Noorah101

Just curious, is the Seattle friend also a love interest? If so, that (marriage) would be the easiest way to get to the USA in the first place, and then start the business. If it really is just a friend, my apologies.

Rene

TheGriffin

Mmm... kind of... From what i can make of the site.

Obviously not running on a french theme. Different food... and coffees.... They have a good selection of tea though

But the homely feel, yes haha

TheGriffin

I read that you cant enter the US without insurance, so that would be at the top of my expenses list

Noorah101

That's not true, but it still should be at the top of your expenses list.

Rene

TheGriffin

Its funny because where i work at the moment theres Black, white, latte, cappuccino and espresso (Which no one ever has btw)

I have worked in places with more options, but in knowing how to make them they are all pretty much the same, a good shot of coffee with something added... Though i am also not actually a coffee drinker. With family being big coffee drinkers and always having a snazzy coffee machine around i know enough, just have no personal opinion.

I think i can only hope that not having a million options could work in my favor? Though in reality probably not... I would have the different milks and subs a few blends....

TheGriffin

Hehe No, just a friend... For now -plots evil plan to marry him- Mwuhaha
FYI Im not on anythingforagreencard.com haha

Though if anything were to happen on my travels it wouldnt be such a bad thing...

This would all be easier if my Mum had married that American pilot she was engaged to when i was a baby! Darn!

Bob

The mention of tea...well, seems that tea places that survive around here have even more options than coffee....with what we'd not really call tea. Chai and all that guff...

If you're going on a Brit theme, might be better off in the transient, Brit transfer hubs such as NYC, Houston or the holiday destination of Orlando, but then probably have different issues there too.

Yorkieabroad

If you're looking at getting into coffee and tea, I would highly recommend attending one of the Coffeefest events. I was toying with the idea of opening a coffee shop, a few years back, before we got diverted into a totally different line...still have a hankering though... Anyway, I went to Coffeefest Seattle in 2003-ish and it was the most productive trade fair I have ever been to. It was a full on 3 day event, and just about every supplier you could hope to meet was there. They had some great seminars on everything from espresso machine calibration to menu formatting to shop design to whatever you can think of to do with coffee/teashops. I can't think of a better way of getting up to speed quickly on who does what and how things work in a new market area. Quick google shows the next one in New York in March...then St Louis in the summer and Portland in the Fall...its bum on plane time

Karrie72

You might want to start with perusing SBA, small business administration. They can help you with anything from loans to low cost classes covering everything you need to know starting up a business.

Code enforcement can be a hugely expensive annoyance, so make sure you're in line with all city and state regulations before you sign expensive leases.

Tea shops don't seem very successful here for some reason. Not sure why...

TheGriffin

All that guff would be on the menu yes I just dont intend on having any tall half cream vanilla soy latte double shots...

Sounds great, ill google that

SBA, ill not that down, i think i may already have their webpage save actually.
Im going to have to do a lot of reading on regulations, its a shame i know my stuff about England and its not transferable.
Tea shops in Maine arent successful? Or just general USA?

Yorkieabroad

I'm a strictly espresso or Americano drinker, and I'm all for simple menus, but if I were you, before making those decisions, I'd spend some time sitting in a Starbucks or whatever listening to what people order....and the markup charged on some of the drinks....

TheGriffin

I have finally finished reading the countless threads that are of use on this site! And all of a sudden i realised, the bajingo did i not look at Canada!?!?
So, off to do a bit of Canadian research now haha!

Yorkieabroad

Karrie72

Yes I recommend SBA, they really helped me when I was starting my business. They even offer special help to female and immigrant entrepreneurs, which is great.

The tea thing...I think Portland, Maine and Seattle have a similar social climate. Tea does really well if it's tied into another pampering sort of service. For example, in Portland we have an aromatherapy foot soak type spa. It's called Soakology, sorry can't do links. Brit tea shops I can't see working though, unless you're in New York, D.C etc. One of my fav places in N.Y is a tea shop called Tea and Sympathy .

TheGriffin

Well, though i say specialise in tea, i only mean by having a wider variety of it. I wont be calling it a tea room.