Writing a vision is considered challenging as it requires summarizing your company's goals and its future into short, simple statements. Investing the time and effort in creating a vision for your coffee shop always pays off in the end. It is important to have a vision for your coffee shop. A vision statement helps you articulate what you want to achieve with your coffee shop business in the long term. It describes what success would look like for your business – the big picture. It clarifies the overall purpose of your coffee shop business.
To write your coffee shop vision statement, you need to have an overall picture of what you want your coffee shop business to become and align it with the values that guide your daily operations. They will then record this in a formal statement. Here are tips to write a good vision for your coffee shop:
- Define the goals, competitive advantage and scope of your coffee shop.
- Project into the future of your coffee shop business in 5-10 years.
- Define what success looks like in your company.
- Name a measurable goal.
- Write in the present tense.
- Use clear, concise and simple language.
Table of contents
Define the goals, competitive advantage and scope of your coffee shop business.
You can easily find this out in your business plan. Your business objective describes the goals of your company, competitive advantage describes what differentiates your company from the competition, while scope describes how you intend to achieve your business goals. Understanding these can help you brainstorm about writing a good vision statement.
Project into the future of your coffee shop business in 5-10 years.
To project into the future of your business, you need to dream big. You must do this without allowing inaccuracies in your projections. You have to ask yourself: Where do I see my coffee shop business in 5 or 10 years (depending on the case)? Referring to your original motivation for opening a coffee shop can help you come up with it. Your answer may be in terms of the size of your business, the size of your customer base, the range of services you want to offer, the number of coffee shops you have, etc.
Define what success looks like in your company.
Briefly describe what separates a productive day from an unproductive day in your coffee shop. It describes what short-term success looks like for your business. This can be the number of customers served in a day, the number of visits to your website in a week, how many people subscribe to your loyalty program, etc.
Name a measurable goal.
It's important to have measurable goals for your business per time. A measurable goal is also known as a key performance indicator (KPI). It helps you track success in your business. When writing your vision statement, consider including a measurable goal that extends to all aspects of your business. Also, consider adding a time frame to achieve this goal. This gives specificity to your vision statement.
Write in the present tense.
Writing your mission statement in the present tense will ensure that it always feels relevant to everyone who comes across it, whether it's on the walls of your coffee shop, in advertising campaigns, or on your employees' uniforms.
Use clear, concise and simple language.
Your coffee shop vision statement will be read by a wide range of people – professionals and laypeople alike. Consider writing it in simple language that can be easily understood by anyone. Avoid inaccuracies and make it as short as possible.
Now that you're well on your way to writing a good vision, you should know that a vision isn't set in stone. If you're just starting out with your coffee shop, conduct a monthly assessment of your vision until you have one that best fits your brand.
You can also choose to seek professional help or download templates or worksheets that provide a framework to help you create your vision statement.
Importance of a vision for your coffee shop.
Whether you're running your coffee shop from a shopping cart, online, or from a physical store, you'll get a vision for your business. A vision guides your coffee shop business. Here are some reasons why you should get a vision statement for your coffee shop:
It gives you the opportunity to consciously articulate your long-term corporate goals.
The process of brainstorming a vision requires you to have a long-term goal for your coffee shop. It also requires stating those goals as clearly as possible without allowing for ambiguity.
It increases employee productivity and efficiency.
A mission statement provides a focus for the work activities of employees. When a vision is in place, employees can pool their efforts to work towards a common goal. It also serves to motivate them to be productive and efficient in their daily tasks. When adverse business situations arise, reference to the mission statement gives the staff and you, the cafe owner, the determination to weather the storm without compromising your original business principles or values.
It guides the development of your coffee shop business strategy.
No matter how small or large your coffee shop business is, from time to time you will need to make decisions related to business strategy. A vision statement serves as a reference when deciding on the best strategy. It also ensures that you do not deviate from your company's goals when making business decisions.
If you don't base your decisions on your cafe's vision, you're bound to lose sight of your business goals. You may end up making decisions that are good for short-term progress but negatively impact the overall picture of success contained in your vision.
It helps develop a culture in your coffee shop.
Culture is a very important part of any business. It determines the atmosphere of your cafe. The work ethic of your employees is largely influenced by the culture of your coffee shop. This in turn rubs off on customers in terms of the quality of service they receive from your staff.
Aside from a nurturing or fun work environment, your employees' level of loyalty to your vision also determines your attitude towards serving customers and accomplishing other tasks in the cafe. Over time, the culture built from working to your vision could result in your coffee shop becoming a legacy. This is the secret behind most small businesses that grow into large franchises or independent businesses with many branches.
How to use your vision statement.
Contrary to what most people think, a vision statement isn't just for marketing purposes. It can serve as a tool to inspire you and your employees. It is also a guide for you when making important business decisions.
Examples of coffee shop vision statements.
- Starbucks: Treating people like family and they will be loyal and give their all.
- Sightglass Coffee: To deliver the highest possible quality in all aspects of our business, whether it's sourcing the most beautiful and wonderful coffees available or employing the most mindful and quality-focused practices possible.
- CC's Coffee Shop: To improve the lives of our guests; Support the communities we serve; Foster our common humanity.
- Boncafé: To be the leading coffee roaster and provider of gourmet coffee and foodservice products around the world by offering the guiding principles of integrity, quality, service and relationship.
- O'Coffee Club: To remain the leading coffee shop chain in Singapore, offering gourmet food and coffee with excellent service.
Writing a vision requires careful consideration of all aspects of your coffee shop business in order to get a clear picture of the future you want for your business. When you find you have achieved your vision, replace it with another vision statement. Your vision should be a constant reminder to you and your employees that every activity at the coffee shop is aimed at one big goal.
Are you planning to write your summary?This articledefinitely helps!
frequently asked Questions
What is the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement for a coffee shop?
A mission statement is a brief description of the cafe's goals and how the owner or other stakeholders intend to achieve those goals, while a vision is a statement that briefly describes the cafe's long-term goals. Both serve to define the purpose, goals and values of the cafe.
How long should a coffeeshop vision statement be?
According to Kelly Burke, who writes for the University of Hawaii, an average vision is 35 words or two to three short sentences at most. Most importantly, your coffee shop vision statement should be long enough to capture your desired future, but not too long to be difficult to remember.
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Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal professional to help meet your specific needs.
Shawn Chun
Hello! I'm Shawn Chun
My coffee adventure started when I opened my first coffee shop in the early 2000s. I had so many things to figure out for myself and to make matters worse, within 2 years of opening, 2 large corporate coffee chains moved in just blocks from me!
As I saw smaller and even some larger neighborhood coffee shops slowly losing customers to these giant coffee chains and slowly shutting down shop, I knew I had to start getting creative...or go out of business.
I (like you maybe) knew the coffee industry well. I was able to make the best latte art and the foam on my hats was the fluffiest you've ever seen. I even had the best state of the art Nuova Simonelli 2 group digital machine money could buy. But I knew those things alone wouldn't be enough to lure customers away from the branded coffee shops.
Eventually, through lots of trial and error, perseverance and creativity, I found a way not only to survive but also to thrive in the coffee/espresso industry, even if those coffee corporations stayed. During these years I learned to adapt and always faced new challenges. It wasn't always easy, but I ended up being the only surviving independent coffee shop within 10 miles of my location. After that year, only two large coffee chains and I remained. In all, the corporate coffee chains destroyed over 15 small independent cafes and kiosks, and I was the last one standing and thriving.
Over the years I've met others with the same passion for coffee and I've quickly learned that it's not just "how good a barista is" that makes a coffee shop successful, but also the business side of coffee.
That is why I started this website where you are now. Providing the tools and resources for aspiring coffee shop owners to gain essential insight and knowledge on how to start a coffee shop successfully.
Stay close, browse my helpful blog and resources, and enjoy your stay! With lots of LATTE LOVE!
Shawn