A taproom can simply be described as a room where alcoholic drinks are sold on tap, especially beers; it can also be a bar in a pub or hotel.
You want to open a taproom mainly because you are an expert in mixing drinks or you just feel the 9 to 5 lifestyle is not the type of lifestyle you want; then you can go ahead because taproom business is a very lucrative business that you can keep running for a long time. With a well-thought-out plan, then your customer can boldly say, “your taproom can be one of the best taprooms near me.”
In this article, you will find out detailed information about opening a taproom and running it successfully. Below is the checklist for opening a taproom.
1. Have A Taproom Business Plan.
Having a well-written business plan will guide you through major decision-making, helps in being consistent in your decision-making, and get you a business loan in a situation where you are hoping to get one.
Hence, your business plan for opening a taproom should include the following:
- Executive Summary
The executive summary part of your business plan simply shows a simple version of your entire plan on a page.
- Company Description
This section will state your mission statement, values, and goals.
- Product Description, Menu, and Pricing
You have to create an exhaustive layout of all the products and identify the pricing and cost of each product.
- Marketing Strategy
You determine the way and means you will like to reach your customers and how to keep them.
- SWOT Analysis
You have to note your strengths and weaknesses to plan for pitfalls.
- Organizational Overview
You have to determine how you want your taproom as an organization to run. Do you want someone in charge of the operations to move smoothly, or can you run it yourself and make the decision moving ahead?
- Financial Plan And Projections
You have to make adequate research on how much it will cost you to open a taproom business in the location of your choice. Your financial planning should outline a detailed cash flow for the first year of running the taproom.
A detailed business plan for a taproom is an easy way to get started if you want to run a successful taproom business, mainly because he fails to plan plans to fail.
2. Set Up Your Business Structure
To start a taproom business or even any type of business at all, one of the first major things to do is to decide how you want the company to be structured that it do you want it to be solely owned by you or you want to partner with other people or person that have the same business idea in mind.
3. Choose A Taproom Concept
One of the most important things to do when you want to run a successful taproom business is to have your idea of what you want your taproom business to look like; what exactly do you think will set your taproom business apart from others. The need to set your business apart is crucial because the taproom business is saturated already.
The following ideas may help you set your business apart from others:
- Desire to offer your customers the highest quality of products.
- Selling only specific drinks and beers.
- Offering your customers unique entertainment such as open mic night, karaoke, and the like.
- Offering your customers the lowest price they can find in town.
4. Pick A Name, Trademark Your Name And Logo
Decide on the name you would like to call your taproom business, then go ahead and create a logo; your logo should depict the type of taproom you are running and the menu you have.
Then you can go ahead to trademark your name and logo; using a trademark grants you protection for your taproom name and logo within a selected area; you have to register your trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register your trademarks with the United States Patent enforce protection.
If you don’t know how to go about the trademark of taproom name and logo, it is advisable to hire an intellectual property attorney.
5. Obtain Required Licenses
To avoid legal issues, you need to ensure that your taproom business is properly licensed before you start running the business.
To serve food, alcohol, and music as well, in your taproom, licenses are required to be obtained. Some of these licenses are easy to obtain, while some can be complicated.
The licenses that need to be acquired are listed below but are not limited to:
- Liquor license
- Foodservice license
- Signage Permit
- Music permit
6. Choose A Location.
Getting a good location is everything; when you are choosing the location for your taproom, below are a few factors you need to consider are; the style of taproom you will love to run, accessibility and parking space, demographics, zoning restrictions, rent, and utility cost and so on.
7. Design your taproom
Designing your taproom, your style of design is everything because your customers will be at your taproom to socialize, relax, and have a nice time; hence selecting the appropriate decoration, furniture, and music is very important.
8. Track Your Inventory
Keep of inventory is very important to accept the taproom business; you have to keep track of your cost of sales. To make inventory keeping easy, ensure you have a taproom point of sale system installed. You can use point of sales such as steadyserv technologies, be spot, and avero.
Tracking your inventory properly will help you know how to fix prices for your items and know which of your items are most profitable. Hence, with this knowledge, you can advise your attendees on which items to recommend to customers more often.
9. Employ Competent Staff
Having a great bar at the best location and all without competent staff will be an epic fall at the long. This ensures to employ great bartenders that are creative, motivated, and excited about doing their job.
