Project Management - Starting a Term Paper

Total Length: 2430 words ( 8 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 8

Page 1 of 8

PR basically means doing a good thing and speaking about it. In other words, no matter how great the new coffee shop will be, unless it is very well advertised, it will not be worth a dime. The new coffee shop will be advertised on: business cards, T-shirts, travel mugs, coasters, glassware, sport bottles, ceramic cups, and others. Also, the coffee shop could be advertised on radio for greater success.

Macro (Top Down) cost estimate

Starting a coffee shop is a business that requires significant amounts of money. In accordance with the coffee shop's size, the following macro costs are estimated:

For a coffee cart the start-up cost is $20,000-$25,000

For a coffee kiosk, the macro costs are usually between $50,000-$60,000

For a coffee drive-thru, the costs for opening such a location may be very different in accordance with the unit's size, reaching $30,000-$180,000

For a sit down coffee shop, the estimated macro costs reach $150,000-$300,000 (PowerHomeBiz, 2006)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The work breakdown structure principles for opening a coffee shop should e the same as for any project: the 100% rule; planned outcomes, not planned actions; mutually exclusive elements; level of detail and progressive elaboration; WBS coding scheme (Wikipedia, 2007).

The 100% rule is the most important element of WBS. In our case, the 100% rule that is consisted of the project's scope, is designing a coffee shop, with unique and original features.

This step is followed by the planning of outcomes, instead of the planning of actions. The outcomes for this project are:

Designing a unique and original coffee shop finding the new coffee shop's competitive advantage designing the interior of the coffee shop in accordance with the specific features that the new coffee shop is intended to present finding marketing methods for attracting customers once the coffee shop is opened

The WBS construction levels for this project are the following:

WBS Level 1: Coffee shop (100).

WBS Level 2: Interior design (40), machines acquisition (20), furniture acquisition (10), coffee menu (10), chocolate menu (10).

WBS Level 3: Interior design: purchasing the location (10), doing the actual interior design drawings in collaboration with specialized workers (10), creating the actual interior design (20).

5. Schedule and key milestones

The schedule and micro cost estimates for starting a coffee shop is the following:

Searching a location for the new coffee shop - 3 weeks.

Buying or leasing the location - 1 week, $100,000.

Working on the coffee shop's menu - 3 weeks.

Acquiring machines in accordance with the items in the menu - 3 weeks, $80,000.

Setting the interior design of the coffee shop, from the architectural design to the actual construction of the interior, including furniture acquisition - 3 months, $30,000.


Recruiting and selected qualified personnel for the coffee shop - 1 month, $10,000.

Setting and implementing the new coffee shop's marketing strategy - 3

Opening the coffee shop - 1 day, $10,000.

The milestones of starting the coffee shop are: purchasing the most suitable location, acquiring the machines, recruiting and selecting personnel, which will be the coffee shop's most important resource.

6. Project management

Project management must take into consideration three important aspects: time, cost, and scope (Wikipedia, 2007). Therefore, the estimated time for accomplishing this project is about 9 months. The estimated cost for opening the coffee shop reaches about $260,000. The scope of this project is designing a unique and original coffee shop with special services that address to all tastes.

7. Risk management plan

Risk management must integrate risk recognition, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it, and risk mitigation (Wikipedia, 2007).

For this project, the most important risk is consisted by the business plan itself. Given the fact that the entire business's success relies on the estimations in the business plan, if the estimations are not correct, the business will not succeed.

Recommendations

The following lines present a set of recommendations meant to reduce any risk that this business might possibly face and to contribute to ensuring the business's success:

1. The location of the coffee shop should be in a very crowded area, for example next to colleges, office spaces, or train stations. The area in which the coffee shop will be located needs to be very busy, with many people passing by.

2. The financial projections should not be very ambitious. They should be easier to attain.

3. The coffee shop should serve all kinds of coffee that can cover all tastes, from simple to sophisticated ones.

4. The coffee shop should have medium prices, so that it covers a wider range of customers.

5. The coffee shop's competitive advantage should reside in the fact that the coffee shop will also serve chocolate products combined with coffee products.

6. The customers should have access to see how the coffee is done and maybe learn recipes.

7. The coffee shop's personnel should include at least to specialist in making certain types of coffee, and therefore performing real shows regarding coffee maki8ng for the coffee shop's customers.

Appendix

Reference List

Project management (2007). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved June 21, 2007 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management#Project_Objectives.

Quick Plan Coffee Shop (2007). Quickplan. Retrieved June 22, 2007 at http://www.coffeebusinessplan.com/.

Make Money in Your Own Coffee Business (2005). Home Business Center, Inc. Retrieved June 22, 2007 at http://www.homebusinesscenter.com/how_to_start/coffee_shop.html.

Starting a Coffee Shop Business (2006). PowerHomeBiz. Retrieved June 22, 2007 at http://www.powerhomebiz.com/blog/2006/07/business-idea-starting-coffee-shop.html.

Work breakdown structure (2007). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved June 22, 2007.....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Project Management - Starting A" (2007, June 22) Retrieved May 4, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/project-management-starting-37040

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Project Management - Starting A" 22 June 2007. Web.4 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/project-management-starting-37040>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Project Management - Starting A", 22 June 2007, Accessed.4 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/project-management-starting-37040