Like any business endeavor, starting a coffee shop can be a lot of work, but it can also be very rewarding. Here are a few steps that can help get a new shop up and running:

First, pick the perfect location. A coffee shop should be in a busy area with a lot of foot traffic. After a location is picked, you can negotiate a good lease.

Next, figure out how much it will cost to run the shop. The cost of operating the shop includes: lease payments, insurance payments, employee salaries, advertising, and utilities. Once the cost of running the shop per day has been calculated, it is time to figure out how much business needs to be done in order to cover that cost. For instance, if it is going to cost $500 dollars per day to run the shop, and there is an estimated $5 profit per sale, 100 transactions must occur every day to cover the cost. (Remember this is just the cost to break even, making profits would require more transactions).

Next, obtain necessary funding. It is recommended that individuals acquire 25% more money than they initially believe they will need. This protects them from running into unexpected expenses that are quite common.

Now it is time to make some major purchases for your shop. The proper brewing equipment needs to be purchased, along with things like paint, flooring, lighting and furniture to fix up the shop just right.

The next step is hiring a knowledgeable, well-trained staff that can improve business from the get-go. One of the last, but most important steps is advertising the new shop. Good places to consider advertising would be nearby college campuses or businesses neighbors.

The very last step of course is enjoying the first of many cups of coffee!