Maybe you’ve been managing coffee shops for years, made a billion cortados, can schedule your staff in your sleep, and now you’re ready to strike out on your own. Or maybe you’re done with corporate life, and your great resignation and passion for nitro cold brews has ignited your dreams of owning your own coffee shop. Wherever you’re starting, you need to know how to open a coffee shop like a pro, even if it’s your first time.

Here are five simple rules to opening a coffee shop without making rookie mistakes.

Rule #1: Have a business plan with financial projections.

If you’re more comfortable dialing in gorgeous washed process Ethiopian coffees than creating financial models, that’s okay...

You already know that thinking about and planning for the cost of construction is a fundamental step in opening your retail space. We talk about buildout costs all the time at Pedal, and one challenge that we often encounter is the common misconception that a “second generation” space is always going to be a less expensive endeavor. 

First, a little real estate vocab lesson. “Second generation” spaces are those that were previously built out and have already housed an operating business for a period of time -- sometimes for many years, and sometimes only briefly. So while it may seem that a “second gen” space would afford a quick and cheap way to get in and start operating, looks can often ...