Developing a liquor store business plan that covers all critical elements and keeps your business on track can be a big task. What if you miss something important and your business suffers as a result?
Liquor stores are some of the most challenging retail shops to open. When competition is cutthroat, regulations are strict, and the initial startup costs are steep, you can’t afford not to plan your business as well as possible early on.
For your business plan to be as comprehensive and practical as you need it to be, make sure to review the following four tips we’ve rounded up for you.
Table of Contents
Operational Plans and Structure
Dedicated Point of Sale Technology
Bonus - Ultimate Guide to Opening a Liquor Store
Writing a liquor store business plan that sets you up for success is essential in such a tough market. Thankfully, there are some key business plan components that are especially effective for liquor stores.
A business plan should act as an all-in-one guideline for what your business is about, how it’s structured, how to maximize profits, and how it will continue to grow. Check out these core five components of an effective business plan for your liquor store.
1. Liquor Store Business Plan Executive Summary
No business plan is complete without a well-thought-out executive summary. An executive summary boils down the most critical parts of your business plan. A finalized executive summary clearly maps out your business’ selling points and provides essential information.
A well-planned executive summary has these elements:
- A snapshot of your business
- A description of your competition
- Which market(s) you are planning to compete in
- A vision for the future growth of your business
- What your business’ financial needs are
If thinking of how to open a liquor store, a business plan is definitely the first place to start! To make this easy for you, check out the ultimate guide to opening a liquor store, here.
2. Liquor Store Market Research and Competition Analysis
The liquor store market is highly competitive, with only 25 percent of sales coming from the top 50 companies. Many liquor store consumers make their decisions based on convenience, marketing, and competitive pricing. With the market being ruled by smaller liquor stores and not the industry giants, it’s imperative to distinguish your business from the rest. Your liquor store can stay competitive with the latest trends while creating customer loyalty with the right market research.
Your marketplace and competition analysis should begin with extensive research on the industry’s winning strategies in marketing and sales. This breakdown should analyze your competition and potential niche markets you are interested in. The next step would be finding your unique selling proposition, which is the one factor that differentiates you from your competition. Once you have done research on your competitors and the general marketplace and worked on your brand positioning, you will have crucial information you need for an effective liquor store business plan.
3. Startup Liquor Store Funding
In addition to thinking of how to open your liquor store, you need to start thinking about how you'll keep it running monetarily.
Quality financial management is the difference between a profitable liquor store or one struggling to make ends meet. If all of your business operations are running smoothly, except for your finances, it can be challenging to create longevity in your business. For your liquor store business plan, it’s essential to map out your costs of goods sold (COGS), profitability plan, funding sources, and a funding timeline.
Essentially this section of your business plan should clearly explain where your funding is coming from and how much funding you will need before becoming profitable. This will be indispensable when it comes time to pitch investors or start applying for liquor store financing. When starting any small business, it’s crucial to plan out the best and worst-case scenarios while considering operational investments like a quality point of sale (POS) system.
Related: Top Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail
4. Liquor Store Operational Plans and Structure
Operational planning is central to managing your inventory and employees.
Managing inventory helps by:
- Quickly detecting theft and product loss
- Aiding in supplying evidence for your insurance carrier after an incident
- Creating secure theft prevention procedures
In retail operations, having an operational structure helps prepare for potential business disruptions and manage your inventory.
5. Dedicated Liquor Store Point of Sale (POS) Solutions
Here at POS Nation, we’ve helped thousands of wine and liquor stores get started with a proven POS system equipped with powerful features and toolsets. Our software enables you to manage inventory, bookkeeping, employee management, customer loyalty, and more all in one place.
You’ll be able to focus on growing your business, building high-value relationships with your prospects, and driving repeat customers to your growing business. Let our software help you handle all those operational details seamlessly.
Once you have a grasp of how to craft an excellent liquor store business plan, we recommend downloading our Guide to Liquor Store Inventory Management. This guide gives you all the information you’ll need to understand, structure, and successfully manage your liquor store inventory. What are you waiting for? It’s free! Download the Guide to Liquor Store Inventory Management.
BONUS: The Ultimate Guide to Opening a Liquor Store
You're now properly armed to get to the business of opening a liquor store! Need more? Check out our free download: The Ultimate Guide to Opening a Liquor Store. In it, we dive even deeper into the details of what it takes launch a successful and profitable business.
