Are you about starting a wine store? If YES, here is a complete sample wine store business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.
One of the businesses that an aspiring entrepreneur who resides in a community where residents consume wine cum alcohol can start and make profits is to open a wine store. You can choose to start on a small scale like the average mom and pop shops around the street corner in your neighborhood or you can choose to launch a standard wine store business with several outlets in key locations all around you.
A wine store with assorted wines and liquors from top brands all across the world. The bottom line is that, if you take the necessary steps before starting the business, you are likely not going to struggle to grow the business.
A Sample Wine Store Business Plan Template
1. Industry Overview
It can’t be over emphasized that one of the easy to enter and thriving business line that an entrepreneur how is looking towards starting a business of his or her own is to go into retailing business. The retail business is indeed a wide business of which wine store business falls under.
Simply put, a wine store is a retail shop that is licensed to sell prepackaged alcoholic beverages usually in bottles to customers who are likely to take home or elsewhere to consume.
In the United States of America, the wine and liquor store business is a regulated business which is why The Twenty-first Amendment of the United States Constitution gives states the power to regulate the sale and consumption of wine and other alcoholic beverages.
It is important to note that State regulations vary widely. Most states in the united states of America have laws that clearly define which alcoholic beverages must be sold in specialty wine and liquor stores and which may be sold in other venues et al.
The Wine, Liquor, and Beer industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all the parts of the world. Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 41,590 licensed liquor stores responsible for employing about 171,766 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $50 billion annually.
The industry is projected to grow at the rate of 2.1 percent annual growth between 2011 and 2016. It is important to state that no establishment can boast of having a dominant share of the available market in this industry.
Activities in the Wine, Liquor, and Beer Stores industry is on the increase in the last 5 years (i.e. from 2010 to 2015), even though the revenue generation have not shown remarkable growth within the stated period. Owing to the obvious increase in consumer confidence, more consumers have purchased high-margin products such as craft beer, boosting the industry profitability.
Additionally, the legislation on the liquor, beer and wine market in many states in the U.S has allowed more entrepreneurs to open their own liquor stores. Revenue in the Wine Liquor and Beer Store industry is expected to grow over the next 5 years as stores generate greater sales especially of high-margin products.
The Wine, Liquor, and Beer Store industry is known to be heavily concentrated in the most densely populated regions and cities, mainly in the Mid-Atlantic, which comprises 24.2 percent of total liquor stores. Statistics has it that within the region, New York accounts for 8.5 percent of total liquor stores and trails only California which has 11.6 percent with the largest percentage of industry liquor stores.
So also, the Southeast and Great Lakes regions are heavily concentrated with industry liquor stores, and account for 17.9 percent and 15.4 percent of total liquor stores, respectively. Comparatively large liquor stores, in terms of employment and revenue, tend to be located in the Mid-Atlantic region. Nevertheless, the industry is small business oriented, with 68.0 percent of liquor stores employing four or even fewer full – time employees per time.
Over and above, the wine, liquor, and beer store industry is a profitable industry and it is open for any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can choose to start on a small scale in a street corner like the average mom and pop business or you can choose to start on a large scale with chains of wine stores in key cities all across the United States.
2. Executive Summary
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is a neighborhood wine store that will be located in centralized area between a residential neighborhood and a busy business district in downtown Los Angeles – California. We aware that California is one of the states that allows individuals to operate wine and liquor store and also sell other alcoholic drinks which is why we have decided to open our wine store business in Los Angeles – California.
We have been able to secure a 10,000 sq. ft. facility for our wine store as required by the law in the United States of America.
We are in the wine store business to make profits at the same to give our customers value for their money and time; we want to give people who patronize our wine store the opportunity to choose not only from a wide range of both locally and imported wines (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) but also from a wide range of beers and other alcoholic drinks that are manufactured in the United States of America and other parts of the world.
We are aware that there are several large and small wine stores all around Los Angeles – California, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey so as to enable us locate the business in an area that will support the growth of the business and also for us to be able offer much more than our competitors will be offering.
We ensured that our facility is easy to locate and our outlet is well secured with the various payment of options. Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our wine store. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large the numbers of our customer base may grow to.
We will ensure that we get our customers involved in the selection of wine brands that will be on our racks and also when making some business decisions that will directly or indirectly affect them. At Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC our client’s best interest come first, and everything we do will be guided by our values and professional ethics.
We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by delivering excellent and neat jobs and also meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is a family business that is owned and managed by Martins O’Brien and his immediate family members.
The business will be managed by his son Mack O’Brien a graduate of Business Administration who has extensive experience working with one of the leading departmental stores in the United States of America. He will bring his experience and expertise to help build and grow Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC to compete favorably with other leading wine and liquor store in the United States of America.
3. Our Products and Services
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is going to operate a standard and licensed neighborhood wine store that will retail a wide range of alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines, liquors, and beers just like any other licensed and standard wine stores in the United States and in any part of the world.
We are in the wine retailing business to make profits and give our customers value for their money and we are going to do all that is permitted by the law in the United States of America to achieve our business aim and objectives. These are some of the products that we will retail in our wine store;
- Alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines
- Red wines
- Liquors
- Beers (Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra-Light, Natural Light, Busch Light, Bush, Redds Apple Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Keystone Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Platinum Lager et al)
- Locally Crafted Beers (Pale Beers, Amber Beers, Dark Beers, Hebrew Beers, Gluten Free, Organic Brews, Cider et al)
- Distilled spirits
- Martinis
- Non – alcoholic beverages
- Tobacco
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to establish a one stop wine store in Los Angeles – California and in other cities in the United States of America.
- Our mission is to establish a wine store business that will make available a wide range of alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines, liquors, and beers from top brands at affordable prices to the residence of Los Angeles – California and other cities in the United States of America and Canada where we intend opening our wine store outlets.
Our Business Structure
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC does not intend to start a wine retailing business like the usual mom and pop businesses around the street corners; our intention of starting a wine retail business is to build a standard wine store that will be a one – stop shop for wines, liquors, and beers which is why we will ensure that we put the right structure in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.
We will ensure that we hire only people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more especially when we start selling our franchise. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;
- Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
- Store Manager
- Merchandize Manager
- Sales and Marketing Manager
- Information Technologist
- Accountants / Cashiers
- Cleaners
Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer – CEO (Owner):
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
- Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Evaluates the success of the organization
Store Manager:
- Responsible for managing the daily activities in the store
- Ensures that the store facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
- Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
- Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
- Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carries out staff induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Interfaces with third – party providers (vendors)
- Controls the sales floor inventory
- Ensures that goods and products are properly arranged
- Supervises the entire sales staff and workforce
- Any other duty as assigned by the CEO
Merchandize Manager
- Manages vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
- Helps to ensure consistent quality of liquors, wines and beers on our rack
- Responsible for the purchase of wines, beers and liquors for the organizations
- Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
- Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
Sales and Marketing Manager
- Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
- Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
- Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
- Documents all customer contact and information
- Represents the company in strategic meetings
- Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
Information Technologist
- Manages the organization website
- Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
- Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
- Manages logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
- Manages the organization’s CCTV
- Handles any other technological and IT related duties.
Accountant / Cashier
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the organization
- Serves as internal auditor for the organization
Client Service Executive / Sales Agents
- Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
- Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
- Manages administrative duties assigned by the human resources and admin manager in an effective and timely manner
- Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the organizations’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to customers when they make enquiries (answer customer queries regarding the store and the merchandise)
- Finds out the customer’s needs, recommend, select and help locate the right merchandise, describe a product’s features and benefits.
- make suggestions and encourage purchase of products
- Bags or packages purchases and gift wrap merchandise
Cleaners:
- Responsible for cleaning the store facility at all times
- Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
- Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
- Any other duty as assigned by the store manager.
6. SWOT Analysis
Our intention of starting just one outlet of our wine retail store in Los Angeles – California is to test run the business for a period of 3 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other outlets all over California and also sell franchise through the United States of America and Canada.
We are quite aware that there are several wine retail stores all over Los Angeles and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.
We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives.
This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC;
- Strength:
Our location, the business model we will be operating on (physical store and online wine store), varieties of payment options, wide range of alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines, liquors, and beers (locally crafted beer inclusive) and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC.
So also our management team members are people who have what it takes to grow a business from start – up to profitability with a record time.
- Weakness:
A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new wine retail outlet and we don’t have the financial capacity to engage in the kind of publicity that we intend giving the business.
- Opportunities:
The fact that we are going to operate our wine retail store in one of the busiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles – California provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our wines, liquors, and beers to a large number of people. We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential clients will be looking for when they visit our wine retail store; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.
- Threat:
We are quite aware that just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new wine retail outlet in same location where ours is located or even the arrival of a night club and bar can also pose a threat to our business.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
In the United States of America, most of the states have strict control on wine and liquor stores hence it is not easy to secure license to open one. In California and in few states in the U.S, individuals can actually open their own wine and liquor retail store and it is the practice for them to sell loads of assorted alcoholic drinks and not only wines and liquors; they are known to retail liquors, wines, beers and even tobacco et al.
If you keep tabs with wine store business and retailing business generally, you would have noticed that it has now become a common phenomenon for retail outlets to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their store to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology helps retailers to maximize supply chain efficiencies.
No doubt data collected from customers goes a long way in helping retail store outlets serve them better. Another common trend in the retailing industry is the pricing system.
Aside from having varieties of wines and other alcoholic drinks in a store, one of the easiest ways for wine retail stores to sell the drinks on their racks as fast as they can and keep re – stocking is to ensure that the prices of their drinks are a bit lower than what is obtainable in elsewhere. For example, it is common to see items with prices in this format; $3.99, $99 and $199 et al as against $4, $100 and $200.
Wine stores are also known to follow the rules and regulations regulating the industry in any state that their store is located; regulations like not selling alcoholic drinks to any person who is under – aged amongst other rules and regulations.
8. Our Target Market
When it comes to selling alcoholic and non- alcoholic wines, liquors, beers and locally brewed beer et al, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who drink alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines, liquors, and beers and those who would want to try out liquor.
One thing is certain, our liquors, and other alcoholic drinks will not be sold to people who are under aged. In view of that, we have positioned our wine retail store to service the residence of Los Angeles – California and every other location where our wine retail stores will be located all over the United States of America and Canada.
We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail wines and a wide range of alcoholic drinks to the following groups of people;
- Corporate Executives
- Government Officials
- Business People
- Celebrities
- Military Men and Women
- Sports Men and Women (with the exemption of under – age)
- Students (with the exemption of under – age)
- Tourists
- Every adult in the neighborhood where our wine store will be located.
Our competitive advantage
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is launching a standard and licensed wine retail shop that will indeed become the preferred choice of residence of Los Angeles – California and in every other location where our outlets will be opened.
Our wine retail store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates in Los Angeles – California and few meters away from a busy business district. We have enough parking space that can accommodate about 20 cars per time.
One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of liquors, wines and beers available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our store and not see the brand of alcoholic drinks that they are looking for. One of our business goals is to make Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC a one stop wine and alcohol shop.
Our location, the business model we will be operating on (brick and mortar wine store and online wine store), varieties of payment options, wide range of alcoholic, non- alcoholic wines and other alcoholic drinks and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a competitive advantage for Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC.
So also our management team members are people who have what it takes to grow a business from start – up to profitability with a record time.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups wine stores) in the wine, liquor and beer stores industry, meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives. We will also give good working conditions and commissions to freelance sales agents that we will recruit from time to time.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the wine, liquor, and beer store retailing industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to sell a wide range of products to a wide range of customers.
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC will generate income by retailing the following alcoholic products;
- Alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines
- Red wines
- Liquors
- Beers (Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra-Light, Natural Light, Busch Light, Bush, Redds Apple Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Keystone Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Platinum Lager et al)
- Locally Crafted Beers (Pale Beers, Amber Beers, Dark Beers, Hebrew Beers, Gluten Free, Organic Brews, Cider et al)
- Distilled spirits
- Martinis
- Non – alcoholic beverages
- Tobacco
10. Sales Forecast
It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. One thing is common with wine retailing business, the larger a wine retail store the larger the numbers of customers that will patronize them.
Although we may not be as large as the biggest wine retail store in the United States, but we will ensure that within our capacity we make available a wide range of alcoholic and non – alcoholic wines, liquors, and beers et al from different brands both local and foreign in our wine store.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in Los Angeles – California and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the business and our clientele base.
We have been able to critically examine the wine, liquor and beer industry and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Los Angeles – California.
Below are the sales projections for Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC, it is based on the location of our business and other factors as it relates to wine store start – ups in the United States;
- First Fiscal Year-: $120,000
- Second Fiscal Year-: $350,000
- Third Fiscal Year-: $750,000
N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same products and customer care services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Before choosing a location to launch our wine store, we conduct a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residence of Los Angeles – California and in every other city where our outlets will be opened.
We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the numbers of customers we want to attract per time.
We hired experts who have good understanding of the wine, liquor, and beer retail industry to help us develop
In other to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell the products that are available in our store which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver. In summary, Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;
- Introduce our wine store by sending introductory letters to residence, business owners and organizations in and around Los Angeles – California
- Open our wine store with a party within our neighborhood
- Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List our business on yellow pages’ ads (local directories)
- Leverage on the internet to promote our business
- Engage in direct marketing
- Leverage on word of mouth marketing (referrals)
- Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to our store
- Position our signage / flexi banners at strategic places around Los Angeles
- Position our greeters to welcome and direct potential customers
- Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our regular customers
- Engage on road shows within our neighborhood to create awareness and also sell our products.
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Despite the fact that our wine retail store is well located in a corner piece property, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. We are going to explore all available means to promote our wine retail store.
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC has a long term plan of opening outlets in various locations all around the United States of America and Canada which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Los Angeles – California before venturing out.
As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand to our target market. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC;
- Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community programs
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, twitter, et al to promote our brand
- Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Los Angeles – California
- Engage in road show from time to time
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
- Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where our wine retail store is located.
- Advertise Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC business in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site
- Brand all our official cars and vans and ensure that all our staff members and management staff wears our branded shirt or cap at regular intervals.
12. Our Pricing Strategy
Pricing is one of the key factors that give leverage to wine retail stores, it is normal for consumers to go to places (wine retail outlets) where they can get wines, liquors, and beers et al at cheaper price which is why big player in the wine, liquor and beer retail industry attract loads of consumers.
We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with other bigger and well – established wine retail store, but we will ensure that the prices of all the brands of wines, liquors, and beers et al that are available in our wine store are competitive with what is obtainable amongst wine retail stores within our level and in our location.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment with cash
- Payment via credit cards / Point of Sale Machines (POS Machines)
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money transfer
- Payment via bank draft
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for farm produces purchase without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for our goods (wines, liquors and beers).
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
When it comes to starting a wine retailing store the major areas that you look towards spending the bulk of your cash is in of course renting or leasing a standard store facility that has approval from local authority. Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for paying of your employees and the stocking of your store with assorted wines, liquors and beers.
This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. These are the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;
- The Total Fee for Registering the Business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580.
- The cost for hiring business consultant – $2,500.
- The cost for insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
- The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
- The cost for store remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of alcoholic and non – alcoholic wine, liquors, beers, tobaccos et al) – $70,000
- The cost for storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, food case) – $3,720
- The cost for counter area equipment (counter top, sink, ice machine, etc.) – $9,500
- The cost for serving area equipment (plates, glasses, flatware) – $3,000
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
- The cost of Launching a Website – $600
- The cost for our opening party – $7,000
- Miscellaneous – $10,000
We would need an estimate of $250,000 to successfully set up our wine retail store in Los Angeles – California. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first month of operation.
Generating Funds / Startup Capital for Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Mr. Martins O’Brien and his immediate family members. We do not intend to welcome any external business partners, which is why we have decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources.
These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;
- Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
- Apply for loan from my Bank
N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $75,000 and soft loan from family members $25,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.
One of our major goals of starting Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.
We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to retail our wines, liquors and beers a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
Martins O’Brien Wine Store®, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.
As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List / Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Leasing of facility and remodeling the shop: In Progress
- Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
- Compilation of our list of products (liquors, beers, wines, and tobaccos et al)that will be available in our store: Completed
- Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers of various brands of wines, liquors, beers, and tobacco et al: In Progress