Our consulting services are designed specifically for start-up and early stage, direct to consumer, internet and retail tea shops that wish to improve their store operations to improve profitability, inventory turnover rates, and overall customer experience.

There are many resources for learning about tea and helping you design your tea shop. Unfortunately, buying teas and designing your retail presence and environment are only the first of many critical steps required to build a successful small business.

First and foremost, you will need a solid business plan. This is the "business blueprint" that you and others will follow. It is an active guide, one that you will constantly reference and update. This should be a formal document that you, your friends, your investors, and others critically examine. If you have trouble getting started or you have trouble finding an end point, consult a professional. If you think you can start your business without a completed business plan, our advise to you is simply, "Don't". The step of writing a business plan is a reflection of you, the entrepreneur.

Second, anticipate that every ounce of talent available will be brought to bear. Start-up environments require absolute dedication and a rational view of what you can and can not do, what you should or should not do. Stay organized and be ready to make quick accessments of project resources, timelines, and budgets.

Third, many realists will quickly point out that 50% of start-up businesses will fail in two years, and another 50% of the survivors will fail in five years. The biggest source of failure is undercapitalization. If you're doing things for the first time, as a real pioneer, they'll be mistakes. Being undercapitalized means you may not have a chance to find out if your business was really on target before you're forced to sell or close.

Finally, run your business analytically. Where are you profits coming from? What are your best sellers? What are your average margins? What is your inventory turnover rate? What are your greatest manageable expenses? What's the driving force behind those lofty future earnings? When are your customers coming in and how much, on average, are they spending? How are you motivating and measuring the impact of your employees? What's your marketing plan and metrics for success?

We've created the management know-how for success in the retail tea industry. If you're thinking about starting a retail tea business, call us. Our consulting engagements are defined based upon your specific needs and budget. This is a great time for the tea industry. Are you ready?