This simple step by step guide will help guide any new entrepreneur looking to embark on a coffee shop venture, covering aspects from selecting your machine to choosing your location.

1. How to start
a coffee shop

2. What will be covered in this
presentation?
 Slide 1 – Title Slide
 Slide 2 – Contents Slide
 Slide 3 – Why do you want to start a coffe
shop
 Slide 4 – Understanding the market
 Slide 5 – Vision of the company
 Slide 6 - Create a business plan
 Slide 7 – Establish your USP
 Slide 8 – Select a venue and location
 Slide 9 – Marketing Strategy
 Slide 10 – Hire an accountant
 Slide 11 – Building supplier relationships
 Slide 12 – Select your coffee and
understand it
 Slide 13 – Coffee Machine
recommendations title slide
 Slide 14 – Faema E91 Ambassador
 Slide 15 – La Spaziale S2
 Slide 16 - De’Longhi PrimaDonna Elite
 Slide 17 – Hiring Staff
 Slide 18 – Stay Motivated
 Slide 19 – Success Measurements

3. Why do you want to
start a coffee shop?
 This is a question you must ask
yourself when looking to embark on a
venture of this nature, ask yourself;
1) Am I ready for the financial
commitment?
2) Am I ready to commit my time to this
new venture?
3) Do I understand the industry?
 If you lack industry experience it is
imperative that you follow the first
step of this process ; understanding
the market.

4. Understanding
the market
 It is important to make sure that you are
both well-educated on the market and
prepared for the possible positive and
negative implications of starting your
own coffee shop. With the coffee
industry showing no signs of slowing
down, it is important to take in to
consideration the level of commitment
that is required to run a business of this
nature. Like any business it is time
consuming to plan and execute plans
effectively.
 Y ou must be prepared to take a more
hands-on approach, as typically start-up
coffee shops take approximately 6-
months to begin to generate profit, so if
you’re looking to make some quick
money, this is not the opportunity for
you.
 We have compiled a set of attributes any
individual looking to set up a coffee shop
should possess, click here to see what
we think.

5. Vision of the
company
 In order to proceed to the next step,
your vision must be identified.
 Y ou must ask yourself, ‘where do I see
this venture going in the next 5 years?’.
Here is your opportunity to demonstrate
your ambition, but you must remember
that in order to achieve your vision it
must be realistic but most of all
achievable.
 The vision of the company directly
influences other aspects of the company
such as the mission statement, goals and
USP.
 The mission statement should outline the
companies values and goals which aim to
help fulfil the business’s vision, whereas
the USP will embody these values whilst
incorporating the vision when creating a
product/service.

6. Create a business
plan
 Creating a strong business plan is
imperative as it provides the company
with a sense of direction as well as
allowing you to see the viability of your
new venture.
 There are various other benefits of
constructing a business plan, for
example;
1) allowing a greater understanding of your
market, ultimately allowing you to tailor
your decision making process to suit the
markets needs.
2) It also helps maintain a strong focus on
the set objectives, whilst ensuring clarity
throughout the process of starting a
business.
 Click here to see the 10 things every
business plan should include:

7. Establish your
USP
Ensuring your coffee shop can
compete within this saturated
industry requires a unique selling
point (USP) to differentiate you from
your competitors. Y ou need to ask
yourself the following questions to
help establish a USP:
 •What are the gaps in the
market?
 •What services are currently
provided?
 •How can I improve the services
provided?
 •What are consumers looking
for?

8. Select a venue
and location
 With small coffee shops being a
hotspot for social activity amongst
local communities, understanding and
tailoring the products you offer, the
service you provide and the physical
execution of your coffee shop are
important factors that you need to get
right in order to ensure success.
 Y ou must consider;
1) Geographical location (is it suitable
for the consumers you are trying to
attract).
2) Floor plans and space availability.
3) Exterior of the business – Where
consumers for their first perception of
your business, so must be eye catching
and unique.

9. Marketing
Strategy
 Developing a strong marketing
strategy should be a priority when
opening a small coffee shop as it
will be your main communication
channel with consumers. There
should be a strong focus on
reaching, engaging and converting
consumers.
Click here to check out the popular
forms of marketing used by coffee
shop start-ups

10. Hiring an
accountant
 Hiring someone with the experience
of dealing with start-up businesses
finance will be necessary if you or
any business partners are
inexperienced in this field.
 Having organized financial data will
be crucial when monitoring in-
goings, outgoings and calculating
profits and losses.
 An accountant will be a useful
source of advice and guidance for
those first-time business starters,
who may be at higher financial risk.

11. Building supplier
relationships
 When it comes to suppliers they
should be considered and treated as
part of the team just like any other
member of staff.
 Although they are being paid to
supply your business, they are
helping you to provide quality
products.
 Maintaining these relationships is of
great interest to any business, as
poor relationships result in:
1) supply issues resulting in customer
dissatisfaction
2) a damaged reputation
3) loss of revenue. Common causes of
poor supplier relationships consist
of late payments, poor
communication and late deliveries.

12. Selecting your coffee
and understanding it
 If you’re looking to start a coffee
shop, selecting your coffee will no
doubt be an exciting part of the
process.
 When picking which coffee to choose,
taste is the only concern right? Wrong!
Although this is of great significance it
is also important to understand where
it came from and the processes
embedded throughout the supply
chain.
 With sustainability being a concept
everyone should consider adhering to,
ensuring you source your coffee from
an ethical company is not only
important to the environment but has
become increasingly popular to
customers in recent years.

13. Coffee machine
recommendations
for start-up coffee
shops

14. Faema E91
Ambassador
 This model falls within the mid
price bracket, with leasing from
£ 38.36 per week, and outright
purchasing costing £ 4795
 95% of people who reviewed this
machine would recommend it.
 Available in both 2 and 3 Group
Models
 View the Faema E91 Ambassador
on our product listings page

15. WMF Espresso
 This fall within the higher price
range with lease from prices
starting from £ 44.75. Outright
purchase price is £ 9300.
 84% of people who reviewed this
machine would recommend it.
 View the WMF Espresso on our
product listings page.

16. San Marco 85
Series
 This model is suitable for those
with a more modest budget with
leasing prices starting from £
13.60 11.60. Outright purchasing
for the 1 Group model is £ 1700
 93% of people who reviewed this
machine would recommend it.
 Is available in 1, 2 and 3 Group
models.
 View the San Marco 85 Series on
our product listing page.

17. Hiring Staff
 Individuals working for you can have a
large impact on the way your business
operationalises. So what sort of people
should you look to hire and why? Hire
‘high quality staff’.
 Remember you only get one chance at a
first impression, with the baristas you
hire being the face of the company it is
important to get it correct, so don’t rush
the recruitment process.
 It has become more important in recent
years for baristas to have a strong
understanding of the sourcing and
manufacturing process of their coffee
beans, due to the increase in popularity
of artisan coffee and increased levels of
eco-consciousness amongst the general
public.
Click here to view the attributes to look
when hiring a barista

18. Stay Motivated
 One thing to bear in mind when
opening a coffee shop is the
importance of motivation. Poor
motivation will be noticed by
both staff and customers and
will affect the quality of your
operations.
 Don’t be disheartened by poor
profits within the first 6 months
of trading, its normal. Profits
will follow greater brand
awareness, remember you are
new to the trade.
 Stay positive, stay committed
and stay passionate.

19. Success
measurements
Marketing
 Social Media
 Google Analytics
Finance
 Breakeven
 Profit
General Business
 Reviews
To explore how these tools can be used
to measure success in greater detail
please click here