English 101: Rough Draft

Bridgette Glass
Professor Kerr
En 101-1
12 September 12

My Future Goals for Owning a Business

     Many Americans today pursue the dream of owning a business. The meaning of owning a business is a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service. It is a profit-seeking enterprise or concern. Take a walk downtown, see the bakeries, ice cream shops, and boutiques.  All of those small businesses make a living on pursusing their goals and dreams. Owning a business is a huge responsiblity, and has been one of my main goals in life to pursue. Specifically, my main goal is owning a coffee shop. Owning a coffee shop requires knowledge of managing a business, selling good quality products, and having a great environment.
      To begin a business, business knowledge and experience is extremely crucial. Being a senior in high school, preparing for what I want to study in college, is very important. You start by becoming a student of the coffee business. Attend tradeshows and subscribe to industry periodicals. (Opening a Coffee Shop)
     After some research, I came upon a program called, "Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management".  A bachelor's degree in tourism and hospitality management is designed to prepare you for a broad range of managerial roles across the hospitality and tourism industry. (World Wide Learn) Another way to get more experience in managing a business is interning at a local coffee shop. Internships provide a more hands-on experience to learn day-to-day operations of a coffee shop. An internship would allow to me see other coffee shops pros and cons of their business, and how I would operate my own business.
     "Studies have shown repeatedly that consumers prefer a product that is known to be "acceptable" rather than risk an unknown product that may be either "exceptional" or "poor"; more than anything else, a customer wants to know what to expect from a coffee shop.  (Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success)
     When customers buy a product they look for quality in the product. The anxiety generated from an inconsistent experience (product & service) may be enough by itself for a consumer to avoid a coffee shop altogether. (Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success) When owning a coffee shop, satisfing the customer with a healthy, good quality, and free-trade product is very important for a business. In the terms of a good quality product, it should not only be appealing on the outside, but taste good and be healthy for the customer on the inside.
     To gain more knowledge of creating healthy products I will have to take a course in Nutrition. Another factor of products is to know about brewed coffee. The danger in the specialty coffee industry is that most people do not realize that coffee and its resulting beverages exhibit a similar level of complexity as is found in fine wines, cheeses, olive oils, vinegars and foods; interestingly, many experts in the coffee field have interests in these other areas. (Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success)
     Another main quality is selling Fair-Trade products. Fair Trade began modestly in the 1940s when a few small North American and European organizations reached out to poverty stricken communities to help them sell their handicrafts to well-off markets. Consumers can enliven developing countries, relieve exploitation and promote environmental sustainability by purchasing Fair Trade-labeled tea, cocoa, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, sugar, honey, wine, flowers, grains and rubber products. (History. Fair Trade USA)
     Tailoring your business model to the most likely sources of local business is a smart approach.(Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success) A business should be welcoming to every single customer entering. Having a great atmosphere attracts more customers and ultimately improves the business. A clear definition of your intended customer type(s) must be known in order for you to effectively design many aspects of your business, from your product, your marketing campaigns and interior designs to the strategies you will use to combat competitors.(Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success)
A way to provide a warm welcoming atmosphere is live music, quiet nook to study, and a place to socialize. Having live music gives support and opportunity to talent in the community and provides entertainment to the customers. To those high school teens and college adults, and businessmen, a place to study and hold meetings is another convienence to the customers. Another key factor of having a great atmosphere is getting to know your customers. The more that you know about the people that will walk into your shop and use your product, the more effective your efforts will be to attract and retain repeat business. (Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success)

The demand for specialty coffee is growing every day. In comparison, the U.S. has approximately 15,000 coffee bars with a population of 290 million. (Opening a Coffee Shop) Opening a business can be tough, but with the right tools such as; managing, products, and warm atmosphere businesses can be quite sucessful.  A quote from Barbara Hall says, "That's the secret of entertaining (business). You make your guests feel welcome and at home. If you do that honestly, the rest takes care of itself."




Sources quoted in Paper:

(History. Fair Trade USA) http://www.fairtradeusa.org/what-is-fair-trade/history
(Opening a Coffee Shop) http://espresso101.com/coffee_faq.html
(World Wide Learn) http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-education-guide/business/hospitality-management-major.htm


Outline:
I. Intro
-Thesis Statement/plan of developmentII. Knowledge of Managing a Business
-Study Hospitatlity Management degree
-Get Experience (internship & hands-on environment)
III. Selling quality products- knowledge in coffee and food
-Selling healthy products (take classes in nutrition)
-Selling good quality products
-Selling fair-trade products
IV. Having a great atmosphere
-Live music/supporting community
-Location (kids in school/college, in city or town, local)
-A place to satisfy customers needs (study, meeting place, socialize, etc)
-Know more about the customers (get to know)
V. Conclusion
-Owning a business can/will be tough (in this economy)

-With the right tools (managing,products, & atmosphere) businesses can/will be sucessful