How To Start Your Own Coffee Shop
After reading my long post about the Coffee Shop Problems (Part 1) and Coffee Shop Problems (Part 2) , and you're thinking that you got what it takes to open your own coffee shop but still a bit unsure where to start, here's the post for you. I will try to break down step by step what you need to do, to have your dream coffee shop.
1. A Well Thought Concept
Think about your coffee shop identity. Things that separates your coffee shop from the rest, the selling point, the story behind it, the target market. Dream BIG. But don't share this ideas to many people, keep it to your self first.
2. Get the Catchy Name
This will be your brand, a name that represents the great concept that you have in mind. Get the logo and register for a trade mark as soon as you can. Create the accounts on social medias, and you might want to get the domain for your website.
3. Find Location
With the brand name and concept in mind, think about the suitable areas for your coffee shop. Does your dream coffee shop suitable in a downtown area? Or more fitting in an upscale area? Or malls? Or office? At this point, you don't need to rent the place just yet. Just make up your mind about the location, knowing the rent charge in the area, payment terms, the renovation cost, everything to prepare you on the budgeting later on.
4. Market Research
Before you open your dream coffee shop, you also need to know your target market. No I'm not telling you to go to any coffee shop that seems like your rival and copy their entire menu, stalk their social media, or anything like that. But you can go to any coffee shop in that area you're interested in, a coffee shop that you consider have a similarity with your concept and pay attention toward the customers. Are they're more like a grab and go, or the one sits for hours only ordered one cup of coffee? What kind of food that the customers eat there? Do they even order food or just cookies? Do they have buying power? How much they're willing to spend?
5. Find Vendors / Suppliers
Next thing that you need to do is start looking for vendors - for espresso machine, coffee grinder, coffee beans, milks, chillers, freezer, cooking equipments, interior designer, website designer, furnitures, etc etc. With all the price lists / quotations in hand, you'll be able to put a ballpark number for your initial investment.
6. Business Plan
Now you already have your concept, brand name, preferable areas, target market, vendors, now you can start put everything on paper. Create your business plan. Calculate all the cost that you have to spend on the initial investment and on the first year. Don't forget your staffs salaries and tax at this point. How long to get the ROI? How many cups you need to sell per day to cover the overheads? etc etc.
7. Raise the Funds
This is where usually people stop. Investment issue. Sadly in Indonesia, the banks and government are not at all supportive towards entrepreneurs or start up companies. So if your business plan ended up with a bigger number than what you can afford alone, you might need to get some investors. Make sure that the business plans that you made is accurate and promising for the investors to put their money on. But please, be realistic. You can't say that you'll start selling 200 cups on the first day you're open.
Besides getting some investors, the bank can only give you a loan with collaterals in the picture, it means that you might need to put your house or land in the hand of the bank. This is risky, yes. But all business have it's risk.
If getting investors and bank loan are just not working out for you, there's a crowd fund raising sites that you can give it a try. But I'm not entirely sure if the crowd willing to spend a lot of their money for your shares or coffee memberships if they're not in the same city as you are. But at this point, you got nothing to lose, so why not give it a try.
8. Establish the Company
After you managed to get your initial investments to run the coffee shop for the first year, you'll need to register your company. In Jakarta, Indonesia, there's a lot of notary that can help you with this. After all the paperworks are done, you'll need to get a permit license from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, they're the one in charge for restaurants / hotels / bars / coffee shops. There's a lot of requirements, but better have it out of the way sooner than later.
9. Put Everything Together
After you got your company set up, you can start with the down payment of the rent charge. It will be better if you can get an agreement with the land owner regarding of rent charge raise after this current contract ends (in case you would like to extend your contract) and get the grease period during renovations. Get interior designers and start renovating, while doing so, you need to know the coffee bar design that's ideal for the workflow, don't get caught up only on the aesthetics side, the function is the priority here. Get the espresso machine, grinder, chiller, freezer, signage, etc etc at this point. While you're excited that your dream coffee shop is coming to life, you should share it on social media too, as a teaser that your coffee shop is opening soon.
10. Starts Hiring
You got the company, the coffee shop is coming soon, but you have no barista, cook, administrator, etc etc. Well, you can put up an announcement board on your construction site for whoever that walk pass it. But the easiest way to hire baristas, is actually through a barista. Somehow they have this forum or chat groups that's everyone in it are baristas. So if you would like to spread the words, the easiest one will be asking a barista in your local coffee shop if they have some friends that's looking for a job. Or you can put ads in online employment marketplaces such as JobsDB or Jobstreet.
11. Training, Training, Training
You're a step away from your dream coffee shop, the last thing you need to pay attention to, are the coffee trainings. I'm not only talking about how to make an espresso kind of training, but all of it. The basic thing that I would highlight in the training will be : coffee cupping / tasting, introductions about coffee (theories mostly), espresso making, calibrations, frothing milk, cleaning machines, customer services, inventories stock check, and the attitude at workplace. It's not the one day type of training and they're good to go in instant, it takes repetitions every single day. And it's your job as the coffee shop owner to give them guidance every now and then.
12. Ready to Serve
When everything is done, you can pick a date to open for public, but invite your friends and family first to get their feedbacks or comments from many point of views. Get the words out on social media, email blast, get a media coverage, bloggers, influencers, the more the better. And in the end of the day celebrate that accomplishment together with your whole team, that awesome - somewhat relieved feeling after the peak hours. And do it all again tomorrow :)
I hope this post can give you some guidance to help you start planning your own coffee shop, we all need more and more coffee shops in Jakarta (but please no Starbucks). After opening one coffee shop and learn about the ups and downs along the way, to open the second one isn't going to be as hard. If you might need practical consultancy, you can reach me through email.
Good luck!
Always do what you love, so you'll love what you do.
xoxo
AP
 |
| Piccolo Latte at Hiveworks Co-Work & Cafe, Jakarta |
1. A Well Thought Concept
Think about your coffee shop identity. Things that separates your coffee shop from the rest, the selling point, the story behind it, the target market. Dream BIG. But don't share this ideas to many people, keep it to your self first.
2. Get the Catchy Name
This will be your brand, a name that represents the great concept that you have in mind. Get the logo and register for a trade mark as soon as you can. Create the accounts on social medias, and you might want to get the domain for your website.
3. Find Location
With the brand name and concept in mind, think about the suitable areas for your coffee shop. Does your dream coffee shop suitable in a downtown area? Or more fitting in an upscale area? Or malls? Or office? At this point, you don't need to rent the place just yet. Just make up your mind about the location, knowing the rent charge in the area, payment terms, the renovation cost, everything to prepare you on the budgeting later on.
4. Market Research
Before you open your dream coffee shop, you also need to know your target market. No I'm not telling you to go to any coffee shop that seems like your rival and copy their entire menu, stalk their social media, or anything like that. But you can go to any coffee shop in that area you're interested in, a coffee shop that you consider have a similarity with your concept and pay attention toward the customers. Are they're more like a grab and go, or the one sits for hours only ordered one cup of coffee? What kind of food that the customers eat there? Do they even order food or just cookies? Do they have buying power? How much they're willing to spend?
5. Find Vendors / Suppliers
Next thing that you need to do is start looking for vendors - for espresso machine, coffee grinder, coffee beans, milks, chillers, freezer, cooking equipments, interior designer, website designer, furnitures, etc etc. With all the price lists / quotations in hand, you'll be able to put a ballpark number for your initial investment.
6. Business Plan
Now you already have your concept, brand name, preferable areas, target market, vendors, now you can start put everything on paper. Create your business plan. Calculate all the cost that you have to spend on the initial investment and on the first year. Don't forget your staffs salaries and tax at this point. How long to get the ROI? How many cups you need to sell per day to cover the overheads? etc etc.
7. Raise the Funds
This is where usually people stop. Investment issue. Sadly in Indonesia, the banks and government are not at all supportive towards entrepreneurs or start up companies. So if your business plan ended up with a bigger number than what you can afford alone, you might need to get some investors. Make sure that the business plans that you made is accurate and promising for the investors to put their money on. But please, be realistic. You can't say that you'll start selling 200 cups on the first day you're open.
Besides getting some investors, the bank can only give you a loan with collaterals in the picture, it means that you might need to put your house or land in the hand of the bank. This is risky, yes. But all business have it's risk.
If getting investors and bank loan are just not working out for you, there's a crowd fund raising sites that you can give it a try. But I'm not entirely sure if the crowd willing to spend a lot of their money for your shares or coffee memberships if they're not in the same city as you are. But at this point, you got nothing to lose, so why not give it a try.
8. Establish the Company
After you managed to get your initial investments to run the coffee shop for the first year, you'll need to register your company. In Jakarta, Indonesia, there's a lot of notary that can help you with this. After all the paperworks are done, you'll need to get a permit license from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, they're the one in charge for restaurants / hotels / bars / coffee shops. There's a lot of requirements, but better have it out of the way sooner than later.
9. Put Everything Together
After you got your company set up, you can start with the down payment of the rent charge. It will be better if you can get an agreement with the land owner regarding of rent charge raise after this current contract ends (in case you would like to extend your contract) and get the grease period during renovations. Get interior designers and start renovating, while doing so, you need to know the coffee bar design that's ideal for the workflow, don't get caught up only on the aesthetics side, the function is the priority here. Get the espresso machine, grinder, chiller, freezer, signage, etc etc at this point. While you're excited that your dream coffee shop is coming to life, you should share it on social media too, as a teaser that your coffee shop is opening soon.
10. Starts Hiring
You got the company, the coffee shop is coming soon, but you have no barista, cook, administrator, etc etc. Well, you can put up an announcement board on your construction site for whoever that walk pass it. But the easiest way to hire baristas, is actually through a barista. Somehow they have this forum or chat groups that's everyone in it are baristas. So if you would like to spread the words, the easiest one will be asking a barista in your local coffee shop if they have some friends that's looking for a job. Or you can put ads in online employment marketplaces such as JobsDB or Jobstreet.
11. Training, Training, Training
You're a step away from your dream coffee shop, the last thing you need to pay attention to, are the coffee trainings. I'm not only talking about how to make an espresso kind of training, but all of it. The basic thing that I would highlight in the training will be : coffee cupping / tasting, introductions about coffee (theories mostly), espresso making, calibrations, frothing milk, cleaning machines, customer services, inventories stock check, and the attitude at workplace. It's not the one day type of training and they're good to go in instant, it takes repetitions every single day. And it's your job as the coffee shop owner to give them guidance every now and then.
12. Ready to Serve
When everything is done, you can pick a date to open for public, but invite your friends and family first to get their feedbacks or comments from many point of views. Get the words out on social media, email blast, get a media coverage, bloggers, influencers, the more the better. And in the end of the day celebrate that accomplishment together with your whole team, that awesome - somewhat relieved feeling after the peak hours. And do it all again tomorrow :)
I hope this post can give you some guidance to help you start planning your own coffee shop, we all need more and more coffee shops in Jakarta (but please no Starbucks). After opening one coffee shop and learn about the ups and downs along the way, to open the second one isn't going to be as hard. If you might need practical consultancy, you can reach me through email.
Good luck!
Always do what you love, so you'll love what you do.
xoxo
AP
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