Opening a great coffee business, my experience…
My stand alone coffee & smoothie café.
 I
have always wanted to own my own business. Some people
just have that desire to be their own boss and luckily,
I am one of those people. I did not want to continue
my repetitious 9-5 for the rest of my life by adding
money in someone else’s pocket. If you’ve
ever felt that way, read on….It never occurred
to me what kind of business it would be. Perhaps a sandwich
shop like Subway, maybe a Dunkin Donuts, a coffee shop
like Starbucks, or maybe start my own business from
scratch. The type of business seemed less important
to me compared to the time, effort, and cost. I did
know I wanted something in the quick serve business.
Thus my journey began. I started to consider business
opportunities like Subway, Dunkin Donuts, or Starbucks.
I also looked into an entrepreneur business option.
Perhaps a café option of some type. I considered
the benefits of franchising with an established system
versus starting from scratch on my own. I realized that
starting my own business would be a bigger undertaking
than I ever imagined. Choosing the right equipment,
designing a layout, and conceiving recipes, these were
just a few of the things I would have to know. Building
from the ground up was not cost effective or practical
for me. I began leaning towards an already proven business
opportunity such as Starbucks, Subway, Dunkin Donuts,
but that was just the beginning. I had to decide whether
a franchise or licensing company was right for me. There
is always a list of Pro’s and Con’s. One
pro of licensing was that I would be able to do my own
thing. I could do my own marketing, set up my store
café the way I wanted, and be totally on my own,
but with the use of someone else’s name. As I
came to realize, this was also a con. With licensing,
I would be able to work with an already established
name and make up my own rules -as would the rest of
the licensees with the same name. My long term goals
always included opening more than one store, business,
or cafe over a period of time. Working with a licensing
business opportunity would present the problem of inconsistency
through out the stores or cafes. Licensed café’s
might not be providing or serving consistent products.
I wanted to associate myself with a reputable company
that would benefit me. Reinventing the wheel was not
ever my goal, but making my business thrive the first
time by using what works like Starbucks was!
My business criteria included low overhead and permanency.
Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts cafes were unfortunately
out of my price range. I researched a lot of different
business opportunity options and discovered that coffee
is the #2 commodity in the world. Did you know that
coffee is a massive growing industry across the nation?
Specialty coffee sales are increasing by 20% per year
and account for nearly 8% of the 18 billion dollar US
coffee market thanks to businesses like Starbucks that
paved the way for the specialty coffee industry.
My decision was made. I was getting into the specialty
coffee and smoothie business. I had my eye on the famous
Starbucks coffee café. Unfortunately for me,
Starbucks wasn’t selling any more franchises.
Okay, I’ll find a rising coffee and smoothie company
that would offer me the business model that benefited
me. There was so much to choose from, coffee & smoothie
cafes, coffee & smoothie drive thrus, kiosks, carts,
and even mobile coffee cafes. So, I did a little more
research. I found the coffee and smoothie trends were
moving into a new hybrid model, a café including
a drive thru. I knew that I wanted the benefit of a
drive thru that included a coffee and smoothie café.
My eye was on a stand alone coffee and smoothie café.
I wanted to serve my customers great tasting coffee
and smoothies, by offering seating in my coffee café
or the use the drive thru. I wanted it all! The best
coffee and smoothie café. I wanted to offer my
customers a wi fi experience, great tasting coffee,
espresso, and smoothie drinks, and accommodate working
commuters in my cafe. A little more research and I had
found my winner. Cuppy’s Coffee, Smoothie &
More. They have various models to accommodate diverse
financial obligations. They had what I wanted; a stand
alone coffee café. I loved the modern look and
that it would accommodate everything I was looking for.
Cuppy’s Coffee also went above and beyond in helping
me get started. They assisted with location, financing,
marketing, and operations. Cuppy’s Coffee offered
the best training program, even an on site coffee college.
My extensive research of business opportunities has
lead me to decide on the coffee and smoothie franchise.
With my found information, I have decided to trust my
dream to Cuppy’s Coffee Smoothies and More, whom
really stood out above the rest.
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