How to open a cheesemonger shop?

There's no doubt that starting a cheesemonger shop requires a lot of work, but with expert planning, you'll be well on your way to creating a profitable business venture.

This guide will give you a low down on all of the major steps involved, from choosing a legal structure to creating a financial forecast and registering your business.

We will also walk you through the process of checking whether or not your idea can be viable given market conditions.

Let's embark on this exciting journey together!

What is the business model of a cheesemonger shop?

Before thinking about starting a cheesemonger shop, you'll need to have a solid understanding of its business model (how it generates profits) and how the business operates on a daily basis.

Doing so will help you decide whether or not this is the right business idea for you, given your skillset, personal savings, and lifestyle choices.

Looking at the business model in detail will also enable you to form an initial view of the potential for growth and profitability, and to check that it matches your level of ambition.

The easiest ways to acquire insights into how a cheesemonger shop works are to:

• Speak with cheesemonger shop owners
• Undertake work experience with a successful cheesemonger shop
• Participate in a training course

Speak with cheesemonger shop owners

Talking to seasoned entrepreneurs who have also set up a cheesemonger shop will enable you to gain practical advice based on their experience and hindsight.

Learning from others' mistakes not only saves you time and money, but also enhances the likelihood of your venture becoming a financial success.

Undertake work experience with a successful cheesemonger shop

Gaining hands-on experience in a cheesemonger shop provides insights into the day-to-day operations, and challenges specific to the activity.

This firsthand knowledge is crucial for effective planning and management if you decide to start your own cheesemonger shop.

You'll also realise if the working hours suit your lifestyle. For many entrepreneurs, this can be a "make or break" situation, especially if they have children to look after.

First-hand experience will not only ensure that this is the right business opportunity for you, but will also enable you to meet valuable contacts and gain a better understanding of customer expectations and key success factors which will likely prove advantageous when launching your own cheesemonger shop.

Participate in a training course

Undertaking training within your chosen industry is another way to get a feel for how a cheesemonger shop works before deciding to pursue a new venture.

Whichever approach you go for to gain insights before starting your cheesemonger shop, make sure you familiarise yourself with:

• The expertise needed to run the business successfully (do you have the skills required?)
• How a week of running a cheesemonger shop might look like (does this fit with your personal situation?)
• The potential turnover of your cheesemonger shop and long-term growth prospects (does this match your ambition?)
• The likely course of action if you decide to sell the company or retire (it's never too early to consider your exit)

At the end of this stage, you should be able to decide whether opening a cheesemonger shop is the right business idea for you given your current personal situation (skills, desires, money, family, etc.).

Assemble your cheesemonger shop's founding team

The next step to start your cheesemonger shop is to think about the ideal founding team, or to go in alone (which is always an option).

Setting up a business with several partners is a way of reducing the (high) risk of launching a cheesemonger shop since it allows the financial risk of the project to be shared between the co-founders.

This also allows the company to benefit from a greater diversity of profiles in the management team and to spread the burden of decision-making over several shoulders.

But, running a business with multiple co-founders brings its own challenges. Disagreements between co-founders are quite common, and these can pose risks to the business. That's why it's crucial to consider all aspects before starting your business.

To make an informed decision, we suggest asking yourself these questions:

• How many co-founders would increase the project's chances of success?
• Do you and your potential partners share the same aspirations for the project?
• What is your plan B in case of failure?

Let's examine each of these questions in detail.

How many co-founders would increase the project's chances of success?

The answer to this question will depend on a number of factors, including:

• Your savings compared with the amount of initial capital needed to launch the cheesemonger shop
• The skills you have compared with those needed to make a success of such a project
• How you want key decisions to be taken in the business (an odd number of partners or a majority partner is generally recommended to avoid deadlock)

Put simply, your partners contribute money and/or skills, and increasing the number of partners is often a good idea when one of these resources is in short supply.

Do you and your potential partners share the same aspirations for the project?

One of the key questions when selecting your potential partners will be their expectations. Do you want to create a small or large business? What are your ambitions for the next 10 or 15 years?

It's better to agree from the outset on what you want to create to avoid disagreements, and to check that you stay on the same wavelength as the project progresses to avoid frustration.

What is your plan B in case of failure?

Of course, we wish you every success, but it's wise to have a plan B when setting up a business.

How you handle the possibility of things not working out can depend a lot on the kind of relationship you have with your co-founders (like being a close friend, spouse, former colleague, etc.) and each person's individual situation.

Take, for instance, launching a business with your spouse. It may seem like a great plan, but if the business doesn't succeed, you could find yourself losing the entire household income at once, and that could be quite a nerve-wracking situation.

Similarly, starting a business partnership with a friend has its challenges. If the business doesn't work out or if tough decisions need to be made, it could strain the friendship.

It's essential to carefully evaluate your options before starting up to ensure you're well-prepared for any potential outcomes.

Undertake market research for a cheesemonger shop

The next step to start your cheesemonger shop is to use market research to check that there is indeed an opportunity to be seized. Let's take a look at what this involves.

The objectives of market research

In a nutshell, doing market research enables you to verify that there is a business opportunity for your company to seize, and to size the opportunity precisely. 

First of all, market research enables you to assess whether the market you're targeting is large enough to withstand the arrival of a new competitor: your cheesemonger shop.

The market analysis will also help you define the product and service offering of your cheesemonger shop, and transcribe it into a market positioning and concept that will strike a chord with your target customers.

Finally, your market research will provide you with the data you need to draw up your sales and marketing plan and estimate the revenue potential of your cheesemonger shop.

Analyse key trends in the industry

Market research for a cheesemonger shop must always begin with a thorough investigation of consumer habits and current industry trends.

Normally, cheesemonger shop market research begins with a sectorial analysis which will provide you with a better understanding of how the industry is organized, who the major players are, and what are the current market trends.

Assess the demand

A demand analysis enables you to accurately assess the expectations of your cheesemonger shop's future customers.

Your analysis will focus on the following questions:

• How many potential customers are present in the geographical areas served by your company?
• What are their expectations and purchasing behaviors?
• How much are they willing to spend?
• Are there different customer segments with distinct characteristics?
• How to communicate and where to promote your business to reach your target market?

The main goal of your demand analysis is to identify potential customer segments that your cheesemonger shop could target and what products or services would meet these customers' expectations.

For example, your target market might include food enthusiasts and gourmet consumers who appreciate artisanal cheeses and unique flavor profiles. These customers often seek personalized recommendations and are willing to pay premium prices for high-quality products. Additionally, you could target local restaurants, cafes, and catering companies looking for reliable suppliers of specialty cheeses to enhance their menu offerings. These segments value variety, quality, and the expertise of a knowledgeable cheesemonger when selecting cheeses for culinary creations and events.

Supply side

Supply-side analysis looks at the products and services offered by your competitors on the market.

You should focus here on the following questions:

• Who will your competitors be?
• Are they any good?
• Where are they located?
• Who do they target?
• What range of products and services do they offer?
• Are they small independent players?
• What prices do they charge?
• How do they sell their products and services?
• Do their concepts appeal to customers?

One of the aims of your supply-side analysis will be to gather the elements that will enable you to define a market positioning that will set you apart from what is already being done on the market, so as to avoid direct confrontation with competitors already established (more on that below).

Regulations

Market research is also an opportunity to look at the regulations and conditions required to do business.

You should ask yourself the following questions:

• Does it take a specific degree to open a cheesemonger shop?
• Do you need specific licences or business permits?
• What are the main regulations applicable to your future business?

Given that your project is still in its early stages, your analysis of the regulation can be carried out at a high level for the time being. You just want to identify the main laws applicable and check that you meet the conditions for running this type of business before going any further.

Once your project is more advanced, you can come back to the regulation in greater detail with your lawyer.

Concluding your market research

Your market research should lead you to draw a clear conclusion about your chances of commercial success of your business idea:

• Either the market is saturated, and you'd better look into another business idea.
• Or there's an opportunity to be seized in the geographical area you're considering, and you can go ahead with your project to open a cheesemonger shop.

Choosing the right concept and positioning for your cheesemonger shop

Once your market research is completed, it's time to consider the type of cheesemonger shop you want to open and define precisely your company's market positioning in order to capitalise on the opportunity you identified during your market research.

Market positioning refers to the place your product and service offering occupies in customers' minds and how they differ from competing products and services. Being perceived as the premium solution, for example.

There are four questions you need to consider: 

• How will you compete with and differentiate yourself from competitors already on the market?
• Is it better to start or buy a cheesemonger shop already in operation?
• How will you validate your concept and market positioning?

Let's look at each of these in a little more detail.

How will you compete with and differentiate yourself from competitors already on the market?

When you choose to start up a cheesemonger shop, you are at a disadvantage compared to your rivals who have an established presence on the market. 

Your competitors have a reputation, a loyal customer base and a solid team already in place, whereas you're starting from scratch...

Entering the market and taking market share from your competitors won't happen automatically, so it's important to carefully consider how you plan to establish your presence.

There are four questions to consider here: 

• Can you avoid direct competition by targeting a customer segment that is currently poorly served by other players in the market?
• Can you offer something unique or complementary to what is already available on the market?
• How will you build a sustainable competitive advantage for your cheesemonger shop? 
• Do you have the resources to compete with well-established competitors on your own, or would it be wiser to explore alternative options?

Also, think about how your competitors will react to your arrival in their market.

Is it better to start or buy a cheesemonger shop already in operation?

An alternative to opening a new business is to take over a cheesemonger shop already trading. 

Purchasing an existing cheesemonger shop means you get a loyal customer base and an efficient team. It also avoids disrupting the equilibrium in the market by introducing a new player.

A takeover hugely reduces the risk of the business failing compared to starting a new business, whilst giving you the freedom to change the market positioning of the business taken over if you wish.

This makes buying an existing cheesemonger shop a solid alternative to opening your own.

However, buying a business requires more capital compared to starting a cheesemonger shop from scratch, as you will need to purchase the business from its current owner.

How will you validate your concept and market positioning?

Regardless of how you choose to establish your business, it's crucial to make sure that the way you position your company aligns with the expectations of your target market.

To achieve this, you'll have to meet with your potential customers to showcase your products or services and get their feedback.

Explore the ideal location to start your cheesemonger shop

The next stage in our guide on how to start a cheesemonger shop: choosing where to set up shop.

Setting up your business in the right location will have a direct impact on your chances of success, so it's a good idea to think things through before you launch.

To help you decide where to set up your business, we recommend considering the following factors:

• Visibility and foot traffic: Important for attracting walk-in customers who may be enticed by displays of specialty cheeses.
• Parking space, road and public transport accessibility: Facilitates easy access for customers to visit your shop, especially if transporting perishable goods.
• Proximity to target customers: Being close to residential areas or culinary hotspots ensures convenience for your core customer base.
• Competitor presence: Assessing nearby cheese shops helps gauge market saturation and competitive positioning.

These criteria will need to be refined according to the specific features of your project.

After weighing the factors mentioned earlier, it's crucial to focus on your startup's budget. Look for a location that suits your business needs while being affordable, especially in the short term.

One of the issues that will also come up is the long-term future of your location, particularly if you opt to rent your premises rather than buy. In this case, you will need to consider the conditions for renewing the lease (duration, rent increases, etc.).

Lease agreements vary widely from country to country, so make sure you check the terms applicable to your situation and have your lawyer review your lease before you sign.

Choosing your cheesemonger shop's legal form

The next step to open a cheesemonger shop is to choose the legal form of your business.

The legal form of a business simply means the legal structure it operates under. This structure outlines how the business is set up and defines its legal obligations and responsibilities.

Why is your cheesemonger shop's legal form important?

Choosing the legal form for your cheesemonger shop is an important decision because this will affect your tax obligations, your personal exposure to risk, how decisions are made within the business, the sources of financing available to you, and the amount of paperwork and legal formalities, amongst other things.

The way you set up your business legally will impact your taxes and social contributions, both at a personal level (how much your income is taxed) and at the business level (how much the business's profits are taxed).

Your personal exposure to risk as a business owner also varies based on the legal form of your business. Certain legal forms have a legal personality (also called corporate personality), which means that the business obtains a legal entity which is separate from the owners and the people running it. To put it simply, if something goes wrong with a customer or competitor, for example, with a corporate personality the business gets sued, whereas without it is the entrepreneur personally.

Similarly, some legal forms benefit from limited liability. With a limited liability the maximum you can lose if the business fails is what you invested. Your personal assets are not at risk. However, not all structures protect you in such a way, some structures may expose your personal assets (for example, your creditors might try to go after your house if the business incurs debts and then goes under without being able to repay what it owed).

How decisions are made within the business is also influenced by the legal form of your cheesemonger shop, and so is the amount of paperwork and legal formalities: do you need to hold general assemblies, to produce annual accounts, to get the accounts audited, etc.

The legal form also influences what sources of financing are available to you. Raising capital from investors requires having a company set up, and they will expect limited liability and corporate personality.

What are the most common legal structures?

It's important to note that the actual names of legal structures for businesses vary from country to country. 

But they usually fall within two main types of structures:

• Individual businesses
• Companies

Individual businesses

Individual businesses, such as sole traders or sole proprietorships, are legal structures with basic administrative requirements.

They primarily serve self-employed individuals and freelancers rather than businesses with employees.

The main downside of being a sole trader is that there's usually no legal separation between the business and the person running it. Everything the person owns personally is tied up with the business, which can be risky.

This means that if there are problems or the business goes bankrupt, the entrepreneur's personal assets could be taken by creditors. So, there's a risk of personal liability in case of disputes or financial issues.

It is also not possible to raise equity from investors with these structures as there is no share capital.

Despite the downsides, being a sole proprietorship has some advantages. There is usually very little paperwork to get started, simpler tax calculations and accounting formalities.

Companies

Companies are all rounders which can be set up by one or more individuals, working on their own or with many employees.

They are recognized as a distinct entity with their own legal personality, and the liability is usually limited to the amount invested by the owners (co-founders and investors). This means that you cannot lose more than you have invested in the business.

This separation ensures that in legal disputes or bankruptcy, the company bears primary responsibility, protecting the personal assets of the founder(s) and potential investor(s).

How should I choose my cheesemonger shop's legal structure?

Deciding on the legal structure is usually quite straightforward once you know how many co-founders you'll have, whether you'll have employees, and the expected revenues for the business.

A good business idea will be viable whatever the legal form you choose. How businesses are taxed changes every year, therefore one cannot rely on specific tax benefits tied to a particular structure when deciding to go into business.

One easy way to proceed is to take note of the legal structures used by your top five competitors, and assume you're going with the most commonly chosen option. Once your idea is mature and you're prepared to formally register the business, you can validate this assumption with a lawyer and an accountant.

Can I switch my cheesemonger shop's legal structure if I get it wrong?

You can switch your legal setup later on, even if it involves selling the old one to a new entity in some cases. However, this comes with extra costs, so it's better to make the right choice from the beginning if you can.

Assess the startup costs for a cheesemonger shop

The next step in creating a cheesemonger shop involves thinking about the equipment and staff needed for the business to operate.

After figuring out what you need for your business, your financial plan will reveal how much money you'll need to start and how much you might make (check below for more details).

Because every venture is distinctive, providing a reliable one-size-fits-all budget for launching a cheesemonger shop without knowing the specifics of your project is not feasible.

Each project has its own particularities (size, concept, location), and only a forecast can show the exact amount required for the initial investment.

The first thing you'll need to consider is the equipment and investments you'll need to get your business up and running.

Startup costs and investments to launch your cheesemonger shop

For a cheesemonger shop, the initial working capital requirements (WCR) and investments could include the following elements:

• Refrigeration equipment: Display cases, cheese coolers, and walk-in refrigerators for storing various types of cheeses.
• Cheese aging caves: Specialized climate-controlled rooms or units to age and preserve artisanal cheeses.
• Cheese cutting and packaging equipment: Tools such as cheese wire cutters, slicers, and vacuum sealers for portioning and packaging cheeses.
• Display and shelving units: Custom-designed shelves, counters, and display racks to showcase cheeses attractively.
• Cheese tasting and sampling station: Furniture, utensils, and equipment for conducting tastings and offering samples to customers.

Of course, you will need to adapt this list to your business specificities.

Staffing plan of a cheesemonger shop

In addition to equipment, you'll also need to consider the human resources required to run the cheesemonger shop on a day-to-day basis.

The number of recruitments you need to plan will depend mainly on the size of your company.

For example, you could recruit a cheesemonger who specializes in cheese selection, handling, and customer recommendations. Additionally, hiring a sales associate would assist with customer service, cashier duties, and maintaining inventory. Optionally, you might also consider employing a cheese affineur who manages the aging and ripening process of cheeses to ensure optimal flavor development. These roles collectively ensure efficient daily operations and enhance customer satisfaction through expert knowledge and service.

Once again, this list is only indicative and will need to be adjusted according to the specifics of your cheesemonger shop.

Other operating expenses for a cheesemonger shop

While you're thinking about the resources you'll need, it's also a good time to start listing the operating costs you'll need to anticipate for your business.

The main operating costs for a cheesemonger shop may include:

• Staff costs such as salaries, wages, and benefits for your cheesemongers, sales associates, and administrative staff.
• Accountancy fees for bookkeeping, financial reporting, and tax preparation services.
• Insurance costs and expenses covering property, liability, and worker's compensation insurance.
• Software licenses, costs for POS, inventory management, and accounting software licenses.
• Banking fees and charges related to business bank accounts, transactions, and merchant services.
• Rent or lease payments for your shop space to ensure a prime location for customer accessibility.
• Utility expenses, including electricity, water, and heating, essential for maintaining operational comfort and food safety.
• Internet and telecommunications services to facilitate communication with suppliers and customers.
• Costs associated with purchasing inventory such as cheeses to stock your shop with a variety of quality products.
• Materials for packaging cheeses and related products, ensuring they remain fresh and presentable.
• Expenditures on marketing and advertising to promote your shop and attract customers to your unique offerings.
• Professional fees for legal and consulting services to ensure compliance and strategic business guidance.
• Supplies and stationery for daily operations, including labels and packaging materials.
• Cleaning and maintenance services for your shop premises, maintaining a hygienic and inviting environment.
• Training expenses to develop your staff's skills and knowledge in cheese handling and customer service.

Like for the other examples included in this guide, this list will need to be tailored to your business but should be a good starting point for your budget.

How will I promote my cheesemonger shop's?

The next step to starting a cheesemonger shop is to think about strategies that will help you attract and retain clients.

Consider the following questions: 

• How will you attract as many customers as possible?
• How will you build customer loyalty?
• Who will be responsible for advertising and promotion? What budget can be allocated to these activities?
• How many sales and how much revenue can that generate?

Once again, the resources required will depend on your ambitions and the size of your company. But you could potentially action the initiatives below.

For example, your street cheesemonger shop might collaborate with local restaurants and cafes to create exclusive cheese platters and tasting events. This initiative can showcase your unique cheese selections to restaurant patrons, encouraging them to visit your shop for their own purchases. Additionally, launching a loyalty program where regular customers earn rewards for repeat purchases can foster customer retention and increase sales. These strategies will strengthen your shop's presence in the community and attract both individual customers and business partnerships that appreciate high-quality cheeses.

Your cheesemonger shop's sales plan will also be affected by variations in consumer demand, like changes in activity during peak holiday seasons, and the dynamics within your competitive environment.

Building your cheesemonger shop's financial forecast

The next step to opening a cheesemonger shop is to create your financial forecast.

What is a cheesemonger shop financial forecast?

A cheesemonger shop financial forecast is a forward-looking tool that projects the financial performance of your business over a specific period (usually 3 years for start-ups). 

A forecast looks at your business finances in detail - from income to operating costs and investments - to evaluate its expected profitability and future cash flows.

Building a financial forecast enables you to determine the precise amount of initial financing required to start your cheesemonger shop.

There are many promising business ideas but very few are actually viable and making a financial forecast is the only way to ensure that your project holds up economically and financially.

Your financial forecast will also be part of your overall business plan (which we will detail in a later step), which is the document you will need to secure financing.

Financial forecasts are used to drive your cheesemonger shop and make key decisions, both in the pre and post-launch phases:

• Should we go ahead with the business or scrap the idea?
• Should we hire staff or use an external service provider?
• Which development project offers the best growth prospects?
• Etc.

Creating a financial forecast for starting a cheesemonger shop is an iterative process as you will need to refine your numbers as your business idea matures. 

As your cheesemonger shop grows, your forecasts will become more accurate. You will also need to test different scenarios to ensure that your business model holds true even if economic conditions deteriorate (lower sales than expected, difficulties in recruiting, sudden cost increases or equipment failure problems, for example).

Once you’ve launched your business, it will also be important to regularly compare your accounting data to your financial projections in order to keep your forecast up-to-date and maintain visibility on future cash flows.

What does a financial projection look like?

The following financial tables will be used to present your cheesemonger shop's financial forecast.

The projected P&L statement

Your cheesemonger shop's forecasted P&L statement will enable you to visualise your cheesemonger shop's expected growth and profitability over the next three to five years.

The projected balance sheet of your cheesemonger shop

The projected balance sheet gives an overview of your cheesemonger shop's financial structure at the end of the financial year.

The cash flow projection

A cash flow forecast for a cheesemonger shop shows the projected inflows and outflows of cash over a specific period, providing insights into liquidity and financial health.

What is the best financial forecasting tool for starting your cheesemonger shop?

The simplest and easiest way to create your cheesemonger shop's projections is to use professional online financial forecasting software such as the one we offer at The Business Plan Shop.

There are several advantages to using specialised software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You have access to complete financial forecast templates
• You get a complete financial forecast ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• The software helps you identify and correct any inconsistencies in your figures
• You can create scenarios to stress-test your forecast's main assumptions to stress-test the robustness of your business model
• After you start trading, you can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast, and recalibrate your forecast to maintain visibility on your future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you are interested in this type of solution, you can try our forecasting software for free by signing up here.

Choose a name and register your cheesemonger shop

The next phase in launching your cheesemonger shop involves selecting a name for your company.

This stage is trickier than it seems. Finding the name itself is quite fun; the difficulty lies in finding one that is available and being the first to reserve it.

You cannot take a name that is similar to a name already used by a competitor or protected by a registered trademark without inevitably risking legal action.

So you need to find a name that is available, and be able to register it before someone else can.

In addition, you will probably want to use the same name for:

• Your company’s legal name - Example LTD
• Your business trading name - Example
• The trademark - Example ® 
• Your company’s domain name - Example.com

The problem is that the procedures for registering these different names are carried out in different places, each with their own deadlines:

• Registering a domain name takes only a few minutes
• Registering a new trademark takes at least 12 weeks (if your application is accepted)
• The time taken to register a new business depends on the country, but it's generally fast

You will therefore be faced with the choice of: either registering everything at once and hoping that your name will be accepted everywhere, or proceeding step by step in order to minimise costs, but taking the risk that someone else will register one of the names you wanted in the meantime.

Our advice is to discuss strategy with your legal counsel (see further down in this guide) and prioritise your domain names and registered trademarks. You'll always have the option of using a trade name that's different from your company's legal name, and that's not a big deal.

To check that the name you want is not already in use, you should consult:

• Your country's business register
• The relevant trademark registers depending on which countries you want to register your trade mark in
• A domain name reservation company such as GoDaddy
• An Internet search engine

In this area too, your legal counsel will be able to help with the research and formalities.

Develop your cheesemonger shop's corporate identity

The next step to launching a cheesemonger shop: defining your company's visual identity. 

Your corporate identity defines how your company's values are communicated visually. It makes you unique and allows you to stand out visually from your competitors and be recognized by your customers.

Defining your corporate identity can easily be done by you and your co-founders, using the many free tools available to generate color palettes, logos and other graphic elements. Nevertheless, this task is often best entrusted to a designer or agency to achieve a professional result.

Your cheesemonger shop's visual identity will include the following elements:

• Logo 
• Brand guidelines
• Business cards
• Website theme

Logo

The goal is to have stakeholders identify your business logo quickly and relate to it. Your logo will be used for media purposes (website, social networks, business cards, etc.) and legal documents (invoices, contracts, etc.).

The design of your logo must be emblematic, but it's also important that it can be seen on any type of support. To achieve this, it should be easily available in a range of colors, so that it stands out on both light and dark backgrounds.

Brand guidelines

The brand guidelines of your cheesemonger shop act as a safeguard to ensure that your image is consistent whatever the medium used.

Brand guidelines lay out the details like the typography and colors to use to represent your company.

Typography refers to the fonts used (family and size). For example, Arial in size 26 for your titles and Tahoma in size 15 for your texts.

When it comes to the colors representing your brand, it's generally a good idea to stick to five or fewer:

• The main colour, 
• A secondary colour (the accent),
• A dark background colour (blue or black),
• A grey background colour (to vary from white),
• Possibly another secondary colour.

Business cards

A rare paper medium that continues to survive digitalization, business cards are still a must-have for communicating your cheesemonger shop contact details to your customers, suppliers and other partners.

In principle, they will include your logo and the brand guidelines we mentioned above.

Website theme

Likewise, the theme of your cheesemonger shop website will include your logo and follow the brand guidelines we discussed earlier.

This will also define the look and feel of the main visual elements on your website:

• Buttons
• Menus
• Forms
• Banners
• Etc. 

Understanding the legal and regulatory steps involved in opening a cheesemonger shop

The next step in opening a cheesemonger shop is to take the necessary legal and regulatory steps. 

We recommend that you be accompanied by a law firm for all of the steps outlined below.

Registering a trademark and protecting the intellectual property of your cheesemonger shop

The first step is to protect your company's intellectual property. 

As mentioned earlier in this guide, you have the option to register a trademark. Your lawyer can assist you with a thorough search to ensure your chosen trademark is unique and doesn't conflict with existing ones and help select the classes (economic activities) and jurisdictions in which to register your trademark. 

Your lawyer will also be able to advise you on other steps you could take to protect your company's other intellectual property assets.

Drafting the contractual documents for your cheesemonger shop

Your cheesemonger shop will rely on a set of contracts and legal documents for day-to-day operations. 

Once again, we strongly recommend that you have these documents drawn up by a lawyer. 

Your exact needs will depend on the country in which you are launching your cheesemonger shop and the size of the company you are planning. 

However, you may wish to consider the following documents at a minimum: 

• Employment contracts 
• General terms and conditions of sale
• General terms and conditions of use for your website
• Privacy Policy for your website
• Cookie Policy for your website
• Invoices
• Etc.

Applying for licences and permits and registering for various taxes

The licenses and permits needed for your business will depend on the country where you are establishing it. Your lawyer can guide you on the regulations relevant to your activity.

Similarly, your chartered accountant will be able to help you register for taxes and take the necessary steps to comply with the tax authorities.

Writing a business plan for your cheesemonger shop

The next step in opening a cheesemonger shop is to draw up your business plan.

What is a cheesemonger shop's business plan?

A business plan serves as a comprehensive roadmap outlining the objectives, strategies, and key components of your venture. 

There are two essential parts to a business plan:

• A numerical part, the financial forecast we mentioned earlier in this guide, which highlights the amount of initial financing needed to launch the business and its potential profitability over the next 3 to 5 years,
• A written part, which presents in detail the project of creating a cheesemonger shop and provides the necessary context to enable the reader of the business plan to judge the relevance and coherence of the figures included in the forecast.

Your business plan helps guide decision-making by showcasing your vision and financial potential in a coherent manner.

Your business plan will also be essential when you're looking for financing, as your financial partners will ask you for it when deciding whether or not to finance your project to open a cheesemonger shop. So it's best to produce a professional, reliable, and error-free business plan.

In essence, your business plan is the blueprint to turn your idea into a successful reality. 

What tool should you use to create your cheesemonger shop business plan?

If you want to write a convincing business plan quickly and efficiently, a good solution is to use an online business plan software for business start-ups like the one we offer at The Business Plan Shop.

Using The Business Plan Shop to create a business plan for a cheesemonger shop has several advantages :

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete startup business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast by importing accounting data
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using our solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here.

Raise the financing needed to launch your cheesemonger shop

With your business plan in hand, you can tackle one of the final steps to open a cheesemonger shop  business: the search for financing.

Raising the capital needed to launch your business will probably require a combination of equity and debt, which are the two types of financing available to companies.

Equity funding

Equity is the sum of money invested in a cheesemonger shop by both founders and investors.

Equity is a key factor in business start-ups. Should the project fail, the sums invested in equity are likely to be lost; these sums therefore enable the founders to send a strong signal to their commercial and financial partners as to their conviction in the project's chances of success.

In terms of return on investment, equity investors can either receive dividends from the company (provided it is profitable) or realize capital gains by selling their shares (provided a buyer is interested in the company).

Equity providers are therefore in a very risky position. They can lose everything in the event of bankruptcy, and will only see a return on their investment if the company is profitable or resold. On the other hand, they can generate a very high return if the project is a success.

Given their position, equity investors look for start-up projects with sufficient growth and profitability potential to offset their risk.

From a technical standpoint, equity includes:

• Share capital and premiums: which represent the amount invested by the shareholders. This capital is considered permanent as it is non-refundable. In return for their investment, shareholders receive shares that entitle them to information, decision-making power (voting in general assembly), and the potential to receive a portion of any dividends distributed by the company.
• Director loans: these are examples of non-permanent capital advanced to the company by the shareholders. This is a more flexible way of injecting some liquidity into your company as you can repay director loans at any time.
• Reserves: these represent the share of profits set aside to strengthen the company's equity. Allocating a percentage of your profits to the reserves can be mandatory in certain cases (legal or statutory requirement depending on the legal form of your company). Once allocated in reserves, these profits can no longer be distributed as dividends.
• Investment grants: which represent any non-refundable amounts received by the company to help it invest in long-term assets.
• Other equity: which includes the equity items which don't fit in the other categories. Mostly convertible or derivative instruments. For a small business, it is likely that you won't have any other equity items.

The main sources of equity are as follows:

• Contributions made by the owners.
• Private investors: business angels, friends and family.
• Crowdfunding: raising funds by involving a group of people through campaigns where they contribute money or make donations, often getting something in return for their support.
• Start-up aid, e.g. government loans to help founders build up their start-up capital.

Debt financing

Debt is the other way of financing companies. Unlike equity, debt offers lenders a limited, contractually guaranteed return on their investment.

Your cheesemonger shop undertakes to pay lenders' interest and repay the capital borrowed according to a pre-agreed schedule. Lenders are therefore making money whether or not your company makes a profit.

As a result, the only risk lenders take is that of your cheesemonger shop going bankrupt, so they're extremely conservative and will want to see prudent, hands-on management of the company's finances.

From the point of view of the company and all its stakeholders (workforce, customers, suppliers, etc.), the company's contractual obligation to repay lenders increases the risk for all. As a result, there is a certain caution towards companies which are too heavily indebted.

Businesses can borrow debt in two main ways:

• Against assets: this is the most common way of borrowing. The bank funds a percentage of the price of an asset (a vehicle or a building, for example) and takes the asset as collateral. If the business cannot repay the loan, the bank takes the asset and sells it to reduce losses.
• Against cash flows: the bank looks at how much profit and cash flow the business expects to make in the future. Based on these projections, it assigns a credit risk to the business and decides how much the business can borrow and under what terms (amount, interest rate, and duration of the loan).

It's difficult to borrow against future cash flows when you're starting a cheesemonger shop, because the business doesn't yet have historical data to reassure about the credibility of cash flow forecast.

Borrowing to finance a portion of equipment purchases is therefore often the only option available to founders. The assets that can be financed with this option must also be easy to resell, in the unfortunate event that the bank is forced to seize them, which could limit your options even further.

As far as possible sources of borrowing are concerned, the main ones here are banks and credit institutions. Bear in mind, however, that each institution is different, in terms of the risk it is prepared to accept, what it is willing to finance, and how the risk of your project will be perceived.

In some countries, it is also possible to borrow from private investors (directly or via crowdfunding platforms) or other companies, but not everywhere.

Key points about financing your cheesemonger shop

Multiple solutions are available to help you raise the initial financing you need to open your cheesemonger shop. A minimum amount of equity will be needed to give the project credibility, and bank financing can be sought to complete the financing.

Track your actuals against your forecast

You've reached the end of the road and are ready to launch your cheesemonger shop.

Congratulations and welcome to the fantastic world of entrepreneurship! Celebrate the work you've done so far, and get back to work quickly, because this is where the real work begins.

Your first priority will be to do everything you can to make your business sustainable (and thus avoid being one of the 50% of start-ups that fail within five years of launching).

Your business plan will be your best ally to ensure that you're on track to achieve your objectives, or to help rectify the situation if necessary.

The key to financial management is to regularly compare your actual accounting data with your cheesemonger shop forecasts, in order to be able to :

• Quantify the gaps between what you planned and what you achieved
• Adjust your financial forecasts as the year progresses to maintain visibility over your future cash flow

No one can predict the future with certainty, but by closely monitoring the variances between actuals and forecasts, regularly adjusting your forecasts and simulating several scenarios, you can prepare your cheesemonger shop for the worst while hoping for the best.

It's the only way to keep an eye on your cash flow and actively manage the development of your cheesemonger shop, ultimately reducing the risk to your company. 

There's nothing worse than waiting for your company's annual accounts to close, which can be many months after the end of your financial year (up to nine months in the UK for example), only to realize that you've fallen far short of your forecasts for the past year, and that your cheesemonger shop urgently needs a cash injection to keep going.

That's why it's strongly recommended to use a financial planning and analysis solution that integrates forecasting, scenario analysis, and actuals vs. forecast tracking, like we do at The Business Plan Shop with our financial dashboards.

Key takeaways

• This guide outlines the 15 key steps to open a cheesemonger shop.
• The financial forecast is the tool that will enable you to validate the financial viability of your business idea.
• The business plan is the document that will enable you to approach your financial and commercial partners to convince them of the strengths of your project and secure the financing you need to launch your business.
• The real work begins once you've launched your business, and the only way to maintain visibility of your company's future cash flow is to keep your forecast up to date.
• Using a financial planning and analysis platform that combines forecasting, business planning and actual vs. forecast tracking and monitoring, such as The Business Plan Shop, makes the process easier and reduces the risks involved in starting a business.

We hope this guide has helped you understand how to start a cheesemonger shop. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• Business plan samples for start-ups

Do you know someone who wants to know how to open a cheesemonger shop? Share our guide with them!