mark graham.

OPENING YOUR FIRST COFFEE SHOP / UK

Big idea.
Better questions.

Thinking about opening your first coffee shop?

I opened mine with no previous café ownership experience. I learned a lot. Some of it considerably more expensively than I would have liked.

Start with the free guide

For first-time founders, from the first idea to the next 3–12 months.

01 / START HERE · FREE RESOURCE

Before You Open
Your First
Coffee Shop

The practical UK checklist I wish I’d had.

A practical guide covering the things to think about before you commit serious money to your first coffee shop — premises, numbers, fit-out, equipment, menu, staffing, compliance and the things first-time founders commonly overlook.

FREE • 15-PAGE UK GUIDE

Get the free guide.

A useful place to start, wherever you are with your plan.

Your details will be used to provide your guide. You can also choose to receive occasional emails from Mark about opening and running an independent coffee shop.

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02 / PUT YOUR PLAN ON PAPER

The First Coffee Shop
Starter Pack — UK

£35 ONE-OFF PRICE

A practical planning pack for first-time UK coffee shop founders. Built around the things I wish I had properly worked through before opening KULT.

You’re potentially about to spend tens of thousands opening a coffee shop. This is designed to help you find the expensive questions while they are still spreadsheet questions.

Get the Starter Pack — £35 ↗

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Full Planning Guide

Covering premises, leases, startup budgets, fit-out, equipment, monthly costs, break-even, menu margins, staffing, cash flow, suppliers, compliance and the first 90 days.

Editable Numbers Workbook

  1. Startup Budget
  2. Monthly Costs
  3. Sales & Break-Even
  4. Menu Margins
  5. Staffing
  6. 12-Month Cash Flow
  7. Supplier Comparison
  8. First 90 Days
  9. Planning Dashboard

This pack is based on practical experience and is for educational purposes. It is not legal, accounting, tax, financial, property or other regulated professional advice.

03 / YOUR PLAN, PRESSURE-TESTED

Want me to look
at your actual plan?

Send me your concept, premises, numbers and biggest questions beforehand. I’ll review them, then we’ll spend an hour going through the areas I’d want to pressure-test before committing serious money.

Practical experience and perspective. Not legal, accounting, property, planning or regulated financial advice.

WHY LISTEN TO ME?

I’m not a
coffee-shop guru.

I opened KULT in Gosforth with no previous café ownership experience.

I went through the premises search, lease, fit-out, equipment, suppliers, staffing, training, opening, VAT, margins, overheads and all the things that look much simpler before you actually do them.

This is the information I wish I’d had before I started.

Meet KULT ↗

FAIR QUESTIONS

Before you ask.

Is this only for people opening in the UK?

Primarily yes. The material is designed around UK independent coffee-shop founders, although some principles apply elsewhere.

Is this a course?

No. The £35 product is intended to be a practical starter pack with guides, worksheets and calculators.

Can you tell me whether I should sign a particular lease?

I can share practical experience and questions to consider. You should take appropriate professional legal, property and financial advice before making that decision.

I’m only at the idea stage. Is this still useful?

Yes. In many ways this is the best time to use it, before money has been committed.

Will this guarantee my coffee shop succeeds?

Absolutely not. The aim is to help first-time founders ask better questions and avoid avoidable mistakes.

Resources and sessions are educational and based on personal experience. They do not replace professional legal, financial, property, health-and-safety or accounting advice. Read the disclaimer.