How to Start Your Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Ice Cream Startups
How to Start Writing Your Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Start Your Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Starting an ice cream shop or any other retail business – is a great way to make money and earn a living.
Opening an ice cream shop is the type of business that guarantees you significant profits, as well as contributing to your local community in more ways than one. There are so many benefits to starting an ice cream shop!
If you want to start an ice cream shop, here are three primary options ice cream entrepreneurs have to start an ice cream shop:
- Start an ice cream shop from scratch
- Open an ice cream shop franchise
- Buy an existing ice cream shop
Inspired by many successful ice cream shop business owners, our post will guide you through the necessary steps to open up your dream ice cream shop.
These steps include:
- picking the right ice cream shop location,
- buying the necessary ice cream shop equipment,
- sourcing your ice cream,
- forming your actual ice cream business, and
- picking out your top-selling ice cream flavors!
Start Writing Your Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Pre-planning Stage (Brainstorming!)
A strong ice cream shop business plan will be among the first steps in starting a profitable ice cream business.
A business plan will help you with the structure you need to get all the pieces together and start moving on your agenda. But, it also needs to offer you the flexibility you need to make any necessary changes.
Settle on an ice cream shop concept that works for you and your target customers. For starters, you will want to have a general idea of the type of ice cream business you want to start – and where you want to start. For example, it may be a gelato business catering to tourists, a seasonal ice cream truck business, or a full-fledged ice cream bar!
Brainstorming and getting your ice cream shop concept down will be an excellent first step to writing your business plan.
Additionally, while you may need to spend some time in front of your computer writing your business plan, you will also want to get outside and do a little research. For example, visit nearby ice cream shops and determine who your competition will be and how you can be different from your competitors.
Think about who your ice cream customers will be and how they will gravitate to your business. What type of branding and marketing will you need to attract your ideal customer? What will they want from your ice cream shop business?
Your ice cream shop brand will help elevate your business, so you’ll want to spend time developing that. In addition, you should be sure that your brand will help you connect with your customers and maintain that connection over time – we call this customer loyalty!
Once you have a general idea of what type of ice cream business you want, you will be ready to start writing your business plan.
Alright, you ready? Let’s get started!
Starting Your Ice Cream Business
How to Start Writing Your Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Writing a business plan is among the first steps to opening an ice cream shop. Below is a list of some of the essential components of your ice cream shop business plan.
Most business plans contain many of these items listed below. Additionally, some of you may want to add other specific sections that apply to your particular business concept.
Executive summary
The executive summary sounds fancy. But what it does is gives your readers a complete synopsis of what’s inside the plan. Think of this summary as your elevator pitch – the 30 second sound bite of what your ice cream shop business is and how you plan on opening it.
Description of your ice cream shop concept
This part of your ice cream business plan will detail what type of business you’re planning to start. First, it describes the general idea of your ice cream shop. Then, you will spend the rest of the business plan detailing how you plan on bringing this concept to life!
Development to date
Sometimes, you might already be well on your way to starting a business. For example, you may have already set up your business structure and opening a bank account (which are both essential things!). Detail where you are at – or what your next steps immediate steps will be.
Ownership and management
Some ice cream businesses are owned by one, two, or more individuals or companies. This section will detail who owns the business and who will manage the business. For example, you might describe who will run the day-to-day operations, who is in charge of hiring and inventory.
Ice Cream Shop Business Structure
You will want to detail the legal structure of the business. For example, you may consider incorporation or establishing a limited liability company (LLC). We have seen that many independent ice cream shops are set up as LLCs due to the benefits and ease of setting up.
Your Ice Cream Shop Vision
Your business plan will detail the vision you have for your ice cream business. For example, do you want to be the best gelato in your town? Detail your vision for the company and its prospects for a future filled with amazing ice cream, toppings, and profits.
Ice Cream Shop Product Offering
This is the fun part! This is where you describe the products you intend to offer. You may provide ice cream, gelato, yogurt, and other items, too, such as toppings and drinks. Other things may include merchandise, such as t-shirts or coffee mugs. Finally, you might add where you are sourcing your products, such as which wholesalers you partner with. If you are unsure, consider reading our post, What to Sell at an Ice Cream Shop?
Your Ice Cream Shop Value Proposition
What is the unique thing about your ice cream shop? Will it be the number of flavors or toppings you offer? Will it off the best selection on non-GMO ice cream in town? That “thing” that makes your ice cream shop unique will be considered your value proposition. Many people refer to this as your Unique Value Proposition or UVP. Some may also refer to this as your Unique Sale Proposition or USP. Either way, it describes that “special sauce” that makes your ice cream business special.
Detail what you want to specialize in – and why this aspect of your ice cream business will make you stand out against the competition.
Picking an Ice Cream Shop Location
Where will you plan to open up your ice cream shop? If you are looking for a location, detail what area of your city or region you are looking for.
If you have a pending location, then you may want to detail your floor plan. Discuss everything about the potential ice cream shop location you are looking for:
- How the location meets your needs
- The traffic in this specific location
- Accessibility and parking issues
- Costs and terms of your lease
Target Market
Your ice cream shop will revolve around your ideal customer. This section of your business plan will detail who your customer is.
If it is helpful, you might consider coming up with an avatar of your ideal customer describing what he or she wants and the reason behind visiting your ice cream business. Perhaps, it’s a student on his way to class or an international tourist stopping by after a city tour.
Ice Cream Shop Equipment
Your ice cream business will require various commercial-grade equipment to operate. Detail which equipment items you need to buy – and why. Also, detail the vendor you will be using and approximately how much your equipment will cost.
Your Competition
In this area of your business plan, you are going to detail the level of competition. Get specific: who are the other ice cream shops in town? Which business can be labeled substitutes, such as McDonald’s or other fast-food places? These substitute businesses are places where your customers can get substitute items – soft serve, sundaes, and more.
Detail how your business will respond to this level of competition. Don’t be wary of competition. Some competition is good and makes everyone better. As a customer, I like options, and I enjoy seeing how businesses differentiate themselves to attract and keep customers.
Marketing and Promotion
You’ve built a wonderful ice cream shop – now you are going to want to detail how you plan on promoting it.
Most ice cream shops promote their business very locally. For independent ice cream shops, your hyper-local promotions should be catered to your customer – students, businesses, and tourists.
Detail your marketing and promotional strategies and include details on your ice cream shop grand opening.
Revenue & Profit Estimates
For your ice cream shop to be viable – you’ll need to generate enough revenue to pay your bills (typically called your overhead costs). Additionally, you will also want to generate revenue above your costs – or profits too!
In this section, detail what your estimated sales would be. You can also determine your break-even point (the point you begin to make a profit moving forward).
This financial section is a critical part of your business plan and should be done with some thoughtful and realistic estimates. Your estimates will help you figure out how and when you will start making money.
Action Plan
The action plan is a timeline that sets deadlines to reach your goals. It describes your every step, intermediate and final goals. It sets deadlines and essential milestones to have a clear direction and a little extra push to get things going. An action plan keeps you motivated and accountable to yourself and other stakeholders.
On-going Market Analysis
The development of your ice cream does not stop once your business plan is done or you finally held your grand opening.
As a business owner, you want to offer ongoing market analysis continuously. How is the community changing? What if new competition enters the market after you open? How will your business respond? Utilize your business plan to offer continuous and ongoing market analysis. If you plan to grow your business, update the details of the plan as time goes on.
The above list of sections provides a general scope of what an ice cream business plan should have. However, you may need to have a few more sections that detailed your specific business and tailored needs.
Starting Your Ice Cream Business Plan
Related Questions:
Why should I write a business plan?
A business plan isn’t just busy work. A business plan is a common way that entrepreneurs define their projects. Within a business plan, you can put all of your thoughts and concepts down on paper to articulate your vision.
Often investors and property managers would like to see a business plan to investigate what business they will be connected with. So consider that your business plan will be read by some other stakeholders (bankers, investors, property managers, and other owners).
Ultimately, writing a business plan is to help you organize your thoughts and put them into actionable benchmarks. If written well, a business plan can save you money and keep you organized.
How long should a business plan be?
Your business plan can be as long as it needs to be. However, a business plan can be anywhere between 10 and 60 pages. If you’ve never read or seen a business plan before, you will be surprised at how many aspects of your business need to be planned out. Each section of the business plan will allow you to think about the actions you’ll need to take.
Do I need to have a business degree or training to write a business plan?
Nope. You don’t need to have any specialized training to write your business plan. There is nothing fancy about it. It is essentially your research and planning, all written and broken down into sections. These sections allow you to explain how you plan on tackling each important part of your ice cream business.
Start an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan Today
Our goal here is to provide relevant information to help you open your ice cream shop business. Among the first steps is starting your ice cream shop business plan. Let us help!
