First thing to note: It is at this point in time that I decide I would like to blog about the experience. That means that from this point forward, all posts will occur in real time and all posts before this point are based on recollections.
Once we started playing with the idea of a coffee shop, we rediscovered our excitement about the building. We began cautiously and Chris insisted that before we invested to much time, energy or money into this new project, we should put together a business plan. It was a really helpful exercise. No matter how much experience you have in building a business from the ground up or how much experience you have in a particular industry, I highly, highly recommend putting together a business plan.
The business plan helps you to clarify your ideas and ensures that all aspects work together cohesively. In our early discussions, we bounced many ideas around: retail, food, teas, room layout, etc. When we first sat down to write the business plan, we created a mission statement. That mission statement is, ‘To serve high-quality coffee products made with care in an comfortable environment.’ Once the mission statement existed, we made sure that everything following in the business plan would help toward that end.
One of the steps in the business plan is to analyze the competition. In doing so, we wanted to make sure that our business was different in some way from each of the nearby competitors, although being slightly different is not enough. Because a consumer might choose any of the local competition, I want them to have a very clear idea of how we differ from each of them. Why would someone choose Jiva Java Cafe over Dunkin Donut’s (1.3 miles away)? Why would someone choose Jiva Java Cafe over Starbucks (0.7 miles away)? Answering these questions helped us to clarify what Jiva Java Cafe is going to be.
Who is our most likely customer and how will we reach them? Rather than randomly trying different marketing approaches, if I can answer these 2 questions, our marketing becomes focused and specific.
Once we decided that the quality of the coffee is going to be important, and that we were going to use local sources whenever possible, we recognized that the obvious source for our coffee had to be Santa Mama. We have been drinking their coffee for years and like the owners. As we got an understanding of what kind of products we are going to offer, we had information for which to design the layout of the work stations.
In other words, the business plan was essential to our planning. Instead of having the mindset of, ‘We want to sell coffee, what else do we have room for,’ we recognized that we want to sell good coffee that is made with attention to the details and then we should determine what will align with the coffee rather than distract from it.