You’re a savvy franchisee or entrepreneur. As such, you understand the importance of diversifying your products. World-class coffee is a solid foundation for a business. But it’s offering a whole host of other amazing products that makes your franchise a success. You need to have food, iced and blended drinks, smoothies, and more.
Smoothies keep growing in popularity, and it looks like the franchise market for smoothies is set to explode. But what if you could open a beloved coffee franchise and a smoothie franchise at the same time? You can get the best of both worlds, expand your market, and make even more customers happy! It sounds like the perfect solution to making the most of the beverage franchise market. But how you do you start a franchise, and what can you expect it to cost?
You’ve chosen to open a drive-thru coffee shop, a smoothie franchise, or a combination of the two. Now it’s time to figure out how much you’re going to spend, and where the money is going. Your coffee shop franchise cost and a smoothie franchise cost are going to be very similar, and cover many of the same expenses.
Even the best store with a great business plan will have a hard time without the right location. Site selection plays a crucial role in setting your franchise up for success. You want a spot with high traffic that is also both visible and accessible.
Your leasehold improvements are all the upgrades and changes you make to your location. These improvements help your store align with the design of your franchise. These improvements can range from new shelves and counters to outfitting the entire space from the ground up. That could mean adding HVAC, plumbing, and more to your franchise. These are frequently the most expensive part of your new franchise by far.
Now that you’ve found the right location and you’ve completed construction, you’re ready to get blending and brewing. The saying goes, “What’s a good plate with nothing on it?” You could also say, “What’s a great store with nothing in it?” You need inventory and equipment to make the most of your beautiful new space.
That means investing in blenders, coffeemakers, and ingredients for your amazing products. As part of a franchise, you’ll have a list of what you need, and you’ll also know exactly how much you should order for the amount of business you expect. It’s much easier than playing guessing games — like you would as an independent business.
Your franchise fee is an important part of your expenses. After all, you’ve chosen to invest in a business that is already established. They’re providing you with a proven business model that works. The hard part of building a brand reputation, earning customer trust, and finding recipes people love is already done for you.
The franchise fee and royalty fees are part of the privilege of working with a company that has worked hard to set all this up for your benefit. A large part of a franchisee’s success can be attributed to how hard they work and how committed they are to their business. The other part comes from all the behind-the-scenes work and support already done by the parent company.
As with any business, it’s always important to expect the unexpected. You will need to account for paying your staff and initial training, as well as your point-of-sale system and the software you’ll need to run it.
Without these investments, you’ll have a hard time taking all of those orders that will be coming in. That’s not to mention knowing how to operate that software in addition to making your products just the way customers love them!
There’s a lot that goes into opening your own franchise. It’s the same as what an entrepreneur can expect with opening any business. Of course, costs can vary between franchises, where your location is, and what type of store you decide to build. The difference with opening a franchise is that you don’t have to go through it alone. You’re working with a larger company that has seen it all before and is here to help you on your journey.
Scooter’s Coffee® is a trusted company that has been in business for over 20 years. In that time, the company has grown to more than 230 locations across the United States. And there are franchise commitments for over 200 more. See what the costs could be for your new franchise. Find out more about how you can start your Scooter’s Coffee franchise when you ask about your next steps today.
