Want to open your own tea room?

The Xperience Academy Author

Tina Jesson is from England & has opened 4 independent tea rooms in the USA and wants to help others open 1,000 more. Here are her top 10 tips

“My vision is to open a tea room in every major town: I might not be able to open them all myself, but I can definitely help other tea room owners to do it whilst helping connect communities and revitalize livelihoods!”

Here are Tina Top Ten Tips for Opening a Tea Room.

Tina Jesson is offering to support independent Tea Rooms/ Tea Shops & Tea Time Businesses in the UK, USA & from around the world. She is doing this because she believes that the experience of celebrating tea time can help bring communities together, across generations and help children in particular develop the social skills that will equip them for success in later life.

“I have direct experience of opening 4 indie tea shops & tea rooms in four very different locations over a 6 year period — with the goal of bringing people back to a 1,000 towns that have no tea shop/room presence of any kind. I have done this because I do not believe we can wait for a reality TV crew or government initiative to regenerate our communities or our High Streets (UK)/Main Streets(USA). “

If you want to open a tea room, tea shop or tea time business, there’s never been a better time. People will still think you are mad. Most people think tea rooms are just for old ladies and doomed to die. My experience over the years shows you can succeed in a hostile trading environment. But be warned. It takes a lot of hard work. You will not be rich. But you will have a sustainable business along with just about the best job of any on the high street.

1. You don’t need to be a tea expert to open a tea room tea shop or tea time business.

To succeed you need to care about your customers and your community. You will beat the big chain restaurants, with their discounted food prices based on the experience you create alone. The key is to focus on your guest experience and to care passionately that they get from you what they need to create a memory. People will talk to you about things that really matter to them when they talk about tea time. Seeing their children have a memorable tea time experience is hugely important to most adults. This is the most important role you will play, guiding kids into enjoying a great tea time experience.

2 You need to understand why tea rooms shut up shop.

When I did my research, most that shut did so because they could no longer afford their rent or afford the staff to help support the owner, who is likely to burn out within a few years. Many shop owners nearing retirement age quit as their leases came up. The good news is, you can create a business that is self-sustaining, as long as you don’t try to do it all yourself and make sure you treat the business as a business, keep a track of your costs AND charge enough for the experiences you create.

3. Know your customer.

Knowing who your customer is and who it isn’t is crucial to any business and is so true for a tea room. You can’t be all things to all people. Go deep with your theme and brand. Ask what do you want to be known for. Being the cheapest isn’t a good business model. Is it for your special recipes, the history, the stories you tell, the events you create or the quality of the tea you provide. Know what you would never compromise on and make sure you factor those things in to your pricing model. When you have parents saying they can’t believe their kids now ask them to come to the shop because this is their favorite place, you know you have found the magic in your brand and you will know you have succeeded.

4. Become expert at finding the tea your customers wants.

It is surprising how quickly you can learn to find teas that people half remember, call by the wrong name or describe by the taste. Again, the key to success here is delivering on your promise to get the right tea in at the right price. The brilliant thing is you can do this working with the major wholesalers or specialist purveyors that matter to you.

5. Don’t be tempted to run complicated loyalty or discount.

You are not competing on price. You need to think about providing a unique experience. Something that you become known for and that people rave about. You will quickly come to know your best customers by name, the teas they love and the people they share this with. Look after these customers and they will look after you. Tell everyone else that you do so. Your tea shop will be all about relationship selling. Be proud of it. It is what makes you different and why your customers will come to care about you and committed to seeing you succeed.

6. Make your shop a friendly destination that people want to come.

Customers can spend hours catching up with friends and then leave without spending very much. Don’t worry. They will be back. Sometimes it takes a customer three visits to decide they become regulars. The key here is to make sure you have a conversation, be friendly and welcoming and make sure your team has the same outlook. We had a no eye rolling policy and no talking about the customers to other team members. We want our customers to feel welcomed and comfortable and create a safe space for them.

7. Make your shop welcoming in ways that stand out.

Combine your passion for the things that matter to you alongside your commitment to tea. Hats, cats and Christmas are among some of the combinations I have found work surprisingly well together. Your shop is not like any restaurant or cafe. It needs to be an inviting place that takes away any pressure people may feel in the outside world. If you create a sanctuary, people will love the feeling. However, you do need to be able to go out to schools and companies with the offer of being able to offer groups and events and even donations. It is definitely worth it to build strong relationships with your community. But make sure that pupils and parents know all about you. This is important both for your reputation and to make it easy for new customers to find you.

8. Expect competition to follow.

The High Street/Main Street is a very competitive place. The moment you succeed, someone will notice it. You will survive on service, not on discount. As you learn your customers’ needs you will find you start to offer food and drink not available next door or at the next tea room which opens. A good indie tea room grows the market because their relationship with their customers stimulates the urge to do tea time in a way that no algorithm online can.

9. Care about your stock turnover.

Seeing your teas and tea wares sell off the shelf is a very satisfying thing. Be very decerning about the products you give retail space. The more limited the space the better, because you don’t want to tie up too much money in stock. You need to be really ruthless about this. The exception is the run up to Christmas when having the right combination of tea wear to hand is crucial for the gift market. But don’t make it seasonal, because it wont sell after the holidays.

10. How much does it cost to open a tea room?

How long is a piece of string? I started my first business selling scones at farmers markets and it took just the cost of ingredients. I ploughed the money I made in to my business as it grew. The first year I made $20k. Running a tea room catering business offer afternoon tea from your home or even in your home is also a possible business model. Moving to a brick and mortar is a different matter and does take investment in the property. I started my first with $50,000 but I could have done it for $20k.

You can grow your business as you get to know your customers and build up your sales. I can give advice on what opening stock I have found sells best. Getting this first step right is going to be essential to your success. the good news is that there is no need to get this wrong. Then you can then specialize as you go. You will make a difference not only to the landscape of the High Street. but to the cultural life and habits of your community as well. So have no fear about setting up a tea room to bring vitality back to your High Street and town. My case studies show conclusively that there is no reason for you not to thrive.

A 1000 tearooms in 1000 towns = 1000 livelihoods, touching a 1000 lives. Open your tea room. If you need it, I’ll help you with the how!

Resources: To find out more about how to get started and how Tina can help you and your business go to www.TeaRoomSecrets.com for online training and business coaching and join the Tea Room Secrets Facebook group of over 500 members.