Coffee Shop Owners... I need advice!!

[Duduy]

Im new to the world of coffee and we're planning to open a small coffee shop here in Jersey City, Nj or any part of Hudson County. I dont have any background in coffee, im not a barista, i have zero experience. Recently my job decided to sell the business that's why we come up with the idea of opening a business.
I need advice of how to start a coffee shop with a maximum start up capital of 30k. Our idea is just straight quality black coffee, straight espresso shots and pastries, no latte or any special drink. Maybe a 2 tables and a couple of couches just to have a cozy welcoming space.
Please i need advice of what to do, what not, what part of the business should i expect to fail and in case of failure how to get back. Thank you!!

 

[AndyP]

I do not think 30K is nearly enough to start a coffee shop in Jersey City. Maybe in some small town where rents are dirt cheap and no competition. I'm pretty familiar with JC and there are a lot of good coffee shops there. I'd think you'd need to spend at least 20K on coffee equipment alone.

 

[topher]

No lattes? I hate to bring up the green monster but they are not really a coffee company but a milk company. They sell more milk than anyone in the US. You could potentially lose a lot of customers not offering "specialty" drinks.

 

[wmark]

CoffeeFest Nashville March 17 - 19
https://www.coffeefest.com/venues/details/coffee-fest-nashville-2017


small business seminars available

 

[ensoluna]

unless you have a good partner who knows about the business, it would be safer for you to get some experience in a retail coffee shop first, before opening up your own store.

 

[apayson]

Since you are new to the industry I highly recommend that you do a lot of industry and local market research

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[aroaster83]

I'm going to be frank. If you do straight black coffee and espresso you will fail. You make money on milk drinks and pastries. You make no money on black coffee. If you only have 30K to invest you are best served getting a cart and a place to park it. A nice single group espresso machine like a Linea Mini or GS3.

For general business advice, look up your local S.C.O.R.E. chapter and go get some free business advice sponsored by the SBA. I urge you, as someone who has known both business failure and success, stop now, do some research, write a business plan, and do it right.