There’s nothing quite like a good coffee to start a new day, so why not take the same approach with your New Year? If you’re the proud owner of a coffee shop or cafe, using the turn of the year to refresh your business and give it a new lease of life could help you hit the ground running in 2023. From changing up your business approach to refreshing your insurance, we’ve put together a quick guide to help you brew a brand new business plan this New Year.
Why Do I Need A Business Plan?
The reasons for putting together a business plan, even if your coffee shop has been running for years already, are plentiful. From making sure that you remain organised and on goal, to saving you money and helping you ensure you haven’t forgotten anything important, a business plan acts as a guideline and a map for running your business. Some key reasons to consider include:
- You could save money – With a comprehensive business plan, you can save money simply by setting yourself a budget and doing what you can to stick to it. Carefully evaluating your finances and what you can afford in the new year can help you better determine a budget and help you stick to it. Make sure to include any anticipated costs throughout the year, including things like potential repairs, new machines, supplies, and more.
- You can stay organised – A good, well-thought-out business plan can help you stay more organised than you might expect! It can lay out your next steps in running and growing your business, including any future plans for renovations, new products, new marketing campaigns, and more. With all of these things detailed out, you stand a better chance at staying on goal and remaining organised.
- Everyone stays on the same page – From you as the owner, to property managers, shareholders, investors, and even your staff, keeping everyone on the same page as far as the plans for your business go can be difficult. Having a comprehensive business plan in place will ensure that everyone has access to the same information and the same roadmaps for what you are planning for the future of your coffee shop.
What Should I Include in the Business Plan?
When it comes to starting to put your business plan together, there is no limit to what you can include, however, there are a few key things you should include. A business plan for an established coffee shop may look a little different from one for a shop that hasn’t started up yet, but they should all follow similar layouts. Even as an established location, having a back-to-basics plan can help you re-evaluate what has gone right and what needs improvement for the future. Your business plan should include:
- An Executive Summary – This is an overall summary of the business plan, wrapping up everything that your business plan will cover briefly, including locations, dates, and other relevant and important information.
- Concepts – Do you have an established concept? Great! Put it in your business plan anyway to keep everyone on-brand. If you want to change things up or need to put your concept into play in a new coffee shop, here is where you can go to town explaining and describing what you want in terms of location, product offerings, unique selling points, names for your business, and more.
- Development Details – Where are you in your development process? Are you comfortable with where you are? Does your business still need a lot of work to get off the ground? This is where you can list where the business currently stands and what has been done.
- Ownership/Management – Lay out the current management structure, not only naming the owners and current managers, but the general hierarchy you want to maintain or change in the coming months.
- Objectives – What do you want to achieve in your coffee shop? What is the objective of its whole existence? This might seem as simple as ‘to provide coffee’, but you need to think about what you want your whole establishment to stand for. This is a great way to get shareholders and investors on the same page when it comes to the purpose of your premises.
- Products/Services/Menu – Are you planning to change up your menu? Having the products you want to introduce into your menu can help keep employees and management in the loop.
- Marketing – What is your marketing going to look like? Do you want to increase marketing in the New Year? What avenues are you planning to look into? List these out to help you keep on track over the coming months.
- Market Research/Competition – Researching the market not only for your customers but for your competitors can help you keep on top of changing trends and what your customers want to see. It can help you see what competitors are doing and how you can change and adapt. List what you’ve discovered and what you’d like to change in the future as a result of your market research.
- Finances/Budget – Having a detailed budget can help you not only manage your money better in the New Year but can help to work out what investments you can or can’t make over the course of the year. Do you have enough budget to get a new machine? Or to up your marketing? Do you need to increase your insurance policies? Lay this out, as well as any outgoing costs to get a clearer understanding of your year’s budget for both you, and your employees and investors.
- Sales and Net Projections/Balance Sheets – Having a full and comprehensive balance sheet, as well as sales and net projections, can help to give shareholders and investors a clear idea of what is going on within your business and whether you remain a good investment. It can also provide you with a better insight into how your business finances work and where changes may need to be made.
- Any Legal Regulations/Insurance Policies – Finally, you should consider researching any updates to regulations and make sure that your Coffee Shop Insurance policies are up to date. Having a good insurance policy in place for the new year can protect you against theft and damage, as well as any claims made against you by members of the public.
If you’d like more information about shop insurance for a coffee shop, and how it can work with your business plan, we are on hand to help. Simply get in touch with a member of the team at Ashburnham Insurance for more information.