With an average entry level cost of €2,000.00/USD$1,900.00/R35,400.00 running your small wine business from home can be both economically and creatively fulfilling. This average entry level cost is inclusive of wine clubbing, wine cooler manufacturing, micro-wineries, wine bars, wine distribution, wine & cheese retail shops, as well as wine consulting. With the right wine strategy to take to market, supplier network, production or retail location, the untapped vintner profession can be incredibly rewarding.
Being a vintner can be potentially lucrative and creatively fulfilling. The wine industry provides ample opportunity for small business entities, and most sales are closed on the basis of good relationship building and networking, not just the quality of wine produced.
First things first, check if you are currently located in a location that is within what is known as the "wine belt" region. Likewise with coffee roasting, it would be futile to not either be in one of these regions or at least plan to move your production efforts to one, as no business is stronger than the forces of weather and climate.
CREATE NAME AND CHOOSE A BUSINESS ENTITY
A clever and somewhat invitingly savvy brand name will really go well with a privately held small business entity. If there's two or more of you, the natural business entity model would be partnership. Most wine professionals are between the ages 40-50, with many years of experience in industry and find it difficult to find suitable partners with similar levels of vintner skill and wine acumen, so they usually operate alone as sole proprietors.
DEVELOP AN IRON CLAD BUSINESS PLAN
A hefty effort into the wine market analysis of your chosen location of business is essential. The specifics of the kind of wine you'd like to pursue producing need to be established from the get-go.
For example, if you desire to open a sexy apple-wine bar, the design of the interior, and the suppliers of such design thereupon, would be of grave concern to you. Likewise, if you wish to open an industrious wine cellar, design may not be so important as the establishment of a work process flow, quality of wine pressing equipment, and so on.
NAVIGATE LICENSING, PERMITS AND TAXES
If you're running a wine gift baskets business, a liquor or any other kind of operation license is likely to not be needed. Whereas with wine exporting, numerous lines of red tape in licensing, registration and auditing would be the norm, such that you may even look to employ a whole legal team or have a legal department as part of your business's operational framework.
CULTIVATE AN AGILE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
The agile philosophy is fast becoming the most applied business theorem out there. With an agile accounting system, you wouldn't have rigid ways of recording your expenses and income. The accounting system is continuously improved (think of the Japanese business principle of Kaizen), as the business goes on. This way, any changes such as suppliers, income levels and tax payments can always be accurately accounted for.
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