Would you get in your car and begin driving to a business meeting without first knowing 1) who you are meeting 2) where they are 3) how to get there and 4) why you are going to this meeting in the first place? The same should be true in starting your new business.
Without the careful definition of what you hope to accomplish by starting your new business, it is highly unlikely that you will reach your goals; even if you were to reach those goals, you may never even know. Even where financial motives are not your sole intent, be aware that there is some reason that you are starting a retail coffee shop instead of, say, a bed & breakfast or graphics design firm, or even staying at your current dead end job. Define what it is that you hope to achieve, and how you intend to achieve it; even though you will encounter unexpected roadblocks along the way, you will always have your destination in mind and be able to find another route.
The best way to do this is by carefully developing your business plan. By now, you may have heard that you will need one and may have even started developing one. For those who have: congratulations! You have taken the first steps to defining what your business.
Many people view the business plan a necessary document that you will need in order to obtain a loan, secure investors or in many cases, lease commercial property: those people are half right. The full truth is that your business plan is more than a document, it’s an exercise designed to help you organize your ideas and communicate them effectively to any affiliated party, but the most important reader is you.
Sure, you can purchase a ready-made plan from any of a thousand sources these days: online from various websites, your local bookstore and even your office supply warehouse - it is our recommendation that you do not do this, or at least use these store bought term papers as an example of what can be accomplished and how, rather than what you should write. Someone else’s term paper may a shortcut to get the grade that you want, but remember, this is your business and you will need to run it; wouldn’t you rather be armed with the experience of understanding how and why your concept and supporting data was created?
Use the resources available through the Small Business Administration and the assistance of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, and when you need guidance specific to the retail coffee industry, call on your new friends that you have met through SCAA events, online forums, cooperative owners of neighboring businesses or the experience of a business consultant to assist you.
After all of the work that you have devoted to create the vision of your new business, you may find this next piece of information upsetting: you’re not done. In fact, you will never be finished with the business plan. Rather than lock the original document away in a tomb or time capsule over which future generations will marvel with wonder, keep it up-to-date with current events and refer to it quarterly to stay focused and on goal. The very best business plans that have been written are still being written and will continue to be updated to meet the changing goals of its authors, changes to the business and the conditions that affect that business. Remember who is the real audience of this exercise; the only person that you ultimately impress or disappoint is you.