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The Coffee Shop Consultant 

Thinking of starting a coffee shop / catering business but don’t know where to start? Need help to improve your current coffee shop?  
Let me help to reduce the stress. 
 
We know that starting a catering business can be a mind boggling and stressful time. But luckily, I’ve gone through the process five times, so know a thing or two about set ups! 
 
Why have I decided to start offering this service? I absolutely love the early process of opening a shop and I get a thrill out of helping other people succeed. 
 
I’ve now got my businesses at a manageable level and learnt so much along the way. I’m now fully focused on helping others to kickstart their business. With my extensive experience and your passion, we can build something special! 

What can I help you with & what questions can I answer? 

Choosing a location 

What constitutes an optimal location? 
What to look out for when choosing a location? 
Is competition a good or bad thing? Or ‘Is there such things as healthy competition?’ 
Does your shop need to be prime location? 
Should your shop be near a train station? 

Suppliers 

How to choose the right suppliers for your business? 
Should you go for the cheapest suppliers or those with the best products? 
Which suppliers can cater to your area? 

Accounting 

Hospitality can be a confusing space for businesses, some bits we sell have VAT, some items don’t. Unfortunately it’s our responsibility to keep track of this and report it to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). 
 
Should you run your business as a sole trader or limited company? 
Will you need to be VAT registered? 
Which items do you need to charge VAT on? 

Food safety courses / Staff qualifications 

Will your staff need any qualifications to be able to work? 
What food safety course will my staff need to complete? 
What paperwork will you need to fill out on a day to day basis? 

Social media 

We’ve always kept our social media inhouse to save on costings, but you might have bigger and better plans. 
How to create content for social media 
Is social media important? 
How to build a following 

What machinery will you need for your store? 

Access to discounted machines from our suppliers 
Access to discount coffee machines (La Marzocco) 
Discount on personalised printed cups 

Lease agreements / Rent prices / Rent deposits / Business rates / Legal aspects 

How long should you tie yourself into a lease for? 
Should you have a break clause allowing you to terminate the lease whenever suits you? 
Should you sign a lease inside or outside the Landlord’s Act? 
How many months’ rent deposit should you put down? 
How much rent should you be paying for your unit? 
How to negotiate 

Staff training, Systems & Company culture 

Most business owners will agree that staff training is absolutely crucial to the smooth-running of a new venture. That being said, it can be extremely difficult to master. We’ve developed and implemented systems within our business that which we can share and tailor to your business. Some things to consider include: 
 
How to develop systems and processes that are unique to your business 
How to encourage a healthy company culture 
How to build your business with the right people – Will you need managers / assistant managers / head baristas? 
How can you ensure your systems are being implemented within the business? 

Branding and initial designs ideas - Full concepts and shop layouts 

Advice on branding your business 
Should you use branded packaging? Where do you get branded packaging from? 

Business plan / Working out costings / Getting funding 

What to include in your business plan? 
We have excel spreadsheet templates and can help to work out costings for your project 
How are you going to fund your project? We can point you in the right direction! 

Recruitment 

Where should you look to recruit the correct staff? 
How do you know if you are recruiting the correct staff? 
What sites are best for recruiting staff? 

Advertising 

How to create a hype and buzz around your business when you first open? 
Should you open up with an offer to lure potential customers in? 
Should you offer opening deals / offers? (anything around soft launch? Thinking of buzz words…) 
Do loyalty schemes work? What loyalty scheme should you use? 

Branding and initial designs ideas / Full concepts / Shop layouts 

How to layout your shop 
Access to designers 

Usage for your location 

Do you need your premise(s) to be a licensable premise? (Allowed to sell alcohol) 
Does your premise(s) need full extraction for a kitchen? 
Can you cook on your premises without A3 usage? 
Are there any tricks to get around this? 

Choosing a location 

What constitutes an optimal location? 
What to look out for when choosing a location? 
Is competition a good or bad thing? Or ‘Is there such things as healthy competition?’ 
Does your shop need to be prime location? 
Should your shop be near a train station? 

Staff training, systems & company culture 

Most business owners will agree that staff training is absolutely crucial to the smooth-running of a new venture. That being said, it can be extremely difficult to master. We’ve developed and implemented systems within our business that which we can share and tailor to your business. Some things to consider include: 
 
How to develop systems and processes that are unique to your business 
How to encourage a healthy company culture 
How to build your business with the right people – Will you need managers / assistant managers / head baristas? 
How can you ensure your systems are being implemented within the business? 

Suppliers 

How to choose the right suppliers for your business? 
Should you go for the cheapest suppliers or those with the best products? 
Which suppliers can cater to your area? 

Branding and initial designs ideas - Full concepts and Shop layouts 

Advice on branding your business 
How to layout your shop 

Accounting 

Hospitality can be a confusing space for businesses, some bits we sell have VAT, some items don’t. Unfortunately it’s our responsibility to keep track of this and report it to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). 
 
Should you run your business as a sole trader or limited company? 
Will you need to be VAT registered? 
Which items do you need to charge VAT on? 

Business plan / working out costings / getting funding 

What to include in your business plan? 
We have excel spreadsheet templates and can help to work out costings for your project 
How are you going to fund your project? We can point you in the right direction! 

Food safety courses / staff qualifications 

What food safety course will my staff need to complete? 
What paperwork will you need to fill out on a day to day basis? 

Recruitment 

Where should you look to recruit the correct staff? 
How do you know if you are recruiting the correct staff? 
What sites are best for recruiting staff? 

Social media 

We’ve always kept our social media inhouse to save on costings, but you might have bigger and better plans. 
How to create content for social media 
Is social media important? 
How to build a following 

Advertising 

How to create a hype and buzz around your business when you first open? 
Should you open up with an offer to lure potential customers in? 
Should you offer opening deals / offers? (anything around soft launch? Thinking of buzz words…) 
Do loyalty schemes work? What loyalty scheme should you use? 

What machinery will you need for your store? 

Access to discounted machines from our suppliers 
Access to discount coffee machines (La Marzocco) 
Discount on personalised printed cups 

Branding and initial designs ideas / Full concepts / Shop layouts 

Should you use branded packaging? Where can you get these from? 
Access to designers 

Lease agreements / Rent prices / Rent deposits / Business rates / Legal aspects 

How long should you tie yourself into a lease for? 
Should you have a break clause allowing you to terminate the lease whenever suits you? 
Should you sign a lease inside or outside the Landlord’s Act? 
How many months’ rent deposit should you put down? 
How much rent should you be paying for your unit? 
How to negotiate 

Usage for your location 

Do you need your premise(s) to be a licensable premise? (Allowed to sell alcohol) 
Does your premise(s) need full extraction for a kitchen? 
Can you cook on your premises without A3 usage? 
Are there any tricks to get around this? 

Chat with Luke 

 
Fill in your details for a pricing guide & to book in a FREE no obligation call. 

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