Business Overview:

If you want to teach your children the basics of entrepreneurship, customer service and marketing, you should help them learn how to start a lemonade stand. A lemonade stand business is the perfect way to introduce your child to the business world and teach principles like making change, supply and demand and the importance of choosing just the right location. You will need to discuss with your youngster how to set up a lemonade stand and make a list of everything you’ll need including signs, balloons, cups, ice, lemonade, etc. You might also consider adding other items to your menu like cookies or muffins. Stress the importance of making the signs large and easy to read so they will attract both foot traffic and auto traffic. If your house isn’t in a high traffic area, you should find a location such as a street corner where more people will see your child’s stand. You may even be able to partner with a neighborhood garage sale or sporting event to really increase visibility. Explain to your child that when you are learning how to run a lemonade stand, it’s important to set your business apart from the competition. You can do this by offering organic or flavored lemonade. If you have a snow cone machine, you could also offer lemon snow cones. The final thing that will make this business idea a success is customer service. Make it clear to your budding businessman (or businesswoman) that a simple “thank you” and a smile will go a long way in making customers happy and making a healthy profit.

A Day in the Life of a Lemonade Stand Business Owner:

You and your child will start your day deciding where to set up your stand. If it’s not within walking distance, you’ll need to put your materials in your vehicle and drive to the location. You will set up the stand, put up signs and balloons, and get the lemonade (and other items if you choose to sell them) out and open for business. You will spend your day helping your youngster make change and serve customers. At the end of the day you will help count profits, pack up and head home.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be thirsty drivers or passersby looking for a refreshing glass of lemonade and perhaps a snack.

What You Need to Start:

• Delicious lemonade
• Pitcher, cups, ice
• Other snack items like cookies (if you choose to offer them)
• Table and chairs (for parent and child)
• Signs
• Balloons (optional)
• Marketing materials (optional)
• Dollar bills and change for making change

The Good:

• A lemonade stand is the perfect first business for a budding entrepreneur.
• It teaches basic principles that youngsters will need throughout life.
• It’s a good opportunity to expose children to dealing with adults in an “official” capacity.
• It’s a fun way to spend time with family and neighbors.
• It’s rewarding to please your customers.

The Bad:

• This is a seasonal business that won’t do well unless the weather is warm.
• It can be difficult to get a youngster to focus on one activity for an extended period of time.

Resources:

• Wikipedia on Lemonade Stands

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Business Overview:

You only need to turn on the television these days to see how popular cooking is and how lucrative opening a kitchen store business can be. It seems that every TV chef has his or her own line of kitchen supplies, not to mention all the standard names in kitchenware like Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Oxo and All-Clad. There is always a new gadget or line of cookware coming out and as the owner of your own kitchen store, you can be among the first to know about and stock these items. You don’t need to be a wonderful cook to do well with this business idea but it would be helpful to have an appreciation of cooking as an art and recognize that millions of people use cooking as a means of relaxing and expressing themselves. Your store can specialize in any area you are interested in such as baking, outdoor grilling or you could offer a wide range of items as a multi-purpose supply store. Not only will your customers be able to pick up gadgets, knives, pots and pans, you can expand your services to include cooking classes, demonstrations and cookbook signings. The hardest part of starting a kitchen store business will be finding the right location and stocking your store with the best quality products. Buying a franchise is an easy way to help get you started but you might not be able to make as many decisions about what products you carry. Either way, you will need to line up financing as this is not an inexpensive endeavor. Finding a knowledgeable staff will take some time but once your store is running smoothly, you’ll be able to take time off, attend cookware conventions, and enjoy the true freedom that comes with owning your own successful kitchen store business.

A Day in the Life of a Kitchen Store Business Owner:

Your day as the owner of a kitchen store will begin with a check of all your products to make sure everything is in place and priced. You will meet with your staff to tell them about any new products or policies. After you open your store, you will spend some time on the floor visiting with customers, helping them find just the right tool for their particular cooking aspirations. You’ll also spend some time in your office marketing your business (placing ads online and in local magazines) and keeping in touch with your distributors. At the end of the day you’ll record the day’s income, check your inventory and get the store ready for the next day.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be cooks of all levels, from beginner to expert, looking for kitchen supplies.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Storefront
• Kitchen supplies (pots, pans, gadgets, knives, cookbooks, etc.)
• Staff
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• If you’re a food lover who enjoys cooking, this business will be fun to operate.
• It is rewarding to help people find just the right kitchen item.
• You are likely to get repeat business if you offer excellent products and customer service.
• You get to test out all the latest kitchen products.
• Once your store is running smoothly, you can take time off when you need to.

The Bad:

• It can take some time to get your store stocked, hire a staff, and open for business.
• The hours will be long at first as you will need to be at the store whenever it is open.

Resources:

• International Association of Culinary Professionals
• Cookware Manufacturers Association

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Business Overview:

When you learn how to open an ice cream shop you’ll have the opportunity to provide great memories for others while making a solid profit for yourself. This business idea can be incredibly fun and highly rewarding, and is usually quite stable despite the economy, but you will need to have a detailed ice cream shop business plan in place before you jump in headfirst. The fact is starting an ice cream shop is an investment—often upwards of $20,000—because you need a storefront, equipment, and employees to achieve real success. The good news in a business like this is that there are plenty of opportunities to buy an existing ice cream shop, even a franchise, and just step right into a thriving business. This can make the process of learning how to start an ice cream shop so much easier in that you won’t have to start from scratch. You might also get some good advice from the previous business owner. Whether you work your ice cream business from the ground up or buy an existing and known shop, you’ll still be providing your community with a sweet treasure and showcasing your entrepreneurial talents. All this plus all the ice cream you can eat—a win-win business idea.

A Day in the Life of an Ice Cream Shop Business Owner:

Like any business, especially one that provides food and entertainment, a great deal of your time will be spent ensuring your shop is clean, efficiently run, and supremely appealing to customers of all ages. You’ll want to spend some time each day ensuring your equipment is well-maintained and that the ice cream flavors you offer are the ones customers want. You will likely review any advertising or marketing techniques to see that they are working to lure in new customers (are they using the coupons you offered in the local paper? Have they come in droves for the buy-one-get-one-free offer?), and that your shop is prospering. You will also want to positively connect with your employees and interact with your customers so that everyone knows the type of businessperson you are. After all, no one wants to buy ice cream from Scrooge. Finally, a check on supplies and finances will keep your business a float.

About Your Customers:

Customers of an ice cream shop will run the gamut from the first-time eating ice cream toddler to the twilight-of-life senior citizen. A successful ice cream shop will spark new and vivid memories in the former and evoke memories of childhood in the latter. It’s up to you to create an atmosphere of happiness and fun so that these customers, and everyone in between, take home more than just a belly full of ice cream.

What You Need to Start:

• A storefront location in a prime location
• Business license, permit, and insurance
• Ice cream equipment and supplies
• A supplier for your ice cream and toppings
• Decor appropriate for your type of ice cream shop
• Employees
• A marketing plan
• A price list
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• This business is a full-time investment that can pay off big time, both in financial and personal rewards.
• Your ice cream shop will provide a valuable small business for the local neighborhood.
• You can choose to run a franchise business or create your own unique shop.
• You can tailor your shop to suit your fancy, from an old-fashioned ice cream shoppe to a trendy shop with exotic flavors to a kid-friendly ice cream bazaar.

The Bad:

• The investment to open a business like this is fairly steep. You’ll want to be sure this is the business for you before you invest.
• To get the most from your business, you will need to focus on finding a prime location that customers can walk, drive, and bike to, or one next to another busy attraction.

Resources:

• National Ice Cream Retailers Association
• International Dairy Foods Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers
• Wikipedia on Ice Cream Parlors

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Business Overview:

Attention tea aficionados: If you love relaxing with friends and you’re looking for a great business idea, starting your own tea room could be the answer. In today’s busy society, people are looking for a place they can unwind and take their minds of the day’s stresses. As the owner of a tea room, you can create the atmosphere you enjoy and attract others who will enjoy it as well. You could choose to open a conventional tea room, an Eastern-themed tea room, a café that offers snacks as well as tea, a tea room specifically for children, or any other type of tea room that appeals to you. As you can see, this business idea can go in many directions so it’s important that you have a good tea room business plan in place before opening a tea room. Your plan will also help you decide how many and what types of tea you will offer, what food items, if any, you will offer, how you will decorate your tea room, etc. You will also need to decide if you want to start your tea room from scratch or if you will seek out a tea room for sale. Buying a tea room franchise may be easier at first since the supplies and décor will be included, but it will likely cost more and it might not be a perfect fit for what you had in mind. If you start your store from the ground up, you’ll need to research how to open a tea room. You’ll find that you can start with a few basic design elements and a smaller tea selection and, as business picks up, you can add to your tea menu and attract a larger customer base. Another element to your business plan will be marketing. Find out where your target market shops and eats and put advertising there. This type of clientele may shop at organic grocery stores and healthy alternative “fast food” establishments like yogurt shops and juice bars. Place fliers in local gyms and dance studios and take out ads in local entertainment magazines. People are always looking for the newest, trendiest place to hang out and your tea room could be the new hot spot for taking it easy.

A Day in the Life of a Tea Room Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your tea room to make sure everything is clean and ready for business. After brewing up some of your most popular teas, you will open your doors and along with your staff, you will tend to your customers. You will spend time in the tea room, making sure everyone is enjoying themselves. You will speak to your distributors to ensure timely delivery of new products and you will spend time searching out the newest teas to offer your customers. You will take a look at your finances to make sure your bottom line is healthy. Finally, at the end of the day, you will review any issues with your staff and make sure the shop is cleaned and ready for the next day’s customers.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be individuals who love tea and are looking for a relaxing place to enjoy it while visiting with their friends.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan
• Storefront
• Decorative items (tables, chairs, couches, art, lamps, etc.)
• Various teas
• Tea accouterments (sugar, honey, lemon, etc.)
• Menu of food items (if offered)
• Staff
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• A tea room is a relaxing place to spend your day.
• It is relatively inexpensive to start up this business.
• If you offer tasty teas in a calm atmosphere, you can really boost the prices you charge.
• With your staff running the day-to-day operations, you can take time off when you need to.
• You get to visit with fellow tea lovers every day.

The Bad:

• The hours can be long, especially at first.
• It can take time to spread the word and get enough customers to turn a profit.

Resources:

• Tea Association of the United States of America
• American Tea Masters Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers
• Wikipedia on Tea Houses

Technorati Tags: how to open a tea room, opening a tea room, starting a tea room business, tea room business plan

Business Overview:

Attention fine food lovers: by learning how to open a gourmet food store you could generate a fantastic income sharing your passion and doing what you love. Indeed, if you’re creative and you have a passion for fine food this business idea could be your perfect fit. Gourmet food stores retail specialized, high quality foods to customers with a desire for the type of food that the store specializes in. Often they also sell specialized foods that they have freshly cooked. Therefore when starting this business there’s great freedom because you’ll have an almost unlimited choice as to your area of specialty. For example, you might start an upscale organic food store, a store that specializes in a particular type of popular ethnic food, or a shop that sells freshly prepared gourmet meal components—the possibilities are endless. In addition, opening a gourmet food store could potentially be a very lucrative venture. Specialty food products are a $30 billion industry, not least due to the fact that people spend more money on food annually than on any other expenses. For this reason it’s also a highly competitive industry, but if you’re creative and passionate with what you do you can definitely stand out and thrive with this business. Indeed starting a gourmet food store represents one of the most attractive and profitable business ideas because now more than ever consumers are looking for quality food, combined with a unique shopping experience. As a result the gourmet and specialty foods market has been booming, so opening a gourmet food store could very well turn out to be one of the best and most highly rewarding decisions you could ever make—both personally and financially.

A Day in the Life of a Gourmet Food Store Business Owner:

As a gourmet food store business owner, a typical day will begin early. If you offer your own cooked gourmet foods, you’ll be up preparing and cooking your gourmet foods before opening your store at around 7am or so in the morning. Alternatively, you may have staff who will do the preparation and cooking for you. If you’re not offering prepared foods you may spend some time checking your inventory and getting ready to place an order to keep the shelves well stocked. Throughout the day customers will enter your shop and you’ll serve them. You’ll ensure throughout the day that the food your customers are looking for are continually available, and that the store is kept clean, tidy, well-stocked and orderly. Typically your day will end around 6pm when you’ll shut up shop, and ensure that it’s clean and ready for opening the next day. Then you’ll want to spend some time reviewing your finances before you head home for the day.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will typically be upper market customers looking for specialized foods and a unique shopping experience. They will be looking for unique, high quality and specialized foods which are not widely available at typical food stores.

What You Need to Start:

• A shop location and name
• A specific area of specialty (i.e. ethnic, upscale organic food, etc.)
• A business license, food permit, and insurance
• Staff
• Specialized food suppliers
• Financial-tracking software
• A business plan
• Advertising to build up your business

The Good:

• This business can be highly lucrative.
• The work is creative and rewarding.
• You could potentially expand and create similar stores in other areas or cities.
• You’ll be your own boss and have the freedom to make your own decisions and express your creative spirit.

The Bad:

• The gourmet food industry can be very competitive.
• You will need to invest a lot of time and money to build up your gourmet store to get it well known and established.

Resources:

• National Association of the Specialty Food Trade
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Grocery Stores
• Wikipedia on Gourmet

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Business Overview:

If you’re a creative person looking for a profitable opportunity, then starting a cake decorating business from home could be the business idea for you! Home-based cake decorating can be a lucrative business. Working from home, you can realistically expect to generate revenue of up to of up to $50,000 a year with this business idea. There’s great variety and plenty of opportunities in the work, and it’s a fantastic business to get into if you’re a creative person. Once you start a cake decorating business, you can bake and design cakes for all sorts of occasions – birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and so on. Alternatively, you can choose to specialize in one specific style or area, such as weddings, and cater specifically to that. Your home-based cake decorating business will create the centerpieces for some of the most memorable occasions of people’s lives. Therefore not only will you find it fun, interesting and enjoyable—it will also be highly rewarding. What’s more, the start up costs for this potentially lucrative home-based cake decorating business are low compared to many other business ideas. No special education or experience is required for starting a cake decorating business. You will require a dedicated kitchen that satisfies health requirements (depending on where you live), but the equipment needed (mixers, bowels, oven etc.) can be purchased relatively cheaply. Furthermore, if you don’t have any experience at all in cake decorating there are plenty of courses available that will allow you to gain the necessary skills in a relatively short period of time. So all in all you can learn how to start a cake decorating business, be your own boss, and be highly profitable making a special contribution to others lives with this fun business in almost no time!

A Day in the Life of a Cake Decorating Business Owner:

As a cake decorating business owner working from home, you will have the freedom and flexibility to work whichever hours you choose—although your schedule will of course depend on how many clients you are taking on at any one time. On a typical day you would review your orders and their specifications, prepare your kitchen and start your work at perhaps 9am or so. You’ll mix and bake cakes, and then put your creative skills to use as you design special cakes based on your customer’s requirements and on the theme of the occasion. You will also take phone calls from new clients, assess their needs—possibly meeting with them in person—and book in their order. You may also deliver your cakes directly to your clients, and at the end of your day you will clean up your equipment so that you have a clean, hygienic kitchen that’s ready to go the next day.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be parents, caterers, event coordinators, or anyone looking to organize a special occasion. If you choose to specialize in a particular area – birthdays for example, then your customers would be more specific to that specialized area of focus.

What You Need to Start:

• Licenses and permits
• Bowls
• Spatulas
• Food colors
• An oven
• Cake ingredients
• A designated baking area
• A business plan
• A marketing plan and materials

The Good:

• It’s creative, fun, interesting, and personally rewarding.
• The startup costs are low.
• You’ll be your own boss and be able to set your own schedule.
• No special education or experience is necessary.
• You can potentially make up to $50,000 a year working from home.

The Bad:

• Sometimes you may need to work on weekends, as this is when parties and special occasions are often held.
• Depending on where you live, health requirements may require you have a separate kitchen and entrance in your home for your cake decorating business.

Resources:

• International Cake Exploration Society
• Cake Decorators Association (Australia)
• Wikipedia on Cake Decorating

Technorati Tags: home-based cake decorating business, how to start a cake decorating business, start a cake decorating business, starting a cake decorating business, starting a cake decorating business from home

Business Overview:

If you’d love sharing delicious and profitable treats with others, then learning how to open a donut shop could be the perfect business idea for you. Selling donuts is a multi-billion dollar industry and donuts are one of the highest markups of all food products, with a profit margin of 600 – 700 percent per doughnut. People typically purchase multiple doughnuts, and as you will see, the beauty in learning how to start a donut shop is that you can enhance your customer service—and maximize your profits even further—by offering additional foods and beverages such as coffees, soft drinks, juices, pastries, bagels, and so on. Therefore learning how to run a donut shop that caters to the various likes and fancies of your customers can prove to be a very fruitful venture indeed; this is why it is one of the most attractive business ideas. Before you get started, however, you need to put together a donut shop business plan. This plan will help focus your efforts and assist you in deciding between the two great options that are available to you. First, if you have the start up funds available, you can purchase a franchise and gain leverage from building your business upon the reputation and existing supplier base of an established brand. Alternatively, you can get creative and start your own unique doughnut shop. This is the cheaper option, but you’ll need to get creative and come up with your own recipes and drinks so that you stand out. By doing so, you will attract customers who loyally come to you for your unique and distinctive brand of doughnuts and beverages. Either way, whether you take advantage of an existing franchise or take your own innovative approach, you can definitely build yourself a thriving and highly profitable doughnut business—and make a lot of people happy doing it!

A Day in the Life of a Donut Shop Business Owner:

As a doughnut shop business owner, you’ll start early to prepare and cook your doughnuts and other beverages before opening your doors around 6 or 7am to serve customers before work. Throughout the day you’ll need to ensure that a ready supply of fresh and hot doughnuts are available, so you’ll either be mixing and cooking your doughnuts throughout the day in order to maintain a steady supply—or you’ll be supervising your staff while they do it. You’ll also be monitoring your supplies to ensure you have all the necessary ingredients, and contacting your suppliers to make orders before too low. You will then shut up shop around 7pm, ensuring that your shop and all your equipment are clean, hygienic, and ready for use the next day.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be doughnut lovers looking for a snack or treat. Often your customers will come to share your indulgent experience with friends, family and co-workers. You will also have customers purchase boxes of doughnuts to give to co-workers, or for special occasions like birthdays and parties.

What You Need to Start:

• A store name—OR you can purchase an established franchise
• Business permits, licensing, and insurance
• A donut shop business plan
• A storefront location
• A doughnut frying machine
• Coffee grinding and brewing equipment
• A supplier
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• Profit margins of 600-700% per doughnut.
• You can offer a variety of additional foods and beverages – coffee, bagels, soft drinks etc.
• It doesn’t require a large staff to operate.
• Supplies for doughnuts are relatively cheap.
• You can be innovative and creative with your doughnut recipes and beverages.

The Bad:

• The hours can be long, especially as you get your new business up and running.
• Making and serving doughnuts all day can get repetitive.

Resources:

• Donut Statistics and Trends
• American Bakers Association
• Independent Bakers Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Food Processing Occupations
• Wikipedia on Donuts

Technorati Tags: donut shop business plan, how to open a donut shop, how to run a donut shop, how to start a donut shop

Business Overview:

Starting a coffee business can be an especially rewarding venture for those who have a passion for coffee and who are interested in the import trade. A business idea like this requires some knowledge of how the import industry works, and you’ll also want to have a solid coffee business plan. For example, when you start a coffee business, you will need to decide who you’ll buy your coffee from, how you’ll market your coffee and where and for how much you’ll sell it. Will you have a bricks-and-mortar storefront or will you sell entirely online, or perhaps a combination of the two? Note that a coffee business like this is not typically a coffee shop, but a business that sells a variety of coffee not likely found on your grocery store shelves. To that end, you’ll want to determine how to start a coffee business that can compete with what’s available already—will you cater to a niche market or will you offer deeply discounted merchandise? Perhaps you will only sell coffee that is fair trade or organic, thereby offering a product you can truly feel proud of. However you decide to go about it, you can count on your coffee business to keep you in the black—in good economic times or in bad, a good many people cannot imagine a day without their trusty cup of Joe.

A Day in the Life of a Coffee Business Owner:

A typical day in this business will depend heavily on how you sell your coffee. Since this is a great online business idea, your store could be exclusively online, in which case you will need to spend a good deal of time maintaining your website (or paying someone else to do it) and shipping your products to customers in a timely fashion. If you’ve got a storefront, you will have to man the store during business hours (or again pay someone to do it) and in both cases, you will need to keep up with your suppliers and sustain your inventory. You will also have to decide how you will find your customers—will you need an advertising plan or will you rely on word-of-mouth? At the end of the day, a quick review of your business finances will help you make future decisions for your business.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will likely be true coffee aficionados who do not want the usual Maxwell House or Folgers to start their day. They may be seeking truly unique or exotic blends, or they may want to know that their beans aided the less affluent people who picked them. They will expect you (and your employees) to be highly knowledgeable about where the coffee came from, what taste they should expect from the beans, and what is happening in the coffee industry as a whole.

What You Need to Start:

• A business license, permit, and insurance (especially if you have a storefront business)
• A supplier or suppliers for your coffee beans
• A high-end coffee grinder if you plan on selling both whole bean and freshly ground coffee
• A storefront or website for your business (or both)
• Employees, if desired
• Pricing for your products
• Sales receipts for your customers
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• This business can turn your passion for coffee into a lucrative enterprise.
• You can become the local or web-based expert on coffee.
• You can start small, offering only a few choices of coffee and then decide how large you want your business to be.
• If you operate online only, you can operate your business in your spare time—nights, weekends, etc.—and still keep your day job.
• If you’re careful about where you buy your coffee beans from, your business can help sustain sound agricultural practices and support indigenous lifestyles in the countries your coffee comes from.

The Bad:

• You’ll have to prove yourself as a reputable supplier of quality coffee; prior to that, you’ll be competing with the bigger name coffee shops and suppliers.
• If you operate online, you’ll have to store your coffee properly before it’s sold, and this could take up a fair amount of space.

Resources:

• National Coffee Association
• Specialty Coffee Association of America
• International Coffee Organization
• Wikipedia on the Economics of Coffee

Technorati Tags: coffee business plan, how to start a coffee business, start a coffee business, starting a coffee business

Business Overview:

If you are a skilled baker who loves making cakes for special occasions, and you want to be your own boss, starting a wedding cake business is the perfect fit. In any economy, people will continue to get married and most weddings have a grand cake as the centerpiece. There is much more to consider when looking into how to start a wedding cake business, however, than buying a few more mixers. You should start with a solid business plan. This plan will help you focus your business and decide how you will market it, what types of licenses are required, how many (if any) employees you will need, etc. You likely already have some basic baking supplies but you will need to purchase professional mixers and other equipment and set aside a large enough area to have multiple cakes in the works simultaneously. Be sure to check with the health department to see what types of inspections and permits are required. Next you will want to experiment with different cake and icing recipes until you have a few that you are confident with. Set up a website to showcase photos of your beautiful cakes. This way when prospective customers ask about your cakes, you can simply refer them to your website. Have business cards and brochures printed up and distribute them to area businesses that cater to brides – bridal boutiques, florists, catering companies, etc. Another important marketing tool with this type of business idea will be word of mouth advertising. Be sure to give your clients a few business cards to pass along to their friends and even consider offering discounts initially. Soon you will need to hire a small staff to help fill your orders and deliver your cakes all around town.

A Day in the Life of a Wedding Cake Business Owner:

Your day will begin with a check of your email and voicemail for any new orders. You will contact prospective customers to go over their cake needs and you may even need to meet with them in person to discuss specifics. They will likely also want to do some taste testing, so you’ll need to have small samples ready. Next, you will need to check your schedule for any deliveries that need to be made that day. You will make sure the cakes are finished and perfect before transporting them to the wedding venue. If you have a staff working with you, you will assign some of these tasks to them and follow up with your contact at the wedding to make sure the cakes were delivered as promised. If you have some down time, you will distribute marketing materials to local businesses to get the word out. Finally, you will check your finances to ensure everything is in order.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will be brides, caterers and wedding coordinators looking for the perfect wedding cake for their ceremonies.

What You Need to Start:

• Business plan
• Marketing plan and materials
• Licenses and permits
• Professional baking equipment and supplies
• Designated baking area
• Vehicle to transport cakes
• Computer with finance software

The Good:

• Demand for wedding cakes will always be high.
• Once you have a few “signature” cakes, baking and delivering them is simple.
• Start up costs are low.
• You can charge top dollar for exquisite wedding cakes.
• You can easily run this business from home and in your spare time until you want to hire a staff and really expand your business.

The Bad:

• Deadlines are extremely important in this business so it can be stressful at times.
• It could take some time to build up your client list.

Resources:

• International Cake Exploration Society
• American Bakers Association
• Bureau of Labor Statistics on Food Processing Occupations
• Wikipedia on Wedding Cakes

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Business Overview:

Here’s a green business idea that can feed you well, pad your wallet, and protect the environment all at once: Open a vegan restaurant. The opportunities for a business idea like this are truly endless—you can decide the ambiance, the location, the menu, and the level of eco-friendly resources you use to sustain your restaurant. You don’t even have to be a chef or foodie to make this business work for you, but you should be committed to the philosophy behind it. A vegan restaurant offers its customers food and drink (and perhaps even decor) that contains and uses no animal products or by-products. As a result, the menu is often naturally eco-friendly and customers will be drawn to the animal- and earth-conscious business code. As an entrepreneur you will want to understand the key reasons you might choose a vegan restaurant over another business venture. For one thing, conscious eating has reached new levels as people are keenly aware of the proven connection between bodily health and their diets. Never before has leaving meat off the menu been so attractive—or so lucrative. Knowing that by choosing a vegan restaurant your customers are feeding their bodies well and helping to prevent disease might be enough to keep your tables full and your reservations booked solid. Add to that the idea that you are serving food that sustains our environment and you will add “environmentalists” to your customer base. The truth is that animals raised for consumption take a great toll on our environmental resources (water, land, waste, transportation, etc.). The statistics prove it, and you can use these facts to market your meat-free menu. You will also have easy customers like those animal lovers who have chosen not to eat living beings. A vegan restaurant gives animal advocates a place to eat where they don’t have to pick apart the menu to find a suitable option. But that’s gravy, here’s how to really find success: Beyond your built-in customers, you can guarantee the triumph of your vegan restaurant by having a top-notch chef prepare the myriad vegan dishes that have become more and more mainstream. Delicious meat-alternatives like tofu, tempeh, and seitan make it easy for chefs to prepare five-star meals that will make a diehard carnivore happy. With a cool location, a hip ambience, and a menu that makes the Zagat grade, your vegan restaurant business can keep you rolling in eco-friendly, animal-free “dough” for years to come.

A Day in the Life of a Vegan Restaurant Business Owner:

As the owner of a vegan restaurant, the responsibility of knowing where each and every one of your menu items comes from and being able to vouch for its vegan label will fall on your shoulders. You will want to be able to guarantee your food sources in order to ensure your menu and business philosophy remains untainted because some of your customers will likely be passionate vegans who firmly believe in the vegan way of life. You will also want to work with your chef directly to ensure the quality of your menu. Ordering from vendors, maintaining the building, and ensuring all of your employees understand the philosophy of the restaurant will be tasks you’ll need to attend to often. Of course, keeping track of your finances will be key to your ultimate success as a business owner as well.

About Your Customers:

Your customers will range from zealous vegans who are excited to have a new restaurant in town to curious eaters who are willing to try a something new. No matter the type, every customer will expect a sparkling clean restaurant with professional servers and an interesting menu. And every customer will want to leave satiated and feeling good about their food choices.

What You Need to Start:

• A restaurant location and name
• A business license, food permit, and insurance
• A staff
• A chef experienced in vegan food preparation
• Vegan food suppliers
• Financial-tracking software

The Good:

• If you are vegan yourself or if you understand the passion behind the philosophy, this is a business idea about which you can feel proud.
• As a small business owner, you will be employing many locals at your restaurant, thereby building the local economy.
• You can find fame and success in a business like this.
• You might decide to open another restaurant.

The Bad:

• Opening a restaurant requires a good deal of money and effort upfront.
• A solid business plan is a must; too many restaurants fail when there is not a clear direction for the business in place.

Resources:

• American Vegetarian Association
• Green Restaurant Association
• Veggie Places (UK)
• Wikipedia on Veganism

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