3. 3
Current Situation
As you can see, a large majority of students and faculty are not as interested in the
current dining options available to them. The current area housing food services is not
as inviting as it could be, and seems shoved into a corner of the building that also
houses a bookstore, club center, public safety office, and general seating. This is not
conducive to sales and can drive away prospective students and/or employees.
If our new business was implemented into this area, we could work together to create
a welcoming and invigorating change to an outdated and tired building. In achieving
this, we are positive that we will bring more students into this building, and in turn
increase revenue and interest in campus life. I can tell you with certainty that if you
asked anyone, staff or student, at the Venice campus if they would like a coffee bar,
they would all answer with a resounding and unanimous “yes”.
10%
24%
31%
35%
PERCENT OF STUDENTS
Yes, Daily Yes, Sometimes Rarely Never
Currently the State College of Florida – Venice, lacks a dynamic and appealing dining
environment. The food services are housed within the Student Union and are under
utilized by the staff and students. Upon visiting these facilities, we asked 100 students if
they used the current dining option on a regular basis. We collected their responses into
a chart as it is shown below:
4. 4
Project Plan
When we bring our business onto the SCF campus, we fully intend on doing so in a
safe, courteous, and environmentally friendly manner. We understand that SCF is a
nature-conscious institution and wish to make our facilities as green and efficient as is
allowed. We plan to only hire contractors who are experienced and knowledgeable in
“green” construction and will only move forward once we know that the school is
satisfied with these choices.
Earlier, we spoke about the location of our future business and how we wish to bring
new and exciting change to a currently tired and worn out Student Union. While we do
not want to demolish any existing structures, we plan on utilizing what is currently
seating space, to create a “coffee kiosk” area. Pictured below is the space that is most
desirable for this project, in the Venice 500 Building:
Many other community colleges in the state of Florida house similar coffee bars. While
we cannot currently provide an exact replica of what the completed project may look
like, below we have also provided a picture of a community college’s coffee shop that
will look very similar to the future Blu Coffee kiosk:
5. 5
These construction plans are intended to be relatively minor, and we will take
precautions to avoid any disruption to the work and school flow within the campus. We
have already received quotes and details from a private contractor, and have informed
them of our need to keep construction noise to a minimum. Construction will take
place during the summer when enrollment is lowest, and during the afternoon hours
when the campus is emptiest.
The timeline of the construction is set at an estimated three weeks as of now, although
this is dependent on when we are allowed to give the green light to our contractor, as
well as the shipping time on certain products. All of that said, we do not expect the
construction to exceed five weeks at the very most. Below is a rough outline of the
events during construction.
Week 1:
Demolition of preexisting structures and any needed electric/plumbing lines will be
installed. Clearing of debris will be taken care of by construction crew. Safety
measures will be put in place for civilians.
Week 2:
Installation of furniture, appliances installed, and any necessary retiling or dry wall will
be taken care of by appropriate teams.
Week 3:
Any necessary painting or touch ups will be completed. Room has been left in the time
line in the case of any delivery delays or construction issues.
After these installations have been completed, we can expect a shipment of our
products to be delivered within the week. On top of our kiosk, we would also like to
have 4 sets of our armchairs and coffee tables, and 8 bar stools to be placed near the
kiosk to create a more dynamic seating area for customers. If there are any issues
regarding color schemes or policies, they are to be addressed prior to construction to
prevent any other delays in the building process.
6. 6
Qualifications
We understand that consistency and honesty are valued especially in a business
partnership, and would like to give you peace of mind in knowing that our business and
our owners are exceptionally qualified to run a successful and ethically sound
establishment.
Blu Coffee first opened in the summer of 2010 as a coffee shop in southern Venice.
Since then, profits have grown substantially and we have received several awards and
accolades for our well known service. Below we have provided a bar graph showing
the growth in profits since our store’s opening.
Our owner, Shauna C Longshore, possesses a B.S. in Business Management and a
M.S. in Marketing from the University of Florida. She has grown this business into the
much loved community business it is today, and has been involved with the Venice
Chambers of Commerce for six years.
7. 7
We have also worked consistently with the same private contractor since our first store
opening. This contractor possesses state and regional certification, as well as a
certified and licensed crew. They are environmentally friendly and have also received
recognition for their work within the Sarasota County area. These awards and licenses
can be obtained upon request.
Beyond these qualifications, we have also received awards such as the 2014 Best
Coffee Shop of the Venice Area, by CityVoter.
Venice
Blu Coffee
8. 8
Cost and Benefits
We are passionate about our business franchises and wish to keep SCF’s costs during
this process to a minimum, seeing as we are an independently owned business. We
are quoting the whole construction process to be about $45,000 at this time, but all we
ask of the school is to allow us to advertise on campus and to be a rent controlled
establishment.
Although these construction plans may appear bothersome and lengthy, we can assure
the faculty at State College of Florida, that these additions will only bring wonderful
and extensive benefits to the Venice campus. Although these benefits are too
numerous to possibly be able to list them all, here we have outlined a few:
• Part Time Jobs for Students
- We would like to only hire SCF students to work part time as trained baristas
at our kiosk. We are understanding of school hours and would like to see this
as an opportunity for students to become more aware and involved with their
campus.
• A Central Gathering Space
- The Student Union at the Venice campus would have a more comfortable
and relaxing gathering spot for students and staff alike to meet and interact
on a regular basis, increasing traffic in this area.
• Internships
-The owner of Blu Coffee has extended an offer to allow business students to
complete a paid internship at the main shop or the campus kiosk which would
involve the students working with the managers and learning the inner workings
of a real business with firsthand experience.
• Increase in Enrollment
- With the addition of a coffee shop, the college’s value would increase and
subsequently the number of prospective students would increase as well.
9. 9
Conclusion
All of these factors considered, here at Blu Coffee we believe that our new coffee kiosk
will greatly improve the campus atmosphere at the State College of Florida – Venice
and will serve as an integral and indispensable business at the school. The costs of the
installation of this project are minor to the State College of Florida, seeing as we are a
for-profit company who only seeks to have a new franchise within the college
community. We believe this project will enhance the lives of staff and students, and
increase the overall value of this otherwise outdated campus.
Our construction will be a quiet and conservative affair, with close to no disruptions for
the rest of the campus. We seek to be environmentally friendly in collaboration with the
school and county, and intend on utilizing the best contractor and resources to achieve
this goal.
We intend on making the most of this business and seek mainly to benefit the students
by offering jobs on campus, internship opportunities for business majors, and an
overall positive presence within the area. All that we ask for in return is the ability to
advertise our company reasonably, and for our accommodation needs to be met. We
intend on paying monthly, controlled rent, as well as taking care of any and all
construction costs within the named three to four week period.
We hope that the State College of Florida is as excited to permit these new and
upstanding improvements as we are and that our partnership is a long and happy one.
If there are any concerns or questions regarding the details outlined in this proposal,
do not hesitate to call our main office at (941) 555-1234 ext. 20.
Thank you for taking the time to look over this proposal and we hope to hear from you
soon!
In Solidarity,
Shauna Longshore, CEO
Blu Coffee, LLC.
(941) 555-1234 ext. 20
