Building a Coffee Shop - Research Paper Example

? Building a Coffee Shop Building a Coffee Shop I have selected Coffee Shop as the small business which I plan to initiate. I intend to build a coffee shop that would directly compete with the other coffee shops in the market. In order to accomplish my goal, I have devised a comprehensive strategy which would cover all the areas of my small business and ensure that it turns out to be a successful one. In developing this strategy, I have incorporated plans for all the major segments of my Coffee Shop such as Customer Services, Human Resources, Marketing, Technology, etc. In my coffee shop, I plan to provide high quality customer services not only with respect to food and drinks but through excellent conduct of the staff as well. I have decided to add innovation in the customer services section by building an isolated area in my Coffee Shop where the customers could not only relax but also study as I would be making study material including newspapers and magazines available for them. In this way, the customers would not only enjoy the coffee of my shop, but will also be impressed by the services; thereby exhibiting the high value, which the shop places in them. In today’s world, Marketing is one of the most important determinants for a business’ success. For my Coffee Shop, I would be developing a small but skilful team which would market and advertise my shop extensively at all platforms. Marketing would not only be done through conventional methods such as pamphlets, brochures and newspapers, but modern day techniques such as Internet advertising would also be employed. Today, social networking websites have become a significant part of the society’s life; and my marketing plan intends to utilize this factor by publicizing my shop through it. In order to gain an edge over the competitors, my team would attempt to reach as many people as possible by personally visiting the houses in the town and informing people about the new Coffee Shop. As far as the area of Human Resources is concerned, my policy for Human Resources is a very broad one, which completely adheres to the federal and state laws pertaining to employment. Though, I would refrain from hiring people of less than eighteen years of age at my shop, however, if ever the need arises, I would ensure that while employing students and teenagers, there is compliance with the child labour regulations and ordinances. Furthermore, to compete with the other Coffee Shops, my shop would not only hire a diverse workforce on the basis of caste, colour, creed and race; but diversity will also be enforced by hiring people with disabilities, thereby, enhancing the reputation of my shop in the social circles. At the same time, such measures would also qualify my shop for tax credits. Technology would be utilized by my Coffee Shop to a great extent by making use of computers for maintaining records and conducting other important activities related to the shop. Moreover, in order to remain competitive in the market, I would be providing my customers with the latest Wi-Fi technology in the shop through which they could access internet. It would also give a stylish look to my business, in that way, attracting customers and challenging competitors. Therefore, my strategy is quite comprehensive with the rationale to make my Coffee Shop a successful one which would give tough competition to all the other Coffee Shops in the town ("SBA," n.d.). I aim to open my own Coffee Shop instead of buying an existing one as I have always admired the concept of entrepreneurship and wanted to be a successful entrepreneur. Establishing my own Coffee Shop would provide me with an opportunity to fulfil my dreams and develop my shop according to my own will. Consequently, this would enable me to bring in my own innovations while constructing the shop; such as designing the interior, seating arrangements, isolated studying area, reception centre and other activities related to the overall structure of the shop. Moreover, there are many advantages associated with the building of a new shop rather than purchasing of an existing shop. When a new shop opens, interest generated among the people tends to be a vital factor in attracting customers as people are often fond of trying novel products and services. In contrast, the hype created among people is much less when an existing business is reopened. Besides, in the case of purchasing an existing business, there also lies a risk with regard to reputation. If the previous business in the purchased shop had a bad name among the people, then the new business which opens in that shop is likely to suffer as public’s opinion and perceptions do not change easily. In the light of the above factors, it is more sensible for me to open my new Coffee Shop instead of buying an existing one (Blanchard, 2009). My current financial position is not strong enough to allow me finance my plan completely and consequently, own my shop. As a result, in order to transform my plan into reality, I cannot rely on my personal finances; instead, I would have to find loans and grants. There are usually two methods of financing for a business, namely, Equity Financing and Debt Financing ("SBA," n.d.). Since my business is small, thus, the best form of financing for my shop would be Debt Financing. Since it can be either short term or long term and most importantly, ownership interest is not given to the lenders, therefore, not only my ownership of the business would be kept in tact but also I would be able to get the required money to execute my idea. The objective of a small business entrepreneur must be to retain ownership until the business attains higher levels (Blanchard, 2009). There are various sources from which the loans can be obtained such as banks, credit institutions and government agencies. Banks are usually considered to be the most appropriate source for borrowing capital as they present an array of different packages, at least one of which fulfils the criteria of the borrower. Apart from banks, loans can also be attained from governmental agencies which too offer a range of loans to smooth the progress of beginners in small businesses. I plan to use a combination of bank as well as government loans to initiate my business. However, in order to obtain such loans, it is necessary to convince the lenders about my ability to repay which I would surely do by presenting them with my viable strategy and business plan ("SBA," n.d.). I have compiled my policies and strategies into a single comprehensive business plan which revolves around the Porter’s Five Forces. The forces include measures to tackle new probable entries, negotiating ability of suppliers, negotiating ability of customers, risk of alternative commodities and contest among competitors (Daft et al, 2009). By building an effective management system based on modern tools and techniques, guarantying quality in products and services, and developing close relationships with the customers; I aim at winning customer loyalty and market share for my Coffee Shop. Additionally, my strategy has been designed keeping in mind the internal as well as external factors that might affect the business. In this manner, I plan to be successful with regard to each of the five forces of Porter, thereby not only providing strong competition to the existing Coffee Shops but also surpassing them in terms of popularity and success in a very short span of time. References Blanchard, R. R. (2009). Creating wealth with a small business: Strategies, tactics and models for entrepreneurs. Charleston, S.C: Booksurge Pub. Daft, R. L., & Marcic, D. (2009). Understanding management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Establishing a Business. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/establishing-business Read More