Monday May 17, 2010 | 8 comments
Before starting our retail business, we focused on wholesale and exporting, which is quite different. So when we opened our tea shop, we encountered a lot of problems. Now that those problems have been resolved, I wanted to share my experiences in the hope that they would be helpful to someone wanting to start a retail tea business.
The first question we asked ourselves was: which business model we should adopt? Would our business be based on high volume or building relationships. This plays an important role in choosing a shop location. If you go with high volume, you’ll need a good location, which generally means higher rent. However, if you focus is on building relationships, you can just pick a convenient room with a graceful environment, and pay less rent. If you choose a place near government bureaus or big company headquarters, you will need to offer higher grade tea and more tea gifts.
After choosing to focus on building relationships, our next challenge was the decor. It needed to be as simple as possible and yet, at the same time, reflect Chinese culture. When guests come into our shop, they should feel like they are walking into Chinese culture, where all aspects of that culture – music, history, handwriting, buddha – can be discussed. Make sure the character of your shop reflects you.
Next, it is critical to find reliable suppliers. You can import your teas from local or international wholesalers. My suggestion is to go with a local wholesaler, if possible, for most of your teas because they can give you more assistance and can accept small orders. However, you may want to import a few special high-grade teas from a Chinese or other international wholesaler. After all, the best way to learn about tea is from tea farmer, right?
At the beginning, you should keep your menu as short as possible, expanding it based on feedback from your customers. Otherwise, you, as well as your customers, may get confused.
And finally, network with other tea entrepreneurs!
Best wishes on your business(es) Daniel..you have a passion for the tea!
Please keep us posted as to your progress. It takes courage to open or expand a business in this economy. We wish you the best of luck in this project.
Does any one have good ideas about the World Cup? As a tea merchant, can we get our business join the football feast?
daniel
P.S. Thanks Walden and Michelle.
This is wonderful advice,thank you!
I am only 25 and although young I do wish to also open a teahouse with a few tweaks of course to the shop.
I have fallen in love with the Gong Fu ceremony and the shops in SanFran and now since i live in KS there is nothing like that here,so my only option is to open shop.
Please keep us posted on your progress!
Hi David, I just heard Seth Godin talked about “good at talking vs good at doing”: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/05/good-at-talking-vs-good-at-doing.html
I mean, just do it or you’ll not know what gonna be forever.
daniel
Daniel,
I didn’t know you were also in retail. Your experiences will, no doubt, prove valuable for anyone considering such a venture.
Keep us posted on your experiences.
Joel
Joel, it’s my first retail store and at the begining there are tons of hard time.
but I’m always trying to find its unique business model, now I get part of it clear, I want to open a new market, open Family Tea Lounge, it’s not even a store, it’s a lounge for friends held in home. I’m gonna open our second store in this type in another City.
There are so many tea giants in China, so I have to find my unique way, I’ll discuss with you and let you guys help ajust my idea.
By the way, I’m trying to make my website more Chinese and more interesting, but I find I can’t do it by myself, I got let someone help me, any suggestions?
daniel
Building a tea shop based on relationships is what we need in the world today. There are too many fast food type places that have no personality or relationship with the customer.