso, 16 rubles worth of grain was spent.
If we want a cappuccino, we’ll add 200 ml of frothed milk to a shot of espresso, which, at a price of 65 rubles per liter, will cost us 13 rubles.
The total cost of raw materials for making cappuccino is 29 rubles.
Now this cost must include rent, salaries and other expenses. This is determined by summing up all additional expenses for the month and dividing by the number of receipts per month. By selling below this value, you are operating at a loss.
We need to strive to either increase the number of receipts or reduce expenses.
Interaction with regulatory authorities
As long as your business is small and you don’t break any laws, you don’t have to worry about someone coming to you with a surprise inspection. The tax authorities are interested in large objects with million-dollar turnover. But in order to sleep peacefully, you need to fulfill a number of conditions.
Tax
- register as a UTII payer in a timely manner;
- file returns and pay taxes on time;
- enter into agreements with your employees.
Rospotrebnadzor
- notify through the State Services website that you have started your work in a catering facility at your address.
Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology
- conclude an agreement to conduct inspections;
- pay for inspections and eliminate discrepancies;
- conclude an agreement for the removal and disposal of waste.
Three years of verification will not bother you, only unless someone files a complaint against you. In this case, employees of any department are obliged to react and conduct an unscheduled inspection.
You must be present at it, and there must be attesting witnesses with you. Please read the inspection protocol carefully and make comments and additions if necessary. Get a copy of the protocol in your hands.
A law recently came into force according to which entrepreneurs will not be fined for the first violation, but will be given an order to eliminate the violations. This measure should have a beneficial effect on the economic climate as a whole.
Advertising
Monthly from the coffee shop budget you need to allocate at least 10% to advertising.
From experience, even if there is a great product, but there is no advertising, there will be no sales.
A little earlier we talked about the fact that a suitable offer is very important for each target audience. Then the response to promotion will be maximum.
When choosing a promoter, be sure to tell him who the target audience is, so that leaflets are distributed not to everyone, but to those who fit the template. As a result, conversion from leaflets can reach 3-6%.
Many people pass by your coffee shop every day, but do not pay attention to it. We all walk in our own thoughts, from which something interesting, bright, unusual can pull us out. This is exactly what your billboard or pillar should be like, located near the coffee shop.
Groups and accounts on social networks allow your potential audience to see your premises, assortment, and get acquainted with prices and reviews in a comfortable environment. From experience, more than 30% of the audience learned about our coffee shop thanks to social networks. The leader here turned out to be Instagram, from which five to ten people came every day.
Guests
Each guest needs a different approach. Some people prefer not to be asked any unnecessary questions and to quickly make their favorite drink. Others constantly doubt and ask the barista to come up with something just for them.
Attention to every desire allows us to create a high-quality service.
Here are some rules for excellent service.
- Don't try to make money off a guest.
It sounds strange, especially considering that the essence of business is to make money. But there is one important point here. Can be received one time per guest a large amount and never see him again. And you can build long-term relationships. Just count who brings more money to the establishment: a guest who drinks one espresso for 90 rubles every morning five days a week or a guest who comes once a month and orders for a thousand rubles? The first guest brings in almost twice as much revenue. And the second one may not come again. - Ask the guest .
It is very unpleasant when the waiter begins to force his choice on the guest. It's off-putting. Find out what the guest’s tastes are, what he prefers and what he doesn’t like. Based on his answers, you can easily select the appropriate drink and dessert that will satisfy the guest. - Remember the guests' choice .
There is nothing more ideal in the work of an establishment: when a guest arrives, the barista asks: “ As always?", and the guest nods with a smile. The guest feels at home here. And no matter what the coffee shop located next door offers him, he will remain faithful to his beloved, because here they know what needs to be done after the phrase: “ As usual for me».
On the one hand, everything looks very simple. But in reality, it is possible to introduce high-quality service only with competent work with waiters and baristas.
If the team has created a comfortable atmosphere for work, the employees themselves will make every effort to make the guest as comfortable as they are.
Loyalty system
In order for a guest to become a regular, he needs to be interested in something.
Don't waste money on bonus cards. The easiest way is to provide a 10% discount for bonus card holders. But the accumulative point system is much more effective when a guest buys some drinks, collects points, increases his rating, and exchanges points for prizes and gifts.
Game elements always work very well in a guest service business.
How to deal with negative reviews?
As correct as possible.
Remember the rule: one satisfied customer will bring a friend with him. And one dissatisfied person will turn several dozen people away from you.
In our practice, there were also negative reviews. It is not enough to remove the objection; the person will still remain dissatisfied. We need to transform negative into positive.
For example.
Anna: " Yesterday I was in a coffee shop, I didn’t like that the cappuccino they brought was warm and not hot. »
In this situation, the guest is wrong. Hot cappuccino is served by non-professionals who “burn” the milk. The guest is accustomed to this terrible drink and believes that this is correct, because large, reputable restaurants cook this way. What should you say in this situation?
Administration: " Anna, hello. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to change the stereotype that a proper cappuccino must be very hot. Believe me, we prepare coffee according to all world rules, attracting winners of all-Russian coffee-making championships to train baristas. To convince you of this, we invite you to a free tasting. We will prepare coffee in two ways: the way professional baristas prepare it and the way they are used to serving it in many establishments in our city. By comparing two drinks, you can draw objective conclusions, and then tell about it with another review. We are sure that you will choose more delicious coffee)) »
Don't blame your guest for not knowing what proper coffee is. It's not his fault. Better yet, help him taste some truly delicious coffee, and this guest will become your biggest fan, convincing everyone that you make truly high-quality coffee.
Budget
Coffee shop expenses consist of several categories: raw materials, rent, salaries, taxes, advertising, etc.
It’s worth creating a budget right away, from the first day the coffee shop opens. You will be able to immediately track your revenue, average bill, potential profit, and from there you can distribute funds among budget items.
You need to put aside for rent immediately, in equal shares, making this amount inviolable.
Otherwise, you may end up in a situation that we often found ourselves in in our project. There is money, but everything is invested in goods. There are enough supplies, but not enough for rent. To prevent this from happening, keep records and make purchases not from the funds that you have on hand, but from the amount of available funds minus rent, payroll, and other things.
There is no need to look for a specialized program for creating a budget for a small coffee shop. Excel is yours best friend. Especially if you understand its basic formulas like SUM, AVERAGE, IF, etc. Spending one day creating a powerful budgeting program in Excel will give you a much deeper understanding of all the processes that take place in your coffee shop.
Business processes
Every business has a certain procedure for dealing with each situation. In most cases, these principles are conveyed verbally. It usually looks like this:
“When a guest comes in, go up and ask if he wants to order something right away or later.”
A company that is aimed at growth and development prescribes all processes for each situation. The employee must clearly know what he needs to do if the guest wants to pay with a card for different bills and what to answer the question: “Why don’t you have alcohol.” All these situations are formed into a special set of rules.
In addition, it is important to write down instructions for employees on opening and closing shifts. Each step should be described in detail so that even a novice working in a coffee shop for the first time can figure out how to close a shift and hand it over to those who will work the next day.
If you understand that you can trust your team, then there is a second way to describe business processes.
You can create basic instructions on what needs to be done in the morning, how to order a delivery or process a return. And then you need to start forming the general attitude of the company.
What will you do if you accidentally spill your coffee on a guest? Surely, apologize, find a way to replace his shirt and offer coffee at the establishment’s expense.
Will your waiter be able to do the same if he makes such a mistake?
Give your employees some freedom of action and then job descriptions, describing literally every step, simply will not be required. Employees will think about what you would do in such a situation and do the same.
As a result, you will be happy with how efficiently your team is working.
Removing the owner from the processes
One of the most important stages in the life of any business - this is the owner’s escape from routine and routine.
If without your attention the enterprise does not work, all processes stop and revenue falls, then this is the wrong business.
The manager’s task is to be above all processes in order to understand where the company is going.
To do this, you need several important components:
- a team that has the authority to carry out current activities (list of suppliers, access to certain financial resources, proven scheme for working with guests);
- clearly defined regulations for employee activities.
If these two points are met in your business, then you will be able to start the machine so that it continues to feed itself, forcing it to rotate again and again.
After this, the owner will have the opportunity to solve global issues of development of the establishment. He will no longer be immersed in routine, the business will cope on its own.
Unfortunately, in Russia, business owners have very little trust in their subordinates, seeing everyone as lazy and a potential thief.
As a result, the employee understands what is expected of him and begins to meet the expectations. And the manager then declares: “I told you, they are all stupid lazy people who cannot be relied on.”
Most people love being entrusted with a new level of responsibility. This gives a feeling of importance to the company, helps it grow and develop. The output from the employee increases significantly. But not all business owners understand this, so the situation is changing very slowly.
Franchise formation
Any business has four development options.
- Make a stable profit and feed the owner for several years. Then lose part of your monthly revenue and be either closed or sold to other hands.
- To achieve payback and be sold into other hands, immediately bringing the original owner a decent amount, which he invests at his own discretion.
- Come to expansion using your own resources or by selling a franchise
- Go bankrupt and close down.
We will consider the third option.
It's important to understand a few things. Franchising is a logical stage in business development, but at the same time, franchising is a separate line of business, completely independent from the main establishment.
In other words, it won’t be possible to have one of your employees make phone calls and offer everyone a franchise. This is a separate area that requires serious costs at the stage of “packaging” the business, its promotion, sale of the franchise package, and support of franchisees.
Stages of franchise formation
- Preparing your business for packaging.
1. Prescription of all business processes and regulations.
1.2. Preparation of all technological maps and instructions.
1.3. Registration of all marketing campaigns.
1.4. Complete revision of the corporate identity.
1.5. Trademark registration. - “Packaging” a business into a franchise.
1. Obtaining rights to a trademark.
2.2. Formation of a book on operational business management.
2.3. Creation of a commercial proposal.
2.4. Creation of a management company. - Franchise promotion.
1. Creation of a website or section on the website dedicated to the franchise.
3.2. Website promotion using contextual advertising, thematic blogs and forums. - Selling a franchise.
1. Processing applications using a call center.
4.2. Conclusion of a commercial concession agreement.
4.3. Training future franchisees in the basics of running your business.
4.4. Assistance in opening a facility under your brand. - Franchisee support.
1. Supply of equipment and consumables through the management company.
5.2. Assistance in organizing marketing events.
5.3. Revenue control and analysis, achieving payback.
5.5. Promotion of the brand in general.
As you can see, the formation and sale of a franchise is a separate area that requires time, effort and money.
There are a lot of low-quality franchise offers on the market, in which more than half of the required stages are missed.
As a result, it often happens that a person pays money for a franchise package, but simply receives the right to use the name and several templates to create his own advertisements. This is the wrong approach and everyone suffers. The owner of the trademark suffers image losses, and the entrepreneur who decides to open under this brand loses effort, time and money.
In conclusion
Opening a coffee shop from scratch, forming a loyal audience, setting up all processes and putting the owner out of business is not easy.
It will take a lot of effort to launch even such a small business as a small coffee shop. But it's worth it.
By starting with a small investment, an entrepreneur can gain invaluable business experience and then scale it up to a larger project.
Try it and everything will work out!