Okay we have a great location picked: only drive thru one a major commuter road w/ space for a small retail shop inside. I have a great supplier who works with other small coffee shops in the state. I have the plans laid out and everyone thinks its great idea.

But for renovations/supplies/ect its coming out 300k. Is that a horrible idea?

I have reached out to local agencies and haven’t found grants and I don’t feel comfortable asking family.

I’m torn between you only live once/this is my dream and omg I want to throw up.

  • ritchie70@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Will you own the building? I’d expect the landlord to kick in for basic renovations. You’d have to buy equipment and furnishings but if you’re turning a shoe store (or a Long John Silver’s) into a coffee shop, there should be landlord support. It’ll increase your rent but might make numbers line up better.

    What are your sales projections, and how did you get to them?

    At a minimum you need to look at cars per hour and per day driving past your location, then I’d look for similar numbers for the five closest similarly located Starbucks. (The Starbucks in Target doesn’t count, but the one with a drive-thru on a busy commuter route does.) Traffic data should be publicly available and Starbucks knows where to open locations that succeed.

    Also look at competition - if this is a “major commuter road” then there’s a good chance you have a basic idea of where the bulk of the traffic is starting and ending. Are there existing coffee shops within 5 miles in either direction? 3 miles? 1 mile? You don’t want to try to startup in an already saturated market.