How to Write an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
How to Write an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
How to Write an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Want to open an ice cream shop?
It’s never been a better time to open an ice cream business. Now more than ever, customers seek small indulgences and find them in ice cream or yogurt shops.
You’ll find ice cream and frozen yogurt shops everywhere, satisfying local communities from small towns to big cities. In addition, the benefits of starting an ice cream shop are numerous.
Whether you want to start an ice cream shop, ice cream truck, or frozen yogurt shop, you’re going to need a plan.
In today’s post, we will talk about the importance of writing your ice cream shop business plan and how to get started.
Recommended Reading: Low-Cost Ice Cream Business Ideas
Why Do You Need an Ice Cream Business Plan?
An ice cream shop business plan will help you organize your thoughts into one cohesive plan. Your ice cream shop business plan will help to ensure that you cover all your bases. From your ice cream business concept to your budget to your financial forecasts, you will want to make sure everything is legit before moving forward.
Your ice cream shop business plan is created for a specific audience:
- You (the business owner)
- Potential bankers and investors
- Property managers
Potential investors want to see a thorough business plan before they invest any money into it. They want to know whether lending you money is a prudent or intelligent choice. A well-researched business plan shows your potential investors that you are a serious business person. A well-thought-out business plan shows what it will take to generate profits and have ultimate success.
Property managers that you will lease your property from will want to see a well-written business plan.
After all, they want to know what type of business will be working on their property. Additionally, they want to feel confident that your business will be successful.
I believe that the more you plan and research any business, the more money you will save at the end of the day. Writing an ice cream shop business plan is no different. I believe it will save you time, money, and lots of hassle.
So, let’s get to it!
How to Write an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
There’s no determined length of a business plan. What is more important is that all of the essential factors are covered in your project. Depending on your specific circumstances, you may want to add or subtract from the following items typically found in a business plan.
A typical business plan will cover the following topics in detail:
- Executive Summary
- The Business Description
- Products & Services
- Ownership and Management
- The Target Market
- Your Objectives
- Business to Date
- Startups Budget
- Operational Budget
- Sales Forecast
- Break-Even Analysis
- Market & Competition
- Marketing
- Ongoing Analysis
- Appendices
An ice cream shop business plan is often followed by an action plan that details the milestones of opening your business. An action plan tells you what steps have to be taken and by when so that you can smoothly move forward. Your ice cream shop action plan will give you a push when you need it.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does A Small Ice Cream Shop Cost?
Contents for an Ice Cream Shop Business Plan
Executive Summary
This will summarize your overall ice cream plan. While this section usually comes first, I recommend writing it last as you will have a better idea of your comprehensive plan after you finish writing it.
Make this section fun, exciting, and full of the ice cream flavors you wish to share with the world!
This summary can be used as your “elevator pitch” and help you describe your business within 30 seconds or less. Let your summary be a powerful introduction to your ice cream business.
The Business Description
First impressions count. In this section, you will introduce your ice cream shop business to your readers.
In detail, describe your ice cream business concept and what pain point you are trying to soothe in your customers. Additionally, give a little background of how your business idea came to be and why your business should exist.
Investors and property managers will see whether the business concept or business model is the right fit for them.
Products & Services
Mmmmmm…the incredible, sweet taste of cold ice cream.
Make the reader feel just as good as tasting your coconut vanilla ice cream.
Yes, you are selling ice cream, but use this section for diving into all of your products and services in detail.
For example, will you sell a particular line of ice cream that you make yourself? Will you offer vegan or organic ice cream or frozen yogurt or adding unique toppings? Will you sell other foods, desserts or provide espresso-based drinks to your customers?
You want to fully describe what type of experience your customers will have when buying your product and spending time at your shop.
Ownership and Management
In this section, you will want to talk a little bit about yourself and your team. What experience, education, or assets do you bring to the business? How will you leverage your expertise to create the best ice cream shop in your city?
In addition, you could talk about the team you are bringing on board. For example, you may discuss bringing in a manager that has worked at several other ice cream shops.
Investors will be looking at this section to make sure that you are developing a team around you that will increase the probability of your success. You want to display confidence – in yourself and in the team you are bringing on board.
The Target Market
Who will be enjoying your ice cream?
Utilize this section of your business plan to tell the reader who you are trying to reach. Your target market is key to your success, and you must understand everything about them.
Specifically:
Who are your customers?
Why would they be interested in visiting your ice cream shop?
What are some key demographics about them?
This section will require some research on your part. For example, you might need to visit other neighboring businesses, walk the neighborhood, get existing data that can help you understand who they are and what will motivate them to visit your ice cream shop.
Your Objectives
Serving strawberry and vanilla ice cream is a part of your business – but what is the ultimate objective?
What are your business goals? What is the added value that your ice cream shop creates in the neighborhood? Can you list everything from providing a safe place for neighborhood kids to enjoy ice cream to expanding to three other locations within three years?
Both your investors and your property managers will be interested in knowing your objectives – your motivations – for starting your ice cream business.
You are starting an ice shop, but where are you ultimately taking your business? Describe your vision and your mission in a way that generates excitement for your readers.
Business to Date
If you have already started making progress towards setting up your business, you will mention it here. Remember, this section is often read by investors or property owners to see how far along you are in your planning.
For example, if you are in the process of buying an ice cream truck or have already developed your logo, you could mention it here. This part will change often every time you update your business plan and move forward with opening your business.
Startups Budget
Your investors will be paying particular attention to this section – and you should too. After all, we’re talking about money.
You will want to have a well-thought-out startup budget that details the money you need to start and how much money you will need to borrow.
This section should back up your reasoning for seeking a business loan, investment from a private investor, or borrowing from family and friends. In essence, you want to describe your funding mix, the sources and the amount of money coming in, as well as the obligations coming from it.
Operational Budget
Your operation budget is different from your startup budget. Your operational budget is the money required for you to operate. This will include everything from your monthly rent, utilities, insurance, labor costs, and inventory.
Sales Forecast
How much money do will you make as an ice cream shop owner? This section will detail your estimated sales forecasts.
Since you predict your sales numbers, you can only imagine your investors and property owners’ interest in this section. This section will also be good for you to understand just how much money you can make opening an ice cream business. This section may include estimated sales, anticipated costs, and your break-even point analysis.
Market & Competition
You want to understand your target market as a whole. This would include understanding your competition. If you live in a thriving community, the chances are you will have some competition – either directly or indirectly. Competition isn’t necessarily bad. If your city has the numbers to sustain two or more ice cream businesses, you will want to focus on your strengths. You want to list your strengths and how you will position yourself to best deal with your anticipated competition. You might want to also present a SWOT analysis of your ice cream business here.
Marketing
You have to develop a plan to tell people about your ice cream! This section will detail your marketing strategy and how you plan to reach and connect with your customers.
It could detail actional steps you’ll be taking – from building your brand, developing your logo, creating a website to other necessary steps:
- Local Advertising
- Creating Signs
- Social Media
- POS Marketing
- Sending Mailers
- Email marketing
Appendices
Every business plan has a section in the back where they can place pictures, drawings, sketches. If you have mock-ups of your logo or the layout of your ice cream business, you will also want to add them here too.
How to Write an Ice Cream Business Plan
Questions:
Is an ice cream shop profitable?
Yes! Nearly every person on the planet loves ice cream. People love ice cream, and they are interested in buying it. It can be profitable if you go after the right target market with the right concept and product. Ultimately your ice cream profits will depend on the number of sales you encounter each day.
