1. Good design is a major marketing tool. The way your shop looks will determine how many people are tempted to cross your threshold. People will make an instant decision as to whether to enter a coffee shop based on the effects of the shop’s lighting, colour scheme, furniture and atmosphere. Good interior design will persuade passers by to enter your shop.
2. Interior design will also give a prospective customer an idea of the cost involved in frequenting it – if you visit a 5 star hotel you know that you will be paying a large sum to stay there. Similarly, a customer will enter a well designed coffee shop prepared to pay a little extra for a coffee for the pleasure of being in a comfortable, pleasant environment.
3. Use an interior designer with a background in catering establishments. They will know how to design your shop to achieve the optimum amount of “selling” space.
4. Shopfitting companies will have in-house designers – this may be cheaper than hiring an independent interior designer.
5. Give your designer a clear idea of what you want in your shop. If necessary, take the designer to visit existing coffee shops and pick out the design features you want incorporated in the shop you are starting up.
6. Listen to your designer! They are experts and they watch the market and look at the trends in design. Your design should reflect market trends and not be guided by your personal taste!
7. Take exactly the same amount of care when selecting the design for your shop front and signage – your shop needs to be irresistible to passers-by!

Tracey Beaney

To download a copy of Don’s Essential Tips and a free copy of his newsletter, see: http://www.howtosetupacoffeeshop.co.uk/newsletter.htm Don’s book will shortly be available in Turkish, and is also currently being amended to suit the US market.

As with many kinds of businesses, of course, the difficulty lies in the execution, and it is vital for anyone considering such a move to create a detailed and complete coffee shop business plan.

Using Your Coffee Shop Business Plan To Help Get Your Business Off Of The Ground

A coffee shop business plan will help the new business owner get the business off the ground by attracting the startup funding that will be needed to purchase or rent a piece of property, stock the kitchen, buy all the coffee makers and cappuccino machines and hire staff.

The coffee shop business plan will no doubt be the first document any lender wants to see, so it is important to put as much care into its creation as into the brewing of a perfect cup of coffee.

The Business Plan Will Detail How To Overcome Problems

The coffee shop business plan should include important information such as where the new coffee shop will be located, statistics on vehicular and foot traffic past the site, the cost of the monthly rent, and the cost of supplies.

In addition, it is important that the coffee shop business plan include information on how the business owner plans to attract and retain qualified employees.

Hiring enough qualified and customer service focused staff members can be a challenge for many businesses, and it is important for the business plan to provide details on how this common problem will be overcome.

The Measures to Take To Keep Cost Under control

It is also important that the coffee shop business plan include a section which details the cost of basic supplies, such as raw coffee beans, creamers, sugar, cups, stirrers, plates, etc.

These consumables will represent a significant cost, and it is important that the coffee shop business plan address the measures taken by the business owner to keep these costs under control.

Listing Your Competitive Advantage

It is important as well for the coffee shop business plan to include a section on current level of competition in the market, including competition from large chain coffee shops.

This section of the coffee shop business plan should also include information on the factors that will make this new coffee shop unique in the marketplace.

Many owners of small coffee shops have added additional amenities designed to attract a loyal clientele, and it is important for the coffee shop business plan to list these important competitive advantages.

Shaunta Pleasant is a professional web writer and editor on business plan topics. Visit my site to learn more about writing a business plan at http://www.business-plan-made-easy.com/coffee-shop-business-plan.html To download a copy of Business Plan Work Shop at http://www.business-plan-made-easy.com/business-plan-work-shop.html

For anyone considering a coffee business, a Starbucks outlet sounds like an excellent way to get started. It is a great way to leverage the brand name and gain instant business traction. So how do you obtain Starbucks coffee franchise information? Checking on the Starbucks website, it clearly states that Starbucks does not offer franchise opportunities nor do they foresee it being offered in the near future. Starbucks is satisfied with the way things are going right now and they see no reason for franchising.

There are, however, several ways to get Starbucks coffee in your own home. The Starbucks website offers a way to taste the same Starbucks coffee by purchasing some of their products that they use themselves to make the coffee. Here is a list of supplies to purchase for the Starbucks experience in your home:

* Expresso machine- Make an expresso just like the one you find in Starbucks by purchasing the Starbucks Expresso

* Starbucks coffee maker-Choose from a single cup to 8 cup

* Starbucks signature coffee press

* Coffee grinder

* Water kettle

* City mugs

* Coffee mugs & thermal mugs and tumblers

So how can one build a Starbucks-like outlet even without an existing high traffic retail front? You can certainly purchase the equipment for making coffee but would have to purchase your coffee elsewhere if you were a business.

As you can see you can get the Starbucks taste but you cannot buy into the franchise. This is bad news for those looking to enjoy the profits from a well-known brand. Starbucks is one of the most popular sought out business that few can tap into.

While franchising is not available, they do offer licensing opportunities for qualified businesses. If you don’t have licensing rights is the right to display Starbucks logo or trademark that identifies you as a Starbucks outlet, it may make a big difference to the foot traffic that your coffee business receives.

There is a way that you can become a licensed store and offer Starbucks coffee. You must fill out a survey and based on your type of business you can operate and own a Starbucks licensed store. Some examples of high traffic businesses include hotels or resorts, college campus, bookstores, grocery chains, shopping malls and more. Starbucks is clearly not offering a franchise business with this type of deal, only the license to own and operate a Starbucks in your business since they stand to make a lot of money opening up their own stores.

Starbucks has been in business for years and even though Starbucks can be found in a lot of places the aroma of Starbucks never gets old. Enjoying Starbucks coffee is easy to do at home or in your own business. Making Starbucks a part of everyone’s morning is as easy as finding their site.

Stewart Baker writes for JavaBeanReview.com where you will find a variety of coffee business opportunities such as a Maui Wowi franchise. For Starbucks coffee franchise information, please request information on how to become a licensed storefront at Java Bean Review.

In determining a living wage, consideration is given to the locality in which the products are made. If the local country has a minimum wage law, the wages for fair trade products will at least match it. Sometimes, however, a legal minimum wage is less than a living wage. Where that is the case, the fair trade producer will receive at least a living wage. Fair trade workers are organized into cooperatives or other participatory workplaces. That way, each worker can have a say in local issues, such as working hours and safe and dignified working conditions. The cooperatives often take initiatives with respect to other worker benefits, such as health care, child care and education. Some cooperatives can provide loans and other assistance to workers as they set up their own small businesses. Fair trade cooperatives will often work to improve conditions in the community. Up to 70% the workers empowered and assisted by fair trade cooperatives are women who are often mothers and the sole wage earners for their families.

A living wage and decent working conditions are one of the two founding principles of the fair trade movement. The other founding principle is environmental sustainability. Fair trade coffee and cocoa cooperatives require their members to use sustainable agricultural methods and to grow organic agricultural products. Raw materials used for textiles and other products are produced using environmentally sustainable methods. Some fair trade cooperatives have sought out producers in geographical regions with rich biodiversity and developed products that use the local resources in a sustainable way.

In addition to a living wage for their producers and an environmentally sustainable approach to commerce, fair trade enterprises also give importance to other social issues. For example, fair trade artisans often use traditional crafts and skills in making their products. Doing so preserves their cultural identity and furthers world-wide cultural diversity. Fair trade cooperatives find it essential to be accountable to the public, so they set up review processes in which accountability and transparency are fundamental. Finally, because the concept of fair trade is dependent upon the ability of consumers to make educated purchases, fair trade cooperatives consider the education of their consumers to be one of their most important responsibilities.
Best of all, fair trade products are excellent products. As important as the economic,

environmental and social principals are to your purchase of a fair trade product, the most important reason to buy them is their quality. Fair trade clothing and accessories are beautiful, unique, sometimes exotic. The coffee and cocoa are rich and flavorful. The home décor items are always unusual as well elegant, whimsical and well-made. Try a fair trade product the next time you make a purchase. In addition to ensuring a living wage, sustaining biodiversity and local environmental conditions and assisting an impoverished community to establish health care, child care and education, you will become the owner of some very wonderful stuff!

Kathleen Hobbins is an internet entrepreneur in Chicago, IL. She is particularly interested in fair trade and other social justice issues. Visit her website at importedlinens.com

There is quite a difference between the coffee you buy to make at home and what you get at a coffee shop. The smell of it is enough to get people walking by to go in and place an order. Being able to get one flavor of coffee on Monday and another on Tuesday is exciting too. You don’t have to use the entire canister like you do at home. It is worth the cost of a cup of coffee to have something that tastes so good.

Many people are often on the go so making coffee in the morning and sitting down to drink it is out of the question. They find it more convenient to just get it on their way to work. This way they don’t have to get up even earlier and lose precious sleep. They can go to the same location day after day if they want to where they will become recognized as a familiar face.

Coffee shops are designed to meet the needs of all customers. That means those that are retired and have all day or those that never find enough hours in the day. You can get a cup to go or a cup to stay. It all depends on what your plans are for the day. No one ever feels rushed to leave a coffee shop by the staff and that means people feel welcome there.

Coffee shops also are great hang outs for social crowds too. You may have noticed this in some movies but it really is true. It is uncomfortable to meet someone you don’t know in private so a coffee shop is safe. It can be boring to discuss business at the office so why not at a coffee shop? Even couples can have a nice talk over a cup of their favorite drink.

This may be one place a person can get a break from their family and their job. This section of time to read a book or to just be with their thoughts can make a person better to those around them. It allows them to be able to process what all is taking place around them. It also gives them the chance to plan how to deal with daily tasks and unexpected elements that arise.

Coffee can be addicting and that is a very good reason to go get some. It may be how you start your day and what you crave to get you through the afternoon. Since most people work outside of the home you need a place to get that coffee fix. This is why so many coffee shops are found in high foot traffic areas.

There are many reasons why people go to coffee shops. If you are an avid coffee drinker then you likely have a few of them to share as well. It is important for coffee shop owners to be aware of these reasons. That way they can be sure they are offering the right products and the right atmosphere. There is no shortage of demand when it comes to coffee drinks. They may as well be going to your business than to someone else’s.

Karyn Lewis is passionate about great coffee. If you are thinking of opening a cafe, and avoiding the common mistakes new owners make, you can read more at her recommended coffee business website.