Key steps on how to open a tea room with no money
Does your idea of a perfect weekend involve drinking tea in a cosy setting, with an array of delicious cakes, pastries, and sandwiches to choose from? If so, you may be keen to launch a tea room...but there's just one issue - you don't have the funds to start your own business.
So how does one go about opening a tea room with no money? Is it even possible?
We're here to tell you that it is, although you'll need a solid plan.
In this guide, we'll tell you everything you need to know about starting a tea room with no money - including possible sources of financing and how a good business plan can make all the difference in attracting investment for your venture.
Is it possible to open a tea room with no money?
It goes without saying that opening a tea room with no money isn't exactly easy. If you're able to manage your expectations (i.e. make peace with the fact that you won't be opening the most upmarket tea room in London) then it is feasible.
To successfully open a tea room with no money, you'll need to be reasonable about the size of your business: a modest-sized room and a menu composed of a few carefully-chosen recipes is a good place to start.
Even if you start small, keep in mind that you'll still have to finance the initial investments such as the security deposit for your premises, tables, and chairs for your guests, kitchen equipment, and stock.
As well as this, you'll need to have enough cash to operate your tea room as smoothly as possible for the first few months, offering rates and products that'll both allow you to compete with rival tea rooms and eventually expand your business.
With a lot of determination and dedication, it is possible to open a tea room with no money. There are several financing solutions you can tap into, which we investigate in more detail below...
Love money and crowdfunding as alternatives to a bank loan
The first steps in how to open a tea room are much the same as with any business. First, you'll define its concept and how much money you'll need to develop it. After that, it's time to figure out where the money's coming from.
Bank funding is often tricky to obtain in these cases because banks almost systematically ask for a contribution covering about a third of the financing required. You will need to find other solutions to raise this critical amount (or more, if possible.)
The first source to consider is love money. As you may have guessed, this is the money you can collect from your family and friends, in the form of donations, loans (interest-free or not), or investments.
Another solution is crowdfunding. Here, two options are available to you. The first is crowd equity, where individuals or angel investors may provide funding in exchange for shares in your company. Besides helping to fund your venture, these individuals also bring their own knowledge of the industry and useful advice to help your business begin on as strong a footing as possible.
The second option to open a tea room with no money is crowdfunding, whereby you set up a campaign on a crowdfunding platform, tell your story, and collect donations from individuals who wish to financially support your venture.
It's important to bear in mind here that being (most likely) tea enthusiasts, your contributors may expect a small reward linked to your business in exchange for their generosity, such as a box of free luxury teas or a free afternoon tea for two. It's up to you to quantify the size of the gesture according to the generosity of the donation.
Crowdfunding can be particularly effective as it enables you not only to raise funds for your project but also to introduce it to your wider community and create some hype around it.
Several tea rooms have used crowdfunding to keep their businesses alive and kicking, such as Glasgow's most famous tea room, Mackintosh at the Willow. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, in which it raised £2,000 over its target of £20,000, the tea room reopened its doors to the public in September 2020, after fears it would have to close permanently in the aftermath of the first Covid lockdown last year.
State aid available to help you open a tea room with no money
You can also count on state assistance for entrepreneurs.
This can consist of government grants which are available in many kinds of forms - from cash awards to free equipment to help your tea room flourish.
If you are in the UK, to find out more about the support available, you can visit the gov.uk Business Finance Support Finder. Another option is to apply for the Start-Up Loans Scheme. Supported by the government, this scheme offers personal loans of up to £25,000. The interest rate on such loans is just 6% and entrepreneurs also receive access to free mentoring and business support.
In the US, the SBA works with various organisations to provide small businesses with grants and loans. Check out their website to see if you meet the criteria to apply and open your tea room with no money.
Another option would be to find out about regional business start-up awards and competitions set up by your local government that reward and fund business start-up projects.
How a business plan assesses the feasibility of your tea room
Opening a tea room with no money is made much easier by the development of a business plan. A business plan forces the entrepreneur to examine every aspect of his or her business, so they get a gauge of the exact means needed to bring it to life.
This means, firstly, accurately assessing the initial financing requirements of starting your tea room. By balancing these with the amount of money you're able to raise, you can ultimately determine whether opening a tea room with no money is feasible or not.
The financial forecast within your business plan will guide you through this process, as well as helping you calculate the break-even point, the time needed to reach it, and, most importantly, whether your tea room is likely to be profitable or not.
The business plan is also the document with which you'll present your business idea to potential investors, banks, acquaintances or public bodies to start your tea room. So you simply can't underestimate the importance of a business plan when opening a tea room with no money: it is the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to reassuring them of your dedication to your business.
A business plan works as a point of reference for yourself and the wider team, so should be looked at from time to time to keep your tea room on track and measure the progress you've made.
In a simplified way, a business plan consists of two parts:
- A financial forecast that aims to highlight the expected profitability of the business and the initial financing requirement.
- A written part that presents, in detail, your project, the team, your business strategy, and your medium-term objectives.
Given how detrimental a role the business plan is in securing funding, it needs to be impeccable and convincing - and look the part, too.
This is a complicated process, especially if you're tackling this task for the first time. That's why we recommend that you try using online business plan software to guide you through the writing process.
There are several advantages to using specialised business plan software:
- You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan.
- You can be inspired by already written business plan templates
- You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the calculations and financial aspects for you.
- You get a professional document, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank.
If you are interested in this type of solution, you can try our software for free by signing up here.
As you can see, there's certainly no shortage of solutions when it comes to raising enough funds to start a tea room with no money.
We hope that this article has helped you to better understand how you can open a tea room with no money. If you still have questions, do not hesitate to contact us for any questions related to the creation of a tea room.
See also on The Business Plan Shop:
- Tips for optimizing the profitability of a tea room
- How to carry out the market analysis of a tea room
- Business plan template for a tea room