Title: The Tea Room Business Plan – Mission, Strategy And Tactics Word Count: 524 Summary: Since the tea room is a relatively simple small business, an elaborate mission statement is overkill. The entrepreneur should decide the reason for the business and what goals the business should accomplish. An example of an effective mission statement is: (The Blue Ridge Tea Room is a fictional tea room): “The Blue Ridge Tea Room will provide only the highest quality, healthy products and services to loose leaf tea drinkers in an environment that is safe, comfortable ... Keywords: Tea rooms, business planning, tea, green tea, black tea, wu long tea Article Body: Since the tea room is a relatively simple small business, an elaborate mission statement is overkill. The entrepreneur should decide the reason for the business and what goals the business should accomplish. An example of an effective mission statement is: (The Blue Ridge Tea Room is a fictional tea room): “The Blue Ridge Tea Room will provide only the highest quality, healthy products and services to loose leaf tea drinkers in an environment that is safe, comfortable and attractive and will encourage customers to make repeat visits.” What the mission statement accomplishes is the creation of what the tea room is and the reason for starting the business. It also acts as a framework for managing the long term growth of the business. Tea Room Tip: Keep the mission statement short and concise. Be willing to amend the mission as conditions change. Simple but Effective Strategy Strategy means how the tea room plans to make the most out of what is perceived as its competitive advantage. The tea room is unique because its customers come to visit in a manner similar to a restaurant. The competitive advantage lies in the perception of its customers’ experience. The best strategy therefore is the quality advantage: • Quality tea and teaware products • The best food products • The most attractive decorations and ambience • The best quality customer service Tea Room Tip: Demand the same standard of excellence from vendors and employees as you do of yourself. Establish a business culture of excellence and enforce it. Tactics and Goals Tactics are the steps one takes to implement the business strategy. It involves the actual work that must be done in order to succeed. Measurement and accountability are important. The best way to implement the strategy in terms of tactics is the “hands on” management style where the owner of the business actively overseas the daily operations of the business and actively manages the strategy. An integral part of tactics is goal setting and working toward the achievement or completion of set goals. Goals are usually accompanied by actual deadline dates in order to measure progress. An example of goals for a quality tea room: • Negotiate a wholesale tea supply arrangement with a reputable tea supplier by May 1, 200X. • Sign a lease on a facility that is well located and meets all safety and health codes by June 1, 200X. Complete build out of space to meet tea room specifications within 20 days of lease signing. • Purchase or lease all required equipment by July 1, 200X. • Place an advertisement in a local newspaper announcing the Grand Opening of the tea room by August 1, 200X. In a tea room that promotes quality and customer satisfaction, an orientation to details is an important factor for success. Emphasize quality and customer satisfaction. Tea Room Tip: Have a friend or family member visit the tea room and assess the quality of the products and service. Do this periodically. Establishing a Mission Statement will force the tea room owner to fine tune the value added proposition and creating and implementing a strategy through defined tactics and goals will increase the chances of success for the new tea room venture.