Need advice from experienced business people

[carrot]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for some advice about starting business. Need people who knows what business is and someone not from my environment (as I tend to think some people says go for it just cause they feel they should say it and others say its crap just because they would never want me to do it for their personal reasons :) ).

I want to do this ecological grocery shop. Im thinking part of it could be unpackaged. We would promote this idea very much. Then have business with local producers/farmers. Also have little café in the same premises, a cosy place where everyone would be welcome to have a cup of nice tea/real coffee with their friends, family or a book they want to read. Wouldn't be much of food, thinking about salads and soups and home made cakes. For kids would be special menu, where we would make salad look like a head of lion, or jungle :) so they are interested in eating.

I live in one of the Scandinavian countries and as an immigrant find a lot of things I miss. I would love to do yoga, so was thinking that we could arrange morning yoga class with green tea and little bit of meditation for the day. The café would be decorated with local artist works, and anyone who likes it could purchase it.

How does that sound for anyone? Does that cause any kind of positive or negative feelings?

Thank you so much, I am looking forward to some answers. I am tired of just thinking and developing the idea, I need to do it, or forget it...

Carrot x x x

[Freelancier]

I think your idea is unfocused.

When you run any kind of establishment where you sell to the public, you have three big expenses: people, space, and product. The number and quality of people is variable with the volume of business you intend to do. Grocery stores will do everything they can to monetize every inch of space in their store (because the space is a fixed cost, so the more inventory turns you can do with the space, the more money you make). And you try to aim for a product mix where you can maximize your margins by getting more inventory to go out the door with each person. A sale of one item in a grocery store is a waste of money... selling 50 products to one person is good business.

So you have three ideas you're trying to combine somehow into one. Are you a yoga place, a grocery, or a cafe? If you do all three, you might need too much space. Yoga takes up lots of dead space where you can't sell product, so you'll need to monetize that space. The cafe is nice, but you don't want people to sit around without buying something that's overpriced (like coffee or baked goods), because people sitting around taking up space without buying anything are not doing your business any good. The store is nice, but you need to make sure you can get a product mix that people will want to buy a healthy amount with each transaction.

My recommendation: either become a yoga place with a small coffee shop in one corner (selling a small amount of goods as well), or become a grocery with a small coffee shop in one corner. Don't look to excel at all three of your ideas, because the space will kill you if you don't have enough money.

Oh, and check with the local governments to see what it takes to set up a shop that serves or sells food. You'll want to know the regulations and the costs involved with those regulations as you put together your business plan.

[Retailguy]

Hi, I have to agree with the other comment. Do not try to do too many things. I have a retail store that sells supplements, when we first opened someone opened across the street and sold supplements, coffee, bagels, and smoothies. But of course could not do any of them well. The went out of business pretty fast. Stick with one thing you know and do that thing well. It is just too hard to excel at numerous things at once. At least here in the states people like specialty stores...they don't want to do yoga at the grocer.
Good luck!

[Sasbury]

It's always good to have ideas. It's even more important, especially in business, to have a niche. You can end up spreading yourself too thin and your dreams and hard work are all gone. You also run the risk of confusing customers when they visit. Don't think of this as an "all or nothing" plan but more of a product to expand on. Do your homework about running these types of businesses, your target market, understand the legal side of it all and find local business owners to help you.

I would say start with yoga. It’s the easiest I’m sure and cost effective. As someone with food industry experience, yoga is the way to start. You can start with renting a place or leading a class in a studio/gym/other. I’m not sure how things work in your particular country so you need to brainstorm and do some market research as far as others teaching yoga where you are (if any). The key here is to build a customer base. This point you can learn how to become the best yoga business. You then move into your own studio after you’ve created interest and so on.

If you still want to do the café and grocery idea, I would say wait until you have the yoga business going solidly. Make it a separate place but nearby. You can then create a need for that through your customers. Start having conversations about food and eating. You may get someone (or if you’re qualified) to teach a class about the food you want to sell. This way you don’t open a business that no one wants. Get their feedback and ideas. You want to offer a lifestyle, a brand rather than just another business. Have a look at this place, Mundvoll Cafe.

Getting one business established in your area may help with expanding. You get to know others who may be willing to partner with you or help in other ways (if that’s what you want).Constantly think about how to be strategic, what value you can offer and steps you can take to make this possible. It’s a lot to think about and do BUT if you can sit down and plan out the details into steps then it’s approachable. Also, never be afraid to rework an idea if things aren’t going so well. Being a business owner is about adapting.
I'm actually considering doing a popup restaurant with a friend in Oslo someday but that's an idea in progress.
I hope this is helpful in some way. You can always contact me if you need me to explain something further, to chat or whatever else.

[Twhansbury]

RetailGuy hit it on the head. Stick to what you can and want to do best.
Its ok to have growth ideas but your business plan should reflect that.
Ie "year two we plan on opening up a bakery" Sales will be cost will be at that point and new growth of "bakery" will be.

[carrot]

Thank you so much everyone! Very valuable suggestions. I think I need to re-think the plan. Thanks!