Thursday, September 6, 2007
Does the aroma of brewing coffee transport you to a sensory paradise? Is a steaming latte your idea of comfort food? Do you consider coffee its own separate food group? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then a coffee franchise may be for you! When someone says “coffee shop,” the name that most often comes to mind is Starbucks. So it’s only natural that coffee connoisseurs and entrepreneurs will immediately want to know if this wildly successful java chain offers the opportunity to buy Starbucks franchises.
Despite its seemingly ubiquitous presence the Starbucks brand does not franchise or sub-franchise its operations. Rather, the company operates most North American Starbucks stores. The exception to this is situations in which Starbucks will enter into an agreement with companies that may provide physical locations that might otherwise not be available to Starbucks, such as space in airports, grocery chains, hospitals, and on college and university campuses. In addition, in certain areas, Starbucks may enter into an agreement with a group of individuals or a company in which the company or group is permitted to manage and operate Starbucks outlets within a certain region.
The unavailability of Starbucks franchises, however, should in no way dissuade the coffee lover from pursuing a coffee franchise business opportunity. There are numerous coffee companies that do, indeed, franchise their operations, and many even venture beyond the traditional coffee bean to provide gourmet coffees, food options, and even catering services.
The following represents a partial listing of the many coffee franchise opportunities available to java lovers everywhere.
Caffino
With its “60-second guarantee,” Caffino is a drive-through coffee bar that first opened its company doors in 1993 in Napa, California. Franchising since 2003, Caffino currently has 27 locations in 3 states, and it is actively expanding. Caffino prides itself on roasting its coffee on-site using only the world’s best coffee beans, Arabica Grade 1. The startup cost for a Caffino franchise ranges from $212,900 to $373,000.
Beaner’s Coffee
Founded in 1994 and franchising since 1999, Beaner’s Coffee offers a variety of the coffee beverages made from flavored, decaf, signature, organic, and fair trade beans. In addition, Beaner’s goes beyond coffee service and ventures into the world of sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. Beaner’s carries a startup cost of $240,000 to $300,000 and offers the option of express or kiosk franchises. Beaner’s is currently seeking franchisees nationwide, and for its franchise owners, exclusive territories are available.
Woody’s Chicago Style
Coffee and hot dogs? Not your typical combination, but Woody’s Chicago Style has no problem combining the two. Begun in Honolulu, Hawaii, Woody’s Chicago Style is a hot dog, beverage, and coffee cart business that has been franchising its operations since 1991. While franchises are not currently available in every state, Woody’s is seeking franchisees in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wyoming. And with a price tag ranging from $54,100 to $464,000, Woody’s just may be the right option for your pocketbook!
Scooter’s Coffeehouse
With franchise opportunities existing both in the United States and worldwide, Scooter’s Coffeehouse ranked #26 in Entrepreneur.com’s 2007 listing of the top new franchises. In business since 1998 and franchising since 2002, Scooter’s is a specialty coffee franchise that also serves up brewed coffees, espressos, flavored coffees including sugar-free options, teas, and a wide selection of smoothies. Startup cost ranges from $60,000 to $410,000, and, in addition to training, Scooter’s offers significant ongoing and marketing support, including regional advertising, national media, field operations/evaluations, purchasing cooperatives, newsletter, meetings, and a grand opening.
Dunkin Donuts
Who doesn’t recognize this household name in the coffee and donut industry? Established in 1950 and franchising since 1955, Dunkin Donuts now boasts more than 7,000 stores worldwide, including 1900 locations in 30 countries. In the United States, more than 5,200 Dunkin Donuts locations dot the landscape in 36 states. Based on years of operation and experience, Dunkin Donuts has a 5-phase franchising process, which begins with an application, credit check, and criminal background check, among other things, proceeds through several steps including an interview, business plan development, application approval, training, site location, and financing, and ends with restaurant construction and crew training. To ease financing costs, Dunkin Donuts has partnered with preferred lenders who offer franchisees flexible financing options, including Small Business Administration (SBA)-backed loans for certain transactions.
In addition to the five coffee franchise opportunities briefly profiled above, no fewer than twenty franchise opportunities exist for entrepreneurs seeking to turn their coffee passion into a profession.
From Café Ala Carte cappuccino catering service and Grabbajabba gourmet coffee and European sandwiches to It’s a Grind Coffee House and Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee and Smoothies, numerous coffee franchises ranging from low-cost to high investment are available for serving up that morning cup of Joe, mid-day sandwich on the run, or afternoon tea or smoothie.
So next time you walk into your neighborhood coffee shop to fill your latte craving, imagine providing that same satisfaction to other coffee lovers like you…and even better yet, making a living at it!
How To Make Your Competition Irrelevant
We all have competitors. Some of them are local, some sell by mail-order or on the internet. Here’s how to literally become “The only game in town”.
1) Offer services that nobody else will.
2) Package your offer so it can’t be shopped. We give several things away. Extended warranties, add-ons, and more. Don’t separate these items when you are showing the customer the offer, don’t say “For an extra $59 you get this.” We just include everything in our “package” and quote a price. Now your price may be more than anyone else in town, but it won’t matter. Because the offer will include more (of the things the customer wants) than they will get anywhere else.
3) Sell high end. Nobody else in town will advertise what you advertise. Therefore, you aren’t “sharing” any of our selected market. Advertise what other people don’t.
4) Demonstrate features that the customer wants. Many times other products will do what my product will do. But if you’re the only one telling the customer about it, it’s unique in the mind of the customer.
5) And I’m going to keep beating this drum. Give away free services. Don’t charge for minor services. Advertise the fact. This completely separates you from everyone else. I continually hear from others in my business “But we make $500 a month on installing vacuum cleaner belts. I’m a professional. I get paid for what I do”. Good. Keep thinking that. You’re the guy I’m taking business from, by offering, to your customers, what you won’t.
Claude Whitacre writes and publishes the Unfair Advantage Retail Newsletter. "Dedicated To Helping You Create Phenonenal Profits In Your Retail Business." Every monthly issue is Stuffed with Strategies, Techniques,Ideas, Examples,and Marketing Test Results. "A Seminar In Every Issue".
You can receive three months of Claude Whitacre's Unfair Advantage Retail Newsletter and monthly interview CD for only $5.95. For complete information, just go to http://www.unfairadvantegeretail.com
Claude Whitacre writes and publishes the Unfair Advantage Retail Newsletter. "Dedicated To Helping You Create Phenonenal Profits In Your Retail Business." Every monthly issue is Stuffed with Strategies,Techniques,Ideas, Examples,and Marketing Test Results. "A Seminar In Every Issue". You can receive three months of Claude Whitacre's Unfair Advantage Retail Newsletter and monthly interview CD for only $5.95. For complete information, just go to http://www.unfairadvantegeretail.com
Resell Promotional Merchandise For Profits
The big question in corporate promoting is how to successfully advertise a business without having to rob corporate coffers of all its money in order to do so. Corporate promoting can add up to quite a sum and reduce profits for a business if care is not taken to protect against this. The answer to how to successfully promote business without losing your shirt is to engage in intelligent corporate promoting. Make intelligent corporate promotional moves such as opting to resell promotional merchandise for profits.
The first key to making this work is to select promotional merchandise with the highest resale probability. Promotional merchandise such as travel accessories, coffee mugs, key rings, magnets, calculators, clocks, pens, conference bags and folders, umbrellas, golf gifts, watches, wallets, shirts, and mouse pads. These are all very good choices in promotional merchandise that you can resell for profits because these are things people use often and are most apt to purchase. The second key to making the reselling of promotional merchandise for profits work for you is to find a superior supplier of low-cost, high-quality, promotional merchandise to stock your sales shelves with. This leaves funds in your business coffers to be used in other ways to encourage more business profits. Combined with the profits from the reselling of promotional merchandise, your coffers will soon be overflowing.
There are many companies who are superior suppliers of promotional merchandise that can be used for business gifting and also for reselling for profits. You buy promotional merchandise at the lowest cost possible without sacrificing quality, and resell it for profits to your customers. This works because you are paying such a low fee for this promotional merchandise that raising the price for profit still leaves plenty of room to offer the consumer an opportunity to save money as well. You will be promoting your business and building a reputation as a provider of the merchandise business professionals use most, at a savings over other providers. Your customers will also fancy the convenience of not having to trudge from store to store for the items they need most because they can find it all through your business.
When people use the promotional merchandise they have purchased from you, they will be reminded of your business. What if any significance is there to that? The brain is an extraordinary animal that we do not yet fully understand. However, science has proven that the repetition of information such as seeing a business name on a pen for example, breeds a curious affinity towards that information. Many of us are unaware of how this affects our purchasing decisions. But we are more likely to trust and make transactions with the businesses and people we have built an affinity for. Ensure that people see your business name often through the promotional merchandise they use the most. Reselling promotional merchandise is intelligent corporate promoting at its best because your business gets promoted while earning profits.
Do people really buy resale promotional merchandise? They sure do. You have no doubt done so yourself, although you may not have put the two together. Airports, hotels, gift and specialty shops, and convention centers all sell promotional merchandise for profits such as pens, mugs, travel mugs, travel clocks, watches, sunglasses, key rings, t-shirts, polo shirts, umbrellas, and more that consumers readily buy for the sake of convenience. You may have at one time or another patronized these vendors yourself. There is no sound reason for not getting in on this for the sake of your business promoting needs and for the opportunity to make profits that the resell of promotional merchandise offers.
Tina Rinaudo is one of the leading lights in the UK promotional merchandise industry. Tina is a key member of YesGifts, the UK's fastest growing online promotional merchandise resource specialising in promotional pens, mugs, mouse mats, umbrellas, conference items and much more. For more information please visit www.yesgifts.co.uk.
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