Coffee Kiosk - Underground Station

[prometheus-rising]

Hi,


I am a rookie with some bit sof experience in the industry and have just won a tender for a small kiosk in a London Underground station. I want to set up a quality coffee effort with some snacks as well. I would want to become known for the quality of our coffee. I have a passion for coffee etc but want to set up a viable business that works hile at the same time pressing my buttons. I would want to treat it as a toe in the water with intentions of possibly setting up other shops.
The intention was to keep my job while my nephew became a partner and worked in the shop with me helping here nd there.
Unfortunately my nephew has got cold feet and it looks like he is going to pull out. So.... I am a little stuck
He would be leaving a job he hates but one of the things that has put him off is the London Underground want 6 months rent deposit which is kept in an account and returned to you at the end of the term - with interest. They also want 3 months up front for the duration of the term. Also on top of yearly rental they want 12% of turnover. The build costs for the unit are relatively low given it is very samll and virtually a shell. Then there is a fridge and drinks fridge and legal costs of about £750 I think total up front costs including deposit will be approximately £10000.
The station has 1.8 million footfall and the kiosk is in the booking hall of the station with visibility and access to passing trade on the street. There are also a number of retail businesses and offices etc who could provide custom. there is no competition nearby so we would have a captive audience.
My nephew has cold feet because he is being advised that the business will probably not be lucrative enough and he thinks the initial costs will take a long time to recoup.
So I guess my questions are::
- Is it risky to set up on my own employing someone to work in a new business
- My initial target for coffee sales is 100 per day within a month. Does this sound ambitious? Are there any other owners of similar businesses out there who could help? I would like to help my nephew understand the potential of the shop.
- Is there an equation for working out footfall to sale conversion
- Any ideas on other options I could entertain to make this business work while retaining my salaried job (I have two young kids and a mortgage etc)

Hope

 

[Scalloway]

Have you done any sums to see how many cups of coffee you would need to sell to make money?

 

[Teagirl]

What trading hours are you proposing? Even if your nephew does stay involved, my immediate thought is that you're going to need staff as well - not only for resilience (holiday, sickness etc) but if you plan on capturing the commuter market both ends of the day, you'll need to operate a two shift staffing rota.

 

[prometheus-rising]

Hi scalloway thanks for the response. I worked out based on paying someone 12000 a year working a 5 day week all overheads come to about 100 per day. If I sell coffee at about 2.00 a cup that's 50 cups of coffee only

 

[prometheus-rising]

Hello teagirl, thanks for response. The plan is a five day week and just to start with my nephew was going to man the place from first train to 6pm. Reason for this is to monitor and evaluate takings across the whole day and thenvwe would start making decisions about other staff. I actually use the station every day as it is a 10 minute walk from my Ouse. To start I was going to help out in the morning rush and them nip on my train to work

 

[Paul Norman]

Those rental terms from London Underground are extremely aggressive. I would be very reluctant, personally.

Of course, if you sell enough coffee, it could be a good return. Hard work though! I would go loiter outside an existing place and see what the sales throughput looks like. Personally, I would want to be selling about 200 cups a day minimum at your £2 a cup.

 

[Teagirl]

Sounds like you've got the unit for a peppercorn rent - which is probably why there's a link to turnover included in the agreement.

I can understand your nephews reluctance from a practical perspective; it's a huge commitment for him to work 12/13 hours a day, on his own for most of it, at a pay rate that will be approximately half minimum wage!

 

[prometheus-rising]

Those rental terms from London Underground are extremely aggressive. I would be very reluctant, personally.

Of course, if you sell enough coffee, it could be a good return. Hard work though! I would go loiter outside an existing place and see what the sales throughput looks like. Personally, I would want to be selling about 200 cups a day minimum at your £2 a cup.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for responding. I do not have the experience to know how other landlords work but in addition to what I have already mentioned they have a clause that states they can kick me out with 3 months notice at best or 28 days notice if necessary. This is in all LUL contracts because their chief concern is the transpost business dso if they need the premises or plan to make changes to the station it is a priority to them. The chances of it happening are very slim, I understand.
About lotiering its hard to find a like for like scenario. There is a coffee van that sits near where I work for 3 hours every morning and he says he sells 120 cups a day. It's not central london and there is a big company nearby and a few other companies but there is loads of competition some of them big brands.
My idea of 100 cups was my initial target but yes 200 cups a day would be better with the addition of any snacks and soft drinks I sell to augment the figures (mark up not as good though)

 

[prometheus-rising]

Sounds like you've got the unit for a peppercorn rent - which is probably why there's a link to turnover included in the agreement.

I can understand your nephews reluctance from a practical perspective; it's a huge commitment for him to work 12/13 hours a day, on his own for most of it, at a pay rate that will be approximately half minimum wage!

Hi Teagirl - the rent is £7200. LUL have recently changed their terms as they did not have turnover rent before so you could have had a unit foor around that sum. In some ways they have made it harder for a small start up to decide.
In terms of my nephew, I don't want to come across as a slave driver. He will be half owner of the business so any eventual profits would be shared between us and invested back into the business as appropriate. To eb fair he already works awful hours including weekends. The commitment would be week days only with the occasional Saturday to serve football fan footfall. He would only be working those hours right at the start and he would be receiving lots of support from me - buying stock, days off etc. He only lives up the road from the unit as well so his travel costs for the current job would go too. Once we know where we are at then we would look at employing some part time staff.


Can I just say to all who have posted thank you very much for such a quick reaction to my post. Mucj appreciated and I hope I can do the same for others as i go along

 

[prometheus-rising]

The other point worth making is some warnings we are getting is the business would not do well enough. This advice we got from a businessman of many years - not in this business (import and distribution). He said we would be lucky to achieve 3% of the station footfall so should base it on 1.5%. This does not allow for the unknown passing footfall and local businesses becoming customers. Does this sound reasonable? How can you really know? I guess sometimes you simply have to take a punt at it.

For the future there is also an opportunity to expand into a simple lunch time food take away offering as there are currently gaps in the local market for certain product offerings

 

[bovine]

These types of sites are always a bit tricky - some do really well and some dont. The location is as always key, but just because you have a high footfall does not mean they want to purchase a coffee at this location. If you are in an area where people are always rushing past, they may not want to stop and grab a coffee. But coffee can give you very good margins, so it may be worth a punt. Get top quality coffee and training on how to prepare it properly (none of these rubbish cappuccinos from main stream coffee shops). The best coffee i've come across is monmouth coffee - they have their own sites as well as supply wholesale and train. I suggest you check them out, they are based in london.

Opening times - can be tricky and you need factual evidence as to when are the best times to open. You may find that closing at 6 is too early - what about the evening rush hour?

Staffing is going to be a challenge as well - if you rely on one staff member/ your nephew, what happens if he is ill? Who is going to cover at short notice? Who is going to cover his toilet and lunch breaks?

My advice - get a good coffee and machine. Learn how to make fantastic coffees. Get a decent till so you can get good information about sales. Get good branding. Get some good snacks/ biscuits to go with it.

For guidance, check out some of the other kiosks in the other stations. Its been a while, but AMT used to have loads of standalone units in many stations - see how they do it. They have been established a long time and started just when coffee shops/kiosks as we now know them were taking off.

 

[deniser]

I know someone who runs two of these and does very well although a third didn't and closed down. The ones which work are inside the station and the one which didn't was just outside. The people who work there are masters of multi tasking and make the drinks at speed and several at once, much quicker than the people work in the branded coffee shops.

Have you worked out how long it takes to make a cup or coffee and whether you can make one fast enough to sell sufficient coffees during the busy times? If people see a bit of a queue they won't wait.

As a customer I can see that it is better to take people's orders up the queue and then make the coffees simultaneously as once they have paid they won't leave - but I can also see that some coffee shop staff are incapable of focusing on more than one task at once so can't do this and by ignoring people who are waiting they lose a lot of customers.

 

[chalkie99]

I don't know anything about the business but a couple of things are leaping out at me from your various comments.

The station has 1.8 million footfall

What does that actually mean? If that is an annual figure it's only around 5,000 per day and, if they are commuters, that could be just 2,500 people doing a return journey.

You say it's a ten minute walk from your house so I'm guessing it could be the same for a lot of other users. Would they really spend out on a drink so close to home?

Are you really able to get reliable staff in a high cost area to work for minimum wage and can you trust them not to supplement their earnings by pocketing cash?

How have you "won a tender" without actually being committed to it?

The rent sounds cheap to me but surely the Underground are experts in assessing the values of their lets so maybe they know it won't generate much revenue.

 

[prometheus-rising]

These types of sites are always a bit tricky - some do really well and some dont. The location is as always key, but just because you have a high footfall does not mean they want to purchase a coffee at this location. If you are in an area where people are always rushing past, they may not want to stop and grab a coffee. But coffee can give you very good margins, so it may be worth a punt. Get top quality coffee and training on how to prepare it properly (none of these rubbish cappuccinos from main stream coffee shops). The best coffee i've come across is monmouth coffee - they have their own sites as well as supply wholesale and train. I suggest you check them out, they are based in london.

Opening times - can be tricky and you need factual evidence as to when are the best times to open. You may find that closing at 6 is too early - what about the evening rush hour?

Staffing is going to be a challenge as well - if you rely on one staff member/ your nephew, what happens if he is ill? Who is going to cover at short notice? Who is going to cover his toilet and lunch breaks?

My advice - get a good coffee and machine. Learn how to make fantastic coffees. Get a decent till so you can get good information about sales. Get good branding. Get some good snacks/ biscuits to go with it.

For guidance, check out some of the other kiosks in the other stations. Its been a while, but AMT used to have loads of standalone units in many stations - see how they do it. They have been established a long time and started just when coffee shops/kiosks as we now know them were taking off.

Hi, thanks for this. I am looking at quality coffee and a good machine for sure - I wouldn't do it any other way otherwise I wouldn't be interested. The same with snacks. I have been doing some research kiosks in stations and I have been a customer on many.
More research is not a bad thing though
Thanks for the points abpout practicialities. The loo is very close to the unit so it would be easy to pop to but yes the logistics would need to be thought about. Lunch breaks are another one we would have to work out...

 

[prometheus-rising]

I know someone who runs two of these and does very well although a third didn't and closed down. The ones which work are inside the station and the one which didn't was just outside. The people who work there are masters of multi tasking and make the drinks at speed and several at once, much quicker than the people work in the branded coffee shops.

Have you worked out how long it takes to make a cup or coffee and whether you can make one fast enough to sell sufficient coffees during the busy times? If people see a bit of a queue they won't wait.

As a customer I can see that it is better to take people's orders up the queue and then make the coffees simultaneously as once they have paid they won't leave - but I can also see that some coffee shop staff are incapable of focusing on more than one task at once so can't do this and by ignoring people who are waiting they lose a lot of customers.

Hi, yes the multi tasking bit is a must. Acknowledging people as they approach and asking them what they want seems sensible. Once people become regulars we would become familiar with their order which will make it easier. We have been discussing the queue and we think people getting on a train will be in more of a hurry than those who have arrived at their destination. Also worth noting the station has an overland train into town as well and these trains come less frequently and people are used to being there and waiting longer for their trains. They may have more time to stop.

The isea was for two people to manage the early morning (me and my nephew) and then take it from there. the idea would be to build good will with great coffee and service and see what we are dealing with and adjust accordngly - this could be employing someone

 

[Teagirl]

I can see how it would work as an owner-run concern, but if your nephew has pulled out, I'm not sure how realistic it will be (financially and practically) for you to be able to employ a single staff member to run it from startup if you're not available to cover. If your employee calls in with a sickness bug, for instance they'll be off for two or three days and from what you've said, you might have to close the kiosk if you can't get all that time off your salaried job.

If your trading hours are unreliable, you'll struggle to secure repeat/regular trade - commuters are creatures of habit and they won't change where they buy their coffee (no matter how good yours is) if they're not sure if you'll be open or not.

You might be able to get an idea of potential peak times by spending a day at the station watching and talking to the staff and passengers. Do the arriving passengers have coffee with them? What about the departing passengers? How far do they travel on the train (if its only a couple of stops, are they likely to buy coffee)? Is it a regular route for college/uni students - if so, what time do they travel? (They tend to travel a bit later so you could get a student rush just as you are planning on getting on your train to work, for instance?). Are there travelling school children? They might not buy coffee, but they might want snacks/bottles/milkshakes. I'm not familiar with the underground, but I'm guessing that stations have varying profiles in terms of passengers - is that data available? What was in the unit before it became available? Why did that business close?

I don't mean to be negative - these are the sort of things I wish I'd done more research on before I took on my cafe - fortunately, it's worked out for me so far, but it was a 24/7 commitment for the whole of the first year, with a few expensive mistakes along the way. I'd be wary of going into partnership with your nephew if he's reluctant - it might be a lot more expensive if he bails on you in a few months time.

 

[prometheus-rising]

I can see how it would work as an owner-run concern, but if your nephew has pulled out, I'm not sure how realistic it will be (financially and practically) for you to be able to employ a single staff member to run it from startup if you're not available to cover. If your employee calls in with a sickness bug, for instance they'll be off for two or three days and from what you've said, you might have to close the kiosk if you can't get all that time off your salaried job.

If your trading hours are unreliable, you'll struggle to secure repeat/regular trade - commuters are creatures of habit and they won't change where they buy their coffee (no matter how good yours is) if they're not sure if you'll be open or not.

You might be able to get an idea of potential peak times by spending a day at the station watching and talking to the staff and passengers. Do the arriving passengers have coffee with them? What about the departing passengers? How far do they travel on the train (if its only a couple of stops, are they likely to buy coffee)? Is it a regular route for college/uni students - if so, what time do they travel? (They tend to travel a bit later so you could get a student rush just as you are planning on getting on your train to work, for instance?). Are there travelling school children? They might not buy coffee, but they might want snacks/bottles/milkshakes. I'm not familiar with the underground, but I'm guessing that stations have varying profiles in terms of passengers - is that data available? What was in the unit before it became available? Why did that business close?

I don't mean to be negative - these are the sort of things I wish I'd done more research on before I took on my cafe - fortunately, it's worked out for me so far, but it was a 24/7 commitment for the whole of the first year, with a few expensive mistakes along the way. I'd be wary of going into partnership with your nephew if he's reluctant - it might be a lot more expensive if he bails on you in a few months time.

Hi Teagirl, I don't see your comments as negative. On the contrary they are exactly what I would want people to ask me. I wouldn't be posting here if I couldn't accept being challenged. I am not a big risk taker and I do like to research and analyse things as much as i can.

I think my nephew has been spooked a bit now he has seen the terms of the contract. He has to leave his job to do this. He was dead on before this. I have been in touch with TFL and they are willing to negotiate as follows:


Rent: £7200 per annum
Turnover percentage: 10% per annum
Deposit: 3 monnths rent paid up front and returned at end of lease term with interest
Lease length: 6 years
Break clause: 2 years. 6 month notice with full deposit returned
Business rates: £4600 but ths business is exempt as it falls below local authority threshold - whoopee!

Other costs:
Kiosk fit out including applicances 9not coffee machine) = £4500 tops. Done by a friend

to answer someof your questions and more see below:
- Completely see your point about my nephew. If he did go for it it would not be sustainable for him to work full time there on his own however he would have support from me, his father, my wife (she works part time so can collect some stock if necessary etc) But I stress the idea would be for this to be a temporary arrangement while the business is built up for the first year.
- outlet used to sell newspapers and some crisps and confectionary. It was an old guy and the place had no decoration - he was literally working out of a shell.
- I use the station for commuting and have been haging around with my clicker watching people (mainly in the morning to be fair) I see the odd person getting on the train with coffee cups
- i have not seen anyone getting off trains with coffee
- I see quite a few people hanging around outside having been decanted at the station
- Commuters mainly go into central london. i Know this because I do not go that far and the vast majority of people who get on the train at the stop do not get off at my stop
- The kiosk is very close to and visible to passing footfall on the street.
- there are linking bus stops around the corner from the station which lots of people use to get to the station to continue their commute.
- Some school children use the stop but not many
- no university/student footfall really
-Data available is only footfall which is 1.8 million
- The station has an underground plus a network rail service. Some people swap between the two and others get on at the stop for one or the other
- There are a number of retail businesses, offices, supermarket and various other types of business nearby although you would class it as a secondary high street.
- lots of footfall at certain times on a weekend for fans taking the train to watch their fooball team

The future
- Planning permission is being sought for housing, multiplex cinema, restaurants another supermarket right behind the station which will presumably bring more footfall to the area. Although I accept this could bring some competition too.
- Planning permission being sought for a small housng dvelopment about 100 metres from the station which i assume will bring more footfall to the area.


Alternative to my nephew is how much would i need to pay for decent staff on an hourly basis?


Is this worth a punt?

 

[Vectis]

From a personal viewpoint, as a customer, I'd be more likely to buy my coffee after I get off the tube rather than take it on a crowded tube train with me. So, for me it would depend if most people are commuting from your station or commuting to it.

Also, are commuters willing to hang around in a queue, and possibly miss their train, waiting for a cappuccino to be made, milk frothed etc? At a mainline station I'd say this is more likely, hence the coffee shops on mainline platforms, as the wait for trains is usually longer and there's usually seats around. My experience of commuting on the underground is people don't want to hang around - it's get to the station, swipe their Oyster card and get on the train asap. Commuters tend not to loiter around in my experience.

I"d also be wondering why there's no small Costa or similar outlets at the station already? You get these at petrol stations etc now and I'd be thinking about why they haven't moved into that market if there's a profit to be made?

 

[prometheus-rising]

From a personal viewpoint, as a customer, I'd be more likely to buy my coffee after I get off the tube rather than take it on a crowded tube train with me. So, for me it would depend if most people are commuting from your station or commuting to it.

Also, are commuters willing to hang around in a queue, and possibly miss their train, waiting for a cappuccino to be made, milk frothed etc? At a mainline station I'd say this is more likely, hence the coffee shops on mainline platforms, as the wait for trains is usually longer and there's usually seats around. My experience of commuting on the underground is people don't want to hang around - it's get to the station, swipe their Oyster card and get on the train asap. Commuters tend not to loiter around in my experience.

I"d also be wondering why there's no small Costa or similar outlets at the station already? You get these at petrol stations etc now and I'd be thinking about why they haven't moved into that market if there's a profit to be made?

Thanks for the post Vectis. Firstly, yes, there are more commuters going away than arriving at the station in the morning. I have been deliberating the question of people wanting to get on the train with a coffee and the wait for a coffee too. I agree with you to an extent. I think it may depend on when people are travelling. The tube from this station does normally have available seats even between the 07:30 - 09:00 time slots, so if someone wanted a seat while they drank a hot drink it would be possible. The train tends to fill up further down the line. Also I have been wondering whether the early commuters (05:30 - 07:30) may be more likely to buy a drink as the trains will be even emptier. There is a waiting room and many benches on the platform too however I do see the point that many people may not be interested at this point of their journey. There is a main line platform at the station too with trains that stop less frequently. They also have a waiting area.
The goal would be to offer the majority of commuters into town a new choice - obviously not just coffee but some snacks, soft drinks etc as well. Hopefully selling to a percentage of them. Hopefully a larger percentage of commuters arriving at the station will buy a coffee. There is the passing trade from the street, throughout the day. There is also the local businesses who may have a coffee in the morning or even later in the day - elevenses or tea time.

Future wise there is the option to offer a lunch snack offering - products not currently offered in existing food outlets.
Concerning the Costa question I believe these are franchised and it costs a fair bit to buy into it. I wonder whether these costs would be prohibitive and the profits not sufficient to be worth it. Not sure.

The question is if overheads are reasonable can the place muster over 100 coffees a day from these various customers, augmented by smaller margin sales like soft drinks and snacks - pay it's way and make some profits?

 

[Talay]

Sorry but this is a no brain loser.

As mentioned, folk buy coffee on their way out, not on their way in. They also only buy it near their office, so any numbers relating to people transiting through this station are meaningless.

Go look at a real busy station like Waterloo and see just what business they do outside rush hours - virtually none in some places. Others such a fresh fruit in boxes which can be picked up in seconds sell hundreds each morning.

Coffee takes too long and people will not queue, you have to sell something quicker to dispense.

 

[IanG]

Quick question - what happened to the last guy?

 

[Merchant UK]

Ok Coming from someone who uses the underground alot, Coffee is great in the winter when most stations are cold and windy but in the summer when its hot and sweaty your not going to sell very many cups of coffee, so by turning the business into a little coffee bar may have its downfalls.

You also need to remember that most stations have very near or even on the station a costa coffee and starbucks, This is your competition can you compete with them?? Alot of people who drink coffee in London do so at each play out of loyalty and because they like the particular coffee. So for that reason i think your going to struggle.

Your best bet would be to offer a variety of things, Cold drinks, Sweets, chocolates, Chrisps, Sandwiches, and you could get a small coffee vending machine to dispense coffee and teas when required. But when the seasons change on the underground and you only have 2 seasons Hot and Cold you need to be seen adapting to cater for the majority of what people want, The the minority with just coffee.

Never seen many football fans drinking coffee have you?? Cold drinks and Hot Pies!! That what they want!!

Good luck on whatever you decide

 

[prometheus-rising]

Sorry but this is a no brain loser.

As mentioned, folk buy coffee on their way out, not on their way in. They also only buy it near their office, so any numbers relating to people transiting through this station are meaningless.

Go look at a real busy station like Waterloo and see just what business they do outside rush hours - virtually none in some places. Others such a fresh fruit in boxes which can be picked up in seconds sell hundreds each morning.

Coffee takes too long and people will not queue, you have to sell something quicker to dispense.

Hi thanks for this. My brother set up an outlet at a mainline station just inside the m25. Yearly footfall at the station was 900,000 half that of this station. The outlet was on the platform completely exposed to the weather which he found a real challenge. The trains when they arrived were quite full as there were not many more stations left for central london. Also he had no passing trade opportunity or local businesses nearby who could provide additional income. The place would be dead for commuters most of the rest of the day. He would sell 45 - 50 coffees a day excluding teas and because he had a grill breakfast rolls etc

I have thought about grab and go products as well like fruit pots and mueseli pots. What other suggestions do youvhave?

 

[Talay]

I have thought about grab and go products as well like fruit pots and mueseli pots. What other suggestions do youvhave?

You are just grasping at any business idea to fill this available outlet without doing any research, despite your brother apparently owning a similar sort of "money pit" himself.

Get off the internet and down to this place and many others like it. Don't rush into signing anything. You need significant research and need to talk to potential customers.

I sometimes transit through Waterloo and if I ever buy anything, which is rare, it is an impulse buy for something I can put in my pocket, like chewing gum. However, I also think the prices they charge are ridiculous and would not, on principle, make it a regular stopping off place, just like I do not do my main shopping at the expensive, but convenient, corner shop.

 

[crowstone68]

I couldn't agree more, I've heard of people doing this before and being stunned when there is no real trade despite their research indicating huge numbers of potential customers. If there is nobody doing this already, it's probably for a good reason I'm afraid.

 

[Twoscoops]

Worth a punt? I reckon it is, but only if your coffee is really, really good. I personally wouldn't hang around waiting for the queue to go down at AMT or Starbucks, but coffee lovers will wait for great coffee. However, I also reckon it would only succeed with 100% commitment from yourself. I certainly wouldn't try and get this up and running and keep my regular job if I was just starting out - I would be there 14 hours a day, which is what I did when I set up my current business and my first business, both retail.

 

[danielhewitt]

Hi,


I am a rookie with some bit sof experience in the industry and have just won a tender for a small kiosk in a London Underground station. I want to set up a quality coffee effort with some snacks as well. I would want to become known for the quality of our coffee. I have a passion for coffee etc but want to set up a viable business that works hile at the same time pressing my buttons. I would want to treat it as a toe in the water with intentions of possibly setting up other shops.
The intention was to keep my job while my nephew became a partner and worked in the shop with me helping here nd there.
Unfortunately my nephew has got cold feet and it looks like he is going to pull out. So.... I am a little stuck
He would be leaving a job he hates but one of the things that has put him off is the London Underground want 6 months rent deposit which is kept in an account and returned to you at the end of the term - with interest. They also want 3 months up front for the duration of the term. Also on top of yearly rental they want 12% of turnover. The build costs for the unit are relatively low given it is very samll and virtually a shell. Then there is a fridge and drinks fridge and legal costs of about £750 I think total up front costs including deposit will be approximately £10000.
The station has 1.8 million footfall and the kiosk is in the booking hall of the station with visibility and access to passing trade on the street. There are also a number of retail businesses and offices etc who could provide custom. there is no competition nearby so we would have a captive audience.
My nephew has cold feet because he is being advised that the business will probably not be lucrative enough and he thinks the initial costs will take a long time to recoup.
So I guess my questions are::
- Is it risky to set up on my own employing someone to work in a new business
- My initial target for coffee sales is 100 per day within a month. Does this sound ambitious? Are there any other owners of similar businesses out there who could help? I would like to help my nephew understand the potential of the shop.
- Is there an equation for working out footfall to sale conversion
- Any ideas on other options I could entertain to make this business work while retaining my salaried job (I have two young kids and a mortgage etc)

Hope

I'm in the process of doing exactly the same idea, would like to share info, I couldn't PM you as the site won't allow!?