How To Write Your Coffee Shop Business Plan
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
Business Plan for Coffee Shops Series
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
(In 2024)
Writing a business plan for your coffee business is a critical early step to realizing your dream.
Your business plan will serve as your road map that guides your thoughts and ideas into one detailed action plan.
If you dream about opening a coffee business, you have many unique options to choose from. The ideas are nearly endless, from setting up a drive-thru coffee stand to opening a mobile coffee truck to buying an existing coffee shop!
After you settle on a feasible coffee shop concept, you will have no shortage of items on your to-do list.
Once you decide on your coffee business concept, the first thing to do is get your game plan together. One way to ensure you do everything right (and not miss anything) is to write a thorough coffee shop business plan.
Writing a business plan may seem daunting or tedious – but it doesn't have to be! Putting together your vision can be fun and exciting and an opportunity to showcase your ideas.
In today's post, we will discuss the benefits of a business plan, what's inside, and how to write your coffee shop business plan. Finally, we will answer common questions about a business plan impacting your success as you start your coffee business.
Is a Coffee Shop Business Plan Necessary?
Why Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan?
A business plan separates the talkers from the doers. Having a business plan means you are serious about your coffee shop and have taken the time to research and articulate your vision on paper.
Writing a business plan is often a necessity because three essential stakeholders require it:
- You (the owner)
- Potential Investors
- Partners
- Property Managers
As the coffee shop owner, you must fully understand your vision, mission, and business path to success.
On the other hand, your investors (your partners, private lenders, or banks) will often require seeing a business plan, including your concept, startup budget, costs, financial projections, location, management team, and other essential items.
Your financials – your overall budget (startup and operational) and pro forma financial docs are essential to your business plan. Banking institutions will assess this to see if your coffee business is viable.
Additionally, property managers will likely require a business plan before considering your business for their retail space. Property managers or owners must fully understand the type of business occupying their space. They want to know what is being sold, how it's being sold, and whether they are allowing a sustainable business on their premises.
A business plan is needed by:
- Money lenders
- Property managers
- Partners
- You (The owner)
Benefits of Putting Together a Plan
Business plans can effectively bring your thoughts and ideas in sync with your vision, budget, and other elements, resulting in a successful coffee shop business.
Writing a coffee shop business plan also has other benefits.
Let's discuss the benefits below:
- A business plan increases the chances of success.
- It propels you to develop a budget and stick to it (likely saving you money).
- Business plans help keep you (and your team) organized.
- Ensures nothing gets left behind.
Increases Your Chances of Success
Writing a business plan reduces the possibility of failure. It increases the chances of your coffee shop's success by forcing you to think through every aspect of your business before starting and spending any money. As many have found out in other important business projects, “winging it” isn't a strategy for success.
Planning everything and writing it down in an “organic document” allows you to see where your strengths and weaknesses are – and address them. Having a cohesive plan can make a difference in achieving the desired results.
A Plan Will Save You Money
When you start a coffee business, exceeding your original budget estimates is very easy. A business plan can help significantly reduce your costs and avoid big mistakes. This is because you'll know exactly what is needed, how much it will cost, and where it fits into your planning.
As you develop and write your business plan, you can look at the overall costs, develop a budget around your vision, and see what adaptations you need to make to ensure enough funding and a realistic outcome.
If you want to launch a coffee shop on a shoestring budget, the more you plan often equals saving more.
A Plan Will Keep You Organized
Keeping yourself organized will not only save you time and money but will also reduce your organizational headaches.
Knowing what you need (and don't need) based on your vision will help keep you on pace to finish within your established budget and timeframe.
There are often so many steps to be mindful of when starting a coffee shop that it would be nearly impossible to effectively manage every business detail without writing them down.
Ensures Nothing Gets Left Behind
Even if you have opened a business before, you know that many elements must be addressed before moving forward with the implementation process.
Necessary steps that can be easily left out or neglected can cause headaches and tremendous costs (in lost time and money) as you move forward. A coffee shop business plan ensures that all the essential parts of your business are addressed.
Details Your Budget
When you start a coffee shop, people love to first think about where they will get their coffee beans, equipment, and other menu items. These are extremely important, and they deserve the attention to plan. However, the less money you have, the more emphasis you should put on planning.
For some, figuring out a coffee shop's budgetary needs may be a significant hurdle because you may be unfamiliar with them. However, taking the time to flesh out your budget, costs, and the money needed to open your coffee shop will provide you with tremendous insight into how your coffee business will function.
Business Plan: Your Budget and Cost Estimates
One of the most challenging parts of a business is developing your costs, budget, and estimates. We've written extensively on developing a coffee shop budget; you may find some of the articles below helpful.
- How to Start a Coffee Shop Budget
- How to Start a Low-Cost Coffee Shop
- Coffee Shop Funding Mix
- How to Prepare for a Coffee Shop Business Loan
- How to Determine the Cost of Selling 100 Coffees
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
Writing Your Business Plan Takes Time. A well-written coffee shop business plan will take time to write. Give yourself time to research and think through some of the decisions you will have to make.
My recommendation: You may want to write your business plan in chunks. The great thing about a business plan is that it's broken down into sections. Take a section you're thinking about, plan, and articulate your thoughts and actions. If you hit a temporary wall, go to the next section or get help.
Key Sections of Your Coffee Shop Business Plan:
Business Plan Description
Coffee Shop Business Plan Sections:
This is a summary of your coffee shop business plan. It will describe what is in the entire document and include location, dates, and other relevant information. While it comes first, it is often written last. This section will include your coffee shop's name and the approximate area (location) of your business. It will consist of more detailed information on your coffee product offerings and your unique selling proposition. In this section, you will want to detail where you are at in the planning process. A simple summary of what you have already done will help people understand how far you are in starting your coffee shop. This section will most likely describe you, the coffee shop owner, and the management team (if there is anyone else) responsible for your coffee shop's operation. Describe the type of legal business structure you will follow: Will your coffee shop be a part of a corporation, or will it be a limited liability company (LLC) - or another type of structure? What is the objective of your coffee shop? It sounds like an easy question – but spell it out for your investors and potential property managers. No doubt, the question can help you articulate your thoughts for yourself too. This section is significant because your product offering (AKA menu) will impact everything about your planning. Your menu affects your coffee shop's design, your coffee shop equipment and defines your business. Many companies and organizations, both big and small, have a vision statement and a mission statement. Your vision statement is your north star. Once you plan out your coffee shop concept, mission, and menu items, you can now strengthen your Unique Sales Proposition. USP will determine your particular niche in the marketplace and set you apart from your competition. Your marketing and promotion will be essential to your coffee shop's success – especially if you are a new business with a new brand. How will you market your business to the community you want to be a part of? You may or may not already have a coffee shop location in mind. Consider this section as your "wish list" of ideas that you have about your coffee shop. Your coffee shop menu pricing should be worked out as early as possible – figuring in for the variable and fixed costs. There is no shortage of people serving coffee. Who is your competition? How will you address competition – and how will they handle your entrance into the market? What kind of coffee shop equipment do you need? Your coffee equipment is entirely determined by what you plan to offer on your menu. Create your list in this section. In this section, you will first discuss your financing options and highlight your pro forma financial documents, including: Your coffee shop's sales projection is built on a few essential variables – the ebb and flow of your customer numbers, your products (profit centers), and your pricing. Once you have determined your average customer purchases and determined your fixed and variable costs, you will choose your projected coffee shop net income. A balance sheet has two main parts. The first shows the assets of your coffee shop. The second is the liabilities of your company (this will also include your debts). All of the assets always equal liabilities and equity. Use this is to outline the permits that are needed to open and any subsequent notes. Detail your calendar and timeline for opening a coffee shop. Aside from the risk of losing the entire coffee business, what other risks are there? How do you intend to address them? Every coffee shop business needs an exit strategy. Detail it here in this section. As you plan your coffee shop business, seasons may pass – you will need to continue to monitor and develop an ongoing market analysis.
Business Plan Section Description
Executive Summary
Business Description - The Concept
Development-To-Date Details
Ownership & Management
Business Structure Details
Coffee Shop Objective
Products and Services (Your Menu)
The Vision Statement
Unique Sales Proposition (USP)
Marketing Details
Location
Market Research
Competition
Coffee Equipment
Financials (Budget Details)
Sales Projections
Net Income Projections
Balance Sheet
Permits and Regulatory Issues
Your Timeline
Risks
Exit Strategy
Ongoing Market Analysis
Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
Where Do You Start?
When reviewing the above business plan summary chart, you can see that many elements of a business need to be addressed.
So, where and how do you start writing your plan?
First, you don't have to tackle each section in order. For example, the executive summary, which always comes first in a business plan, is often written last.
I would start writing your coffee shop business plan with the business description and concept. Second, I would develop an understanding of your target market and build your coffee shop menu around them. Third, I would write about the coffee equipment that I would need and the costs. Fourth, I would develop your coffee branding section. And then, I would start working on my coffee shop budget and cost breakdown.
This is my personal preference in writing business plans for coffee shops. However, you may have different methods. Whichever way works best for you and allows you to thoroughly plan and understand your coffee business is the one you should use.
Start Your Business Plan Writing With The Following:
- Develop your business concept (Describes Your Concept)
- Describe your target market
- Build your menu for your target customer.
- Detail your coffee equipment
- Create a coffee shop budget
- Develop a coffee shop funding mix
- Estimate revenue projections
Once you've settled on these business plan subjects, you can develop and write the rest of your business plan. Everything from your coffee shop branding, management, and barista training.
2024 Coffee Shop Business Plan Template
Writing a business plan can be challenging. Understanding each section and what should be discussed can seem daunting.
That's why we created an easy-to-use coffee shop business plan template for you. This free template details every business plan section and describes what should be in every section.
Our coffee shop business plan template (MS Word Format) is guaranteed to save you hours in research and conveniently allows you to fill in each section.
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Questions & Answers
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
Related Questions:
Is a business plan required for my coffee shop business?
No governmental agency requires a business plan, and it is not a coffee shop requirement. However, if you plan on borrowing money from a bank or renting a commercial space, those stakeholders may require a written business plan for their due diligence.
Do I need a business degree or be a lawyer to write a coffee shop business plan?
Fortunately, the simple answer is NO.
Writing a business plan is simply about getting your business thoughts down on paper in a structured and comprehensive way. In my opinion, hiring a lawyer to write out your coffee business concept may be overkill.
Now, you may decide to have a lawyer or business consultant review aspects of your coffee shop business plan – along with your property lease, trademarks, etc. I would highly discourage you from delegating the writing of your business plan to someone who doesn't know you or the business.
Is a coffee shop business plan different from a “traditional” business plan?
Different businesses often require slightly different or modified business plans. A “coffee shop business plan” is unique from other business plans.
For example, having a business plan for a tech startup or manufacturing company will generally emphasize other key business areas when comparing them to a coffee shop business plan. Each requires a different emphasis because the audience will be different. Specifically, if your job is to create a kid-friendly coffee shop or a wine and coffee bar, you'll want something specific to that niche rather than a general business plan.
How Do I Use a Business Plan?
Your coffee shop business plan is a live and organic document.
In other words, your business plan will continuously change, evolve, and grow with you and your coffee business. Therefore, нour business plan will always change, adapt, and need to be modified.
Of course, we assume you will write your business plan using a computer and print it out. We recommend that you provide plenty of space in the margins to make edits, make additions, and eventually make changes on the computer.
Remember that your coffee shop business plan – is precisely that – a plan. A plan will change as your business changes – so having the ability to print out a physical copy, scribble notes, and cross out irrelevant information is vital as you move forward. For example, as your coffee shop budget and concept evolve, so will your business plan.
We recommend keeping your business plan light enough for you to carry anywhere. Please place it in a thin 3-ring binder or keep it stapled but near you all the time.
How to Write a Coffee Shop Business Plan
Frequently Asked Questions:
Should I pay someone to write my coffee shop business plan for me?
I strongly recommend against this. People often consider having someone else write their business plan a good thing. But why waste the money on someone else thinking for you? While you may seek the help of someone reviewing elements of your plan, such as your coffee brand, coffee budget, and coffee shop location, the important decisions should be made by you.
Why you should write your business plan:
Your coffee business concept will emerge from your thoughts and ideas. Therefore, you're the best person to capture these ideas on paper.
A business plan will also help stimulate these mental muscles you may haven't used in a long time.
You will need this thought stimulation to execute your plan entirely and thoroughly. Most importantly, writing your business plan gives you a sense of real business ownership. After all, it's your business and should be your plan.
What Happens If I Don't Have a Business Plan?
Have you ever taken a long road trip without a proper map? You know it's probably not a good idea since you won't be sure where you'll end up going.
Sooner or later, not planning your trip and not having the tools you need to reach your destination will increase your expenses, frustrate you, and possibly lead you to failure.
Yet, while developing your business plan will take some work, it will help you get started confidently.
How Long Does a Business Plan Have To Be?
A coffee shop business plan can be as long as you want. Don't think of your business plan as a school assignment that needs to be turned in to your business teacher.
The length of your business plan depends on your coffee shop's complexity. Still, once completed, a thorough business plan can range from 15 to 60 pages (occasionally more, depending on the business's scope).
We recommend always using headings, subheadings, and spaces between paragraphs and sections when constructing your business plan.
A coffee shop business plan has several main sections. While there is no “right” order or structure for your typical business plan, they often include everything from your mission statement to the coffee shop equipment needed to your financial position, projections, and estimates.
Is there an easy way to start a coffee shop business plan?
Yes!
Our Complete Coffee Shop Startup Kit contains a free business plan template for you to get started. All you have to do is fill it out and print our Coffee Shop Business Plan template, and you'll be ready to go!
Are You Ready To Get Started?
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* The information on this page is for educational purposes only. We do not offer legal advice.
Coffee Shop Startups
Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Coffee Shop Startups is dedicated to providing you with the most relevant information on how to start a coffee shop business successfully. Over the last 11 years, we've helped thousands of aspiring coffee business owners worldwide. We harness the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of many successful coffee shop owners to help you increase your chances of success and profits. We support business owners who want to start a coffee business by providing them with valuable information on starting their coffee business successfully.
