[Dell11]

I was wondering where you would learn all business aspects? Im not talking about books and stuff. Even though you can learn alot from them. Is there a class you can take? I have several questions about the basics of starting a business. Like, if I wanted to start a coffee house, where would I get my coffee? An example would be Starbucks. How did they find their coffee? Where do they get it from? Is it a certain recipe? As you can see I have alot of questions. Is there a class where I can learn all this stuff? Would it be business management? Or is it something different? Feel free to answer on the thread or PM ME! Thanks guys!

[pbradish]

I suppose you could probably start on Google and see what sort of research you can dig up.

To be honest, I was involved in my business' niche before I started the business so I knew who to contact just through word of mouth. Do you have any savy connections to anyone in the coffee biz?

[Dell11]

No, no connections in the coffee BIZ. I guess I could call up local owners. But then again, most are franchises around here. They just bailed out and took the easy way. No offense intended. I want to start my own franchise. I have some good ideas I believe. Im just wondering about where to find coffee beans? When I find the right ones, do I have to buy the rights to them from the supplier? Or do I work out an agreement? How does all this work?

[YoungOne]

I don't think there are any classes you can take that are specific to just one thing. You can read books or take classes to learn the basics of starting a business. Just do as much research as you can on your own. For a coffee business, try talking to coffee house owners. No one resource can answer all of your questions so just keep digging and keep your head up.

[akula]

sorry boss, the answer to your question is that you gotta go and work for a cofee shop

that's the best advice you can possibly get

that said, if you wanna start your own franchise - that's a whole another level of MBA-type skills

I really would advise you to either work for a franchisee, or buy into a franchise, before you consider setting up shop as a franchisor

think that I'm wrong? think that you can take shortcuts and skip doing what every one else had to do before you? give it some time and you'll see things for how they really are

[Nigami Enterprise]

Originally Posted by akula

sorry boss, the answer to your question is that you gotta go and work for a cofee shop

I think a better answer is to go do a small business management course at a place like (Tafe) depending on what country you are in.

You can pour the worlds best coffee but that doesnt mean you can run a business. Do what Akula says and go work in a coffee shop and at night time do a course.

[tekmoney]

Eh to be honest, i think I would definitely choose books over classes. You can learn at your own pace, and the education you get from them could teach you more real world lessons then you'd ever learn in a classroom (depending on how bad your teacher is)

[jg_macarthy]

I suggest you enroll in some classes. You will discover something like suppliers of coffee beans are so far down the list of priorities to starting a coffee business. There are hundreds of elements you must consider in the process and huge amounts of risk you are about to incur. One of the humorous things about business is how over simplified people try to make it. mary opens a bakery and thinks about all the great things she will sell. She doesnt consider such things as depreciaton of assets, tax rates, and daily business costs. The point is, don't rush the process. Plan a strategy and most importantly map out your financial planning. Understanding very cost involved in abusiness helps drmatically to reduce the chance of those hidden costs popping up. Unless you are a prodigy I say start with classes. Undergraduate classes give you fundamental structure to the business thought process. They open your eyes to concepts and fundamentals that are essential to being successful. Books reinforce the thought process and show you other people successes. Like akula said, your best bet is to get experience in the industry you want to get into, especially if you do not have the personal funding to start a business. Use textbooks and business literature to structure your thought process. Unfortunately there arent any classes that offer the easy answers to all aspects of business, rather classes give you the weapons to asses your options and make the right decisions. But nothing beats years of experience.

[Dell11]

JG Macarth; Very nice post. I intend to put use alot of the things you said. Although, I have calculated how much it will cost me to run this BIZ. Im not going in blind folded, lol. I just need to know alot of things as far as suppliers, and how to find them. I mean, does Starbucks and Seatles Best use the same coffee beans? I doubt it. So how does one go about finding coffee beans, and when they do find it, do they have to pay rights for them? Or should I say......make a business with them? As you can see, I know starting a biz is not easy. And I would be started till all my questions get answered.

[jg_macarthy]

Well I would say that if you are beginning and have no previous experience in this business, just buy whoesale coffee beans for now. You can probably find some wholesalers of gormet coffee beans by doing a Google search. I say once you get started,are successful, and have a better idea of the coffee bean industry then you can consider manufacturing your own brand and flavors. I bet in the case of starbucks and seattles best they probably have beans imported from their exclusive plantations and have their own special preparation methods or at least manufacturing plant. But jumps like that shouldnt be made if you are a lone entrepreneur unless you have significant financial backing. Start small and if you catch on spread your brand. Also, it will be tough to compete with Starbucks on a national level. The smart thing to do would be like Dunkin Donuts does and target a specific geographic location hardcore while finding your own market niche separate from Starbucks. ie Starbucks supports the white collars, Dunks supports the blue. Even though a regular small coffee at Dunks is more than a regular cup at Starbucks the image of their brand identity makes most think the opposite. If you can hit a market like Dunkin's did in a specific geographic location you might win out. Also think of the extras besides coffee that will set you apart. Like maybe creating the best egg sandwich this side of the Mississippi. Market towards college students, hammer their niche and create a franchise opp you can spread to everycampus in the US. BE CREATIVE

[The Stealthy One]

Dell11, take akula's advice seriously, and get a job at a coffee shop. How do you expect to run one with no experience in the business? I know, I know, it's tempting to get started right away, but you would do very well to get hands-on experience over the course of a year or two.

Good luck!