liquor business plan

Liquor Store Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

• Liquor Store Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan

Liquor Store Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your liquor store business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their liquor stores.

Business Plan Sample for a Liquor Store

Below are links to each section of your liquor store business plan template:

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Liquor Store Business Plan FAQs

What is a liquor store business plan.

A liquor store business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your liquor store business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your liquor store business plan using our Liquor Store Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Liquor Stores?

The liquor industry encompasses a few different types of liquor stores, including those that sell all types of alcohol and other liquor stores that specialize in a specific offering such as craft beers, wine or spirits.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Liquor Store?

The primary source of revenue for liquor store owners is liquor sales.  Secondary sources include other items like tobacco and lottery. 

The key expenses for a liquor store are the cost of goods sold, rent, and salaries. Marketing expenses also contribute to the expenses of the business.

A profitable liquor store hinges on several key factors. Firstly, location is paramount; it should be easily accessible, visible, and situated in an area with good foot traffic or in a community that lacks adequate competition. Diverse inventory tailored to local tastes and demands can significantly boost sales, as can offering a range of price points to cater to different customer segments. Effective management of inventory to reduce waste and optimize stock based on seasonal trends and consumer preferences is crucial. Additionally, knowledgeable and friendly staff can enhance customer experience, encouraging repeat business. Implementing a robust marketing strategy, including a strong online presence and targeted promotions, can attract new customers and retain existing ones. Lastly, staying compliant with local regulations and adapting to changing laws is essential to ensure uninterrupted operation and to avoid legal pitfalls.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Liquor Store Business Plan?

Liquor store businesses can be financed through various lending facilities. Some options are business lines of credit, merchant cash advances or business term loans. Other forms of funding for liquor stores are angel investors, friends and family loans and credit card financing. This is true for a business plan for a liquor or a wine shop business plan.

Read more about how to get funding: Seeking Funding from Angel Investors vs Venture Capitalists .

What are the Steps To Start a Liquor Store Business?

Starting a new liquor store business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Liquor Store Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed liquor store business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research, potential target market size, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your liquor store business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your liquor store business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Liquor Store Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your liquor store business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining liquor licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your liquor store business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Liquor Store Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your liquor store business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your liquor store business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful liquor store business, or grow your existing liquor store:

• How to Open a Liquor Store Business

Where Can I Get a Liquor Store Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free liquor store business plan template PDF here . This is a sample liquor store business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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The Ultimate Guide to Opening a Liquor Store

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If you're a wine, beer, or scotch lover, you may have considered opening your own liquor store before. Whether you see starting a new business as a pipe dream, or you've seriously considered it, you should know that opening a liquor store is one of the more difficult businesses to start.

But we're going to walk you through the process of opening a liquor store so you can feel confident if you decide to pursue it. We even have input from successful business owners to help guide you.

How to open a liquor store: A step-by-step guide

Opening a liquor store is one of the most regulated businesses around, so you'll want to pay close attention to the following steps.

Step 1: Write a business plan

Before you get to setting up your business, you're going to need to write a business plan and do quite a bit of research. Like we mentioned, liquor stores are some of the most difficult businesses to start and keep running so you want to make sure you do your due diligence before launching your business. If you're buying a liquor store that's doing well already, this step will be easier than if you're building one from the ground up and just starting one.

Your business plan, whether you write it on your own or use a business plan template, should include market research showing that there is a strong demand for a liquor store in your area. If there are competitors, you should also do your research on them, what they offer, and how you can do it better.

You should also consider where you're going to source your products from. When you're putting together your business plan for opening or buying a liquor store, among your biggest factors will be inventory. But in the liquor store business, your inventory considerations will kill your business if you don't know how having fully stocked shelves factors into the way customers perceive your shop among the landscape of others.

For instance, The Wine Cave in Brooklyn, owned by Moshe Mayer, is lauded on Yelp for having a wide selection of bourbon. Another review mentions it is “stocked from top to bottom with booze, wine, Champagne, sparkling wine, reds, whites, pinots, malbecs, and anything and everything in between.” But this kind of inventory—more than 3,000 products—costs Mayer millions.

Your plan should include details on where you'll get funding, when you plan to turn a profit and other financial projections, the organization of your business, and the marketing and sales plan you have.

Step 2: Find the store or location you want to buy or rent

If you're looking into buying a liquor store instead of opening one on your own, you're going to need to find a liquor store that's up for sale and in your price range. The better shape the business is in already, the higher the chance that you'll be able to get a loan to buy the business.

You need to consider the neighborhood where the business is, the location of the business and its facilities, the current business the liquor store does, and what you can add to the business by buying it. You'll also want to consider why the current owner is selling. If he or she is simply retiring after a successful career, then you may easily take their place and make a profit. However, if they don't make enough sales to cover the rent, you may want to think twice before putting your own money on the line.

If you're opening up your own brand new liquor store, you'll need to find a space to rent or buy. You'll need to make sure that it's approved for selling alcohol, and that it has all of the details you need. This means storage facilities, security, somewhere you can accept shipments and deliveries, and a possible parking area for customers.

Step 3: Get funding

You might very well need a business loan in order to be able to buy an existing liquor store and probably if you're opening a liquor store as well. Not only will you need the funds to buy the business, the supply, or the location, but keeping it running once you have purchased or opened it is even more expensive.

“In order to succeed in the liquor industry, you have to have a lot of money,” Mayer says. “In order to keep up with the big stores, you have to have the top deals. So you have to have millions of dollars in inventory and that’s why a lot of liquor stores don’t make any money.”

You'll likely have to apply for a loan to buy a business or to open a new business. Your business and personal credit will be considered along with the cash flow of the business, what you plan to add to the business, how you plan to make money, and more. You can also look into liquor store inventory financing to help fund this expensive endeavor.

Remember you have your trusty business plan that you can use to show potential investors, family and friends, and banks or alternative lenders, to show how you plan to get a return on any investment someone is willing to make. Early on in the business process, you might need to seek funding from loans from friends and family and maybe even crowdfunding.

It can be hard to get funding from other, more traditional sources such as banks or online lenders when you're just starting out. But keep these sources in mind for once your business has been established for a year or two or you have strong business financials to show.

How much do you need?

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Step 4: Register your business

Once you have your business plan and location, it's time to register your business. To do so, you'll need to decide on a business name and entity. A liquor store is a fun business to name, but you'll need to make sure that the name you want for your liquor store is available.

In most states, you can check whether the name you want for your business is available online with the appropriate filing agency. The secretary of state frequently has a registry online where you can check the name status and register for the name. You may also want to run a quick Google and U.S. Patent and Trademark search to make sure your name isn't taken by another popular business. After all, if potential customers search for your business name online, you want your business to be the one they find.

The second part of this step is to choose a business entity. You may choose to open your liquor store as a sole proprietorship or a general partnership. However, while these types of business entities require the least amount of paperwork, they also won't protect you in the case that your liquor store runs into any legal trouble. For this level of protection, you'll need to choose a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. We recommend consulting with a business attorney or tax professional at this stage to ensure you're choosing the best entity for your business. Once you've decided, you will then register it with the state in which you'll be operating. Again, this will likely be done with the secretary of state or chamber of commerce office.

Step 5: Get licenses, permits, and insurance

As with any business you're going to need to get the licenses, permits, and insurance necessary to legally operate your liquor store. Your dreams of opening or buying a liquor store probably don't include a long trail of application permits. But in the real world, that’s how opening a business works. And obtaining those licenses requires a lot of research, time, and money.

The cost of liquor licenses vary by state—and, as you can guess, they can go well into the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars. To add to the licensing headache, every city, county, and state has a different set of rules and laws. You can check here to see which department in your state you'll be dealing with when working to get everything for your business squared away. Keep in mind, depending on your state and whether it has blue laws, you might not be able to sell alcohol before a certain time of day or on certain days of the week, like Sundays.

Find out what you’ll need from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the entity responsible for enforcing laws “regulating alcohol production, importation, and wholesale businesses; tobacco manufacturing and importing businesses; and alcohol labeling and advertising.” You'll have to register with the TTB and follow all of their rules and regulations for the industry.

If you've gone through the trouble of figuring out how to open or buy a liquor store, you don't want to risk getting your business shut down for having the wrong permits—or no permits at all. Get a business lawyer if you're feeling unsure about any of these steps, especially this one.

While you're at it, you should also obtain business insurance for your liquor store. As we mentioned, you'll likely have millions of dollars of inventory in your store. If anything should happen to those bottles, you'll want to make sure you're covered. Beyond standard business policies such as commercial property, general liability and workers compensation (if you plan to hire employees), you should also look into liquor liability insurance.

How much does it cost to open a liquor store?

Opening a liquor store is quite pricey. The upfront costs are going to be some of the most expensive costs your business will ever face.

Getting the space, the inventory, the employees, completing any renovations, setting up your cash register, and everything else that goes along with opening a liquor store costs money. You also have to factor in paying for your licenses and registrations, which can run upward of $10,000.

The location of your new liquor store will impact the price but you can expect to spend a minimum of $100,000 to open your liquor store.

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Additional considerations

Before you go all-in on figuring out the details of how to open or buy a liquor store, you'll want to take a few more things into consideration, including:

1. The modern consumer is smarter than ever before, so be an expert in your field.

Before customers get to your store, you can bet they’ve already done their research with customer review sites and product ratings. Shopping is no longer something that begins when a customer enters your store; often, the experience is almost done by then. With services like Drizzly and Minibar, many customers are even trying to avoid in-person interactions altogether.

Mayer says education is what makes the difference—whether they're reading reviews, blogs, or something else.

"[Before], people didn’t know about wineries," says Mayer. "Now people check on ratings. People check on deals. People check on how the wineries are doing.”

When you're thinking about opening or buying a liquor store, you'll want to make certain you're prioritizing your own education. If retailers are going to impress the demands of the wiser and financially savvier consumer, they’re going to have to reach a level of mastery in their field. To stand apart from other liquor stores on the block, Mayer points to his decade-plus of experience in the alcoholic beverage industry. He worked in wineries since the age of 17 before hosting tastings for companies for several years.

"I have a lot of people come especially to me because they know I understand a little [about] how the palate works," Mayer says. And The Wine Cave's Yelp reviews prove that if you’re looking for suggestions on what to pair with your next dinner or simply a taste of the next exotic spirit, Mayer knows how to pass the taste test.

“If someone comes into my store and they ask me for a wine for the first time, I’ll ask them if they put sugar in their coffee,” Mayer explains. “If they put sugar in their coffee, I know that they like sweeter wines so I will give them California wine. But if they don’t, I will give them a French wine. They’re more serious drinkers. They can drink black coffee.”

But when you open a liquor store, your knowledge needs to extend beyond just your product. Smart entrepreneurs are also aware of all the other factors that affect the financial health of their business. For instance, know your neighborhood. Who are the people you’re serving? Before signing a lease, consider contacting your local Chamber of Commerce to get a better view of your target market. Will you be serving college students or conservative suburbanites? This will greatly affect the way you do business.

2. Are you seeking investment or looking for business financing?

We might have said once or twice that there are pretty hefty upfront costs involved with opening or buying a liquor store. When you draw up your business plan for how to open a liquor store, think about your source of business financing.

If you're partnering with someone for an investment—maybe a fellow oenophile—make certain that you get your terms in writing (especially if it's a friend or family loan).

As for traditional financing options, we'll be candid: In an industry with a tough success rate and tight cash flow, you might have some difficulty convincing a lender to front you the cash for a small business loan at first. That said, you do have a few viable options for startup loans.

A surprising one you might want to consider, especially if you have a strong credit score, is a 0% intro APR business credit card . Here, you can get the liquidity you need with the timeframe to get some momentum behind your new business before your balance comes due—there are even a couple of cards with 12-month intro periods. Just make sure you can pay off your balance before the intro period ends and a variable APR sets in.

3. What's your point of difference in the market?

We're sure you've chosen a location with a lot of liquor-loving customers. But if you selected that due to the presence of existing stores, your pick can backfire—that is, if you don't select a point of differentiation.

What's your thing? Do you carry the best rosé selection in the state or import sherry no one's ever heard of? Do you offer classes that teach the neighborhood the difference between pot still and column still whiskey? Whatever passion led you to figure out how to open a liquor store, take it to the next level and use it to distinguish your store from its competitors.

The final word

The common theme you might see here? Learning to start a liquor store takes money. This is a cash-intensive business, so before you go for it, make sure you're equipped to find access to capital upfront, and commit to knowing that you're going to have to put significant money in to get anything out .

But if you’re able to really face these entrepreneurial hurdles, give them a strategic think, and find that you still have a passion to open a liquor store, you're well-positioned for one last piece of advice from The Wine Cave's Mayer: Don’t forget—you’re still not the boss. The customer is the boss.

“If [your customers] walk in and they’re not happy … [then] there are no employees, there are no stores,” he says.

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Download Liquor Store Business Plan Sample Template + Doc

Want to open a neighborhood liquor store? This how-to guide gives proven business plan templates you can download and update for your future business in addition to providing tips so you have the best possible chance of success. Ready to get into the real-deal business planning for a liquor shop? Let’s get started.

In this guide, we’ll help you draft an independent liquor store business plan and provide sample templates so you can participate in the $59+ billion industry in the United States. Here’s an outline of the guide so you can jump to the section that interests you the most.

Introduction

Liquor store in Las Vegas.

Introductions are not written for formality’s sake. They’re there to inform the reader and give a bird’s eye view of what your liquor store business is so they’ll know what to expect when they continue to read your business plan.

Everyone understands the basics of a liquor business so you don’t need to go deep into the basics of this. But you should provide context into what makes your retail location different from everyone else locally. Will you specialize in wines? craft beers? Do you offer in-store tastings? Will you have a drive-thru window ?

Here’s an example:

Bottoms Up! is a 3,000 sq. foot liquor store located in Long Island. Married couple Lisa and Sam are the owners of this small business that carries a line of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages that’s open from Mondays to Saturdays.

Bottoms Up! will feature the largest selection of local craft beer selections within a 50 mile radius of our store. We will be a meeting ground for craft beer lovers with in-store tastings and educational events.  We will also provide delivery of craft beer within 15 minutes of our retail store free of charge to consumers with a $50 minimum purchase. We will also embrace technology, including online ordering to make our store the obvious choice for customers. 

With this brief introduction, you can already pinpoint major details such as the name of the business, the location, the type of ownership, the proposed store schedule, and the inventory they’ll be carrying. This is the first step in casting your vision for the retail or online store.

Executive Summary

Inside a liquor store.

We know just how exciting it is to dive into the technicalities of your liquor store business and explain the product line and concept at once. But let’s ease it all in first by starting with an executive summary.

This section of the business plan will include a brief introduction about your liquor store, a short company description to discuss the background of your business, the services you offer, and the target customers you’ll be catering to.

An outside party like an investor or partner should be able to understand the nuts and bolts of the business after reading the executive summary and have some conclusions or recommendations based on the research found inside the document.

Buttom’s Up is a liquor store serving a wide selection of wines, hard liquors, and tequilas, but our specialty is craft beer. Craft beer is a rapidly growing part of the beer market now making up 25% of total beer sales according to industry reports. Craft beer drinkers are typically a higher income demographic than typical beer customers. 

Our goal is to create a community hub for this growing demographic of drinkers and provide a higher-level of service other retailers aren’t able to offer. Here’s what makes us different: 

• We offer free delivery within 15 miles of our retail store on orders over $50. This option will add a level of convenience that traditional liquor stores don’t offer. We will provide deliveries on Fridays and Tuesdays only to make the logistics simpler and cut cost. 
• We will offer in-store tastings and invite representatives into our store from local breweries to provide free educational opportunities.  
• We have an app that will allow customers to order product online 24/7. These orders can be picked up at our location or delivered on Tuesday or Friday. 

Company Description

The local beer store.

A company description is simply a little background on the operations behind your new liquor store business. Let’s take Bottoms Up! for example. You already know that a married couple owns the store. You can then provide why they decided to put up such a business.

It may be their experience from being bartenders when they were young or their love for wines. You can also describe their roles such as who will be doing the managing and who will be in charge of purchasing supplies. Again, you don’t need to get too deep into this. Just a brief description will do. This should not exceed more than one page in length.

Related Reading: 148 Brilliant Liquor Store Name Ideas You Can Use

Mission Statement

To strive for success, have your business focus on a mission statement that you can rally around. This mission statement should be shared regularly with guests and future employees alike. This is not something to write down in a business plan and forget about. The mission statement should guide all major decisions for the business.

Here’s a mission statement example for Bottoms Up!: Our mission is to provide to become a gathering place for craft beer lovers to connect and discover new beverages. We also want to support the local brewing community by helping others discover the local beer options that are available and support the local economy. Our mission is to  Bottoms Up! also aims to provide avenues for their customers to buy online so they can enjoy our products with the click of a button. 

With this mission statement, you can already tell that Bottoms Up! aims who they plan to support and how they’ll make sure their store is always online so that their customers can order with just one click away.

In writing your mission statement, make sure it’s achievable and can be practiced throughout your operations. You will build the operation plan around your mission statement.

Tasting events can be an effective way to bring in new customers to your shop.

Give a brief account of the services you’ll be providing in your liquor store business. Here are a few you can include:

• Free delivery within a certain distance
• Online payments
• Mobile bar (for events)
• Cocktail classes
• Taste testing

We know how excited you are to get into this one by one but save it for the Product Line and Services section later. For now, keeping your readers informed of the services you’re offering is enough.

Customer Focus

Knowing which customers you’ll be catering to will help form your brand better. This is also where you can get targeted advertising ideas. As you know, Bottom’s Up isn’t trying to market to everyone in their town. They’ve identified the craft beer drinker as their ideal customer. This makes marketing much simpler.

List your customer focus down just like you did in the services section above and save all the detailed explanation for later on in the Target Market section.

Writing down the concept for your liquor store business is one of the fun parts of the business plan. All the ideas you’ve had stuck in your head can now be organized into a formal plan. We encourage you to get in as many details as you can.

Many will agree that when you write down the company concept, you’ll come to realize what works and what doesn’t so you can improve your business further.

Market Analysis

Conduct research on the demographics and income of your market.

Analyzing the liquor store businesses around you is going to give you an edge over all your competitors. It’s like going into battle. You have to know what to expect and who your competition is otherwise you’ll start out unprepared and end up losing more than what you expected.

In our market analysis section, take the time out to explore the industry, your competition, and expound on the target market for your business to become successful.

One simple step you should take in your market analysis is to visit other liquor store competitors in your area. When you visit these stores, make a list of what you like and don’t like about their business.

We also recommend spending time outside of these retail locations to track how many customers are coming in and out of the establishment. What do their customers look like? Does this seem like a profitable concept? Taking the time to observe and take notes on other businesses is one of the best ways you can get a hold on what’s working in a market. It doesn’t cost you anything to complete this step either aside from time.

Management Structure

Management structures serve as a guideline for you as the owner and for your entire personnel. It’s important to set clear roles and boundaries so that no task overlaps with the other and no redundancies happen. It’s also to avoid conflicts in the workplace.

Here is a proposed management team for you to consider hiring:

• Store Manager
• Sales and Marketing Staff
• Inventory Team
• Delivery Team

The number of people you hire depends on how big your liquor store is going to be. If you’re just going to be a small store then there’s no need to hire so many people so you don’t spend too much on the payroll. Many first time liquor store owners start out with only one or two part-time employees to keep costs low.

Target Market

What does your dream customer want?

Knowing which customers you’re targeting for your business makes it easier for you to form your brand. Wine lovers differ from cocktail drinkers. Likewise, there is a different crowd for artisanal beer lovers and just regular beer drinkers. Knowing your target market helps you conceptualize better and list down the products you’re going to sell.

Industry Analysis

Though we’ve pointed out earlier that liquor is enjoyed on every occasion, you’d still need to do an industry analysis on whether or not it’s feasible in the location you’re going to set it up.

You might just find the market oversaturated in your area and it would be advisable to put up your business elsewhere. Or, you might just find your proposed area to be the perfect location. Either way, to know these things, conducting an industry analysis is always helpful.

Doing this type of research will be time consuming, but it’s 100% worth it. The last thing you want to do is open a more high-end bottle shop in a low-income neighborhood. This analysis can help you avoid making the wrong decision.

Competitive Analysis

As a sole liquor store, you will have competition over a lot of other shops, even the ones that don’t even sell liquor as a main item. Treat the grocery stores with their small wine section as a competitor.

Do the same for convenience or grocery stores that have a bit of overlap with your business. List down their strengths and their weaknesses and write down yours as well so you know what you already have and what you’re lacking so you can fill in those spaces.

Product Line and Services

In this section, you can finally write down all the beverages you wish to sell in your liquor store. Include the prices so you can get a gist of how much you’ll be spending to order in supplies. Remember that wholesalers get a discounted price than just stuff you buy in retail.

You can also include more than just drinks. You can include wine glasses, shot glasses, margarita glasses. You can also add different accessories such as wine aerators or corkscrews.

Audio Lesson:  How I Started a Craft Brewery for $50,000 and How You Can Do the Same

As for services, do you wish to provide cocktail classes once a month? This could help reel in a loyal list of customers who constantly check out your products. Are you up for a mobile bar? This could be a gig you can do during events such as weddings.

What should be clear in this section is that by the end of writing all of this down, you know what your product line is and whether or not you can find a reliable supplier for all of these. This part of the business plan will be especially important if you’re seeking money from investors or a bank. The anticipated cost / profit from each sale is something every lender will need to understand.

Sales and Marketing

Craft beer consumption has become a global phenomenon.

One big question to ask yourself is how are you going to market your liquor store? Will you be putting an ad out on the local newspaper or place a nice jingle on the radio for the listeners? Whatever your strategy may be, write your plans down here.

You may also like to consider marketing your liquor store using the following platforms:

• Social Media
• Joint venture events with local breweries or wineries
• Radio Stations
• Tie-ups with bars
• Monthly giveaways
• Partnerships with catering services
• Special drinks classes

With these strategies, your business is sure to get a nice growing niche of loyal customers in your area.

Financial Plan

Having a financial plan on the ready helps you figure out how much capital you need to put up your business, the expenses you’re going to make, and how much do you need to make on a daily basis to achieve break-even. Yes, it’s going to get a little technical. But this is what operating a business is all about.

But know that we’re only looking out for you by saying that this is why it’s important to do this plan before starting on your operations so you know what to expect.

Funding Request

Outside a biker bar and liquor shop.

Some people start a business by tapping into savings. Others take out loans from the bank while some invite investors to help them start up their small business. Crowdfunding is another option used by many new food and beverage founders. In this section of the business plan, write down how and where you’re going to get the money to fund your liquor store.

One reason why you’re writing down this business plan is for this very purpose. For instance, when you loan from banks, they might ask you what your strategies are in putting up a liquor store. This is when you present to them the business plan you’re writing. It is to help convince them that the business you’re going to start is profitable and deserves to see the light of day.

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It’s also the same thing with investors. This business plan is going to be read by people who will help you see your liquor store come to fruition so make it as easy to understand as possible with all the necessary details jotted down.

Financial projections

You’ll want to know whether your liquor store I going to be profitable or not. In this section, list down all the major expenses such as:

• Rental space
• Construction materials
• Refrigerated cabinet displays
• Wine chillers and displays
• Point-of-Sale system
• Cash registers
• Electricity
• Off-sale liquor licenses (these can be very expensive depending on where you plan to open)
• Business licenses
• Vans or trucks for delivery

Don’t forget the proposed monthly payroll for your staff and the electricity and water bills. With all these factors, you can compute your price range for your products and services and the targeted sales for the day to reach break-even.

Operational Plan

To make sure that your plans are going to happen, write down a schedule of the tentative dates of when you plan to execute all this.

Here is an example:

Date Plan [Insert Date Here] – Process all business documents and permits for your liquor store.[Insert Date Here] – Start construction.[Insert Date Here] – Start hiring and training of staff as well as marketing the business.[Insert Date Here] – Start operations for the liquor store.[Insert Date Here] – Reach break-even.

It does not have to be a detailed operational plan but it does help guide you on the steps you need to take to get things going.

Don’t forget the appendix! This section will hold all the permits, copy of the liquor license, business documents, designs of your store, and all other documents you acquired in the process of putting up your liquor store business.

Download Liquor Store Business Plan Sample Template

• Liquor Store Business Plan Template PDF
• Liquor Store Business Plan Template Word Doc
• The more your business engages with the customers, the good will you’ll build. Those cocktail classes you hosted? Customers will remember where they learned these tips and spread the word about the services you’re offering. It’s all about interacting with them so make sure to include that in your marketing strategy.
• Get educated on the different types of drinks. Don’t just put up a liquor store business without understanding the types of drink that are growing in popularity. For example, hard seltzers is an area of growth right now. Listen to feedback from customers on the types of alcoholic beverages they prefer over time.

Liquor stores will continue providing an important service to local communities. When consumed responsibly, they make events more relaxing, fun, and act as a social lubricant. With your careful and detailed planning on this business, your liquor shop can be a profitable business longterm.

If you’re serious about opening a liquor store, be sure to join our community of beverage entrepreneurs . When you sign up, you’ll get access to our weekly case studies that include revenue numbers from different businesses.

Want to start your own food business?

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We interview successful founders and share the stories behind their food trucks, restaurants, food and beverage brands. By sharing these stories, I want to help others get started.

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Bottle POS » Latest Articles

Table of Contents

• Why You Need a Liquor Store Business Plan
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Business Description
• 3. Market Analysis
• 4. Marketing and Sales Strategy
• 5. Product and Service Description
• 6. Operational Plan
• 7. Financial Projections
• Getting the Most From Your Liquor Store Business Plan

7 Elements of a Successful Liquor Store Business Plan

Picture a thriving liquor store — shelves adorned with carefully chosen bottles, each one telling a unique story. Behind this success lies a meticulously crafted business plan, the backbone of turning passion into profit.

Your dream liquor store has a unique tale — one beginning with your unique blend of ambition and expertise. Crafting a business plan isn't just about numbers; it's about transforming aspirations into actionable steps . But how can you get started? What are the elements of a successful liquor store business plan ?

This post covers the key elements of your liquor store business plan. We will walk you through every step of the way, giving you everything you need to start your journey to opening a thriving liquor store. 

Why You Need a Liquor Store Business Plan  

Crafting a business plan is pivotal to establishing a successful and thriving shop! Before diving into the elements that make a business plan successful, let’s establish a solid liquor store business plan.

Your business plan serves as your store's strategic compass, guiding you through the industry's complexities, while helping you realize your vision. It's a comprehensive document that lays out your goals, objectives, and strategies, providing a clear roadmap for your liquor store's growth and development.

Related Read: Alcohol Marketing Strategies: 5 Expert Tips To Help You Sell More

Creating a well-structured business plan provides some benefits that can boost your store’s chances of success! 

• Better Understanding of Your Market : Delve deep into your market by researching and writing your business plan. This comprehensive understanding allows you to identify your target audience, analyze competition, and uncover market trends that inform your decisions.
• Opportunities To Attract Investors and Other Funding : A meticulously crafted business plan makes your venture attractive to potential investors, lenders, or partners. Clear articulation of your strategies, financial projections, and growth potential instills confidence in those considering financially supporting your endeavor.
• Risk Assessment : A business plan prompts you to evaluate potential risks and challenges your liquor store might face. By acknowledging these risks upfront, you can develop strategies to mitigate them, making your store more resilient.
• Alignment of Employees and Stakeholders : Your business plan communicates your mission, goals, and strategies to employees and stakeholders. This alignment fosters a shared sense of purpose and direction, ensuring everyone works collaboratively toward a common goal.
• Legal Requirements and Compliance : Creating a business plan compels you to consider legal requirements, permits, licenses, and regulatory compliance. This proactive approach ensures that your liquor store operates within legal boundaries right from the start.

Related Read: How To Open a Liquor Store

With this in mind, let’s explore the essential elements of a liquor store business plan that can help you on your journey in this competitive and evolving market.

1. Executive Summary  

A solid executive summary is the first element of any successful business plan. This section serves as an overview of your liquor store’s core objectives and goals.

Explain what makes your store unique and how you plan to stand out in a competitive market. You’ll also want to include a brief summary of your financials. Offering a glimpse into your financial projections and funding requirements provides potential investors with a comprehensive understanding of your vision and what it will take to achieve it. 

2. Business Description  

You're ready to dive into details once you’ve laid out your summary. Use your business description section to paint a vivid picture of your vision.

Describe the location, layout, and ambiance that you envision. Provide insight into the range of products you plan to offer, spanning liquor, wines, beers, and any specialty items you feel confident will capture your audience’s attention. 

In this section, you will also identify your target market and share the demographics that align with your offerings. Highlight any competitive advantages your store possesses, whether it's your strategic location, a unique selection of products, or exceptional customer service that will set you apart in the minds of your customers.

3. Market Analysis  

Another element you must include in your liquor store business plan is a thorough market analysis. 

Begin with an overview of the broader liquor industry, emphasizing trends and growth potential. Next, dive into the specifics of your local market. Detail the demographics and preferences of potential customers in your area. 

You must also include a competitive analysis in this section of your plan. Assess the existing liquor stores in your area. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How will your store compare — and, more importantly, how do you plan to identify and fill the gaps in the existing market?

This in-depth understanding will guide your business decisions and help you strategically position your store within the market.

4. Marketing and Sales Strategy  

Your marketing and sales strategy is the driving force behind attracting and retaining customers for your liquor store. Set yourself up for success by outlining your marketing and sales plans right from the beginning of your business venture.

Detail your promotional plans , outlining advertising campaigns and social media strategies that will create a buzz around your store's opening. Elaborate on your pricing strategy, special promotions, and discounts to entice customers to choose your store. Lay out your sales tactics, demonstrating how you'll engage customers, encourage repeat visits, and build lasting relationships.

Consider tactics like loyalty programs , events, seasonal promotions, and more. 

5. Product and Service Description  

Your liquor store's offerings are at the heart of your business. Provide a comprehensive listing of the diverse range of products you intend to sell, from popular brands to niche selections. 

Be sure to highlight any unique or specialty items that will distinguish your store from competitors. You should also use this section to acknowledge the changing and flexible nature of the liquor market. Offer insight into potential future expansions, showcasing your willingness to adapt to evolving customer preferences.

6. Operational Plan  

Next, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty and delve into the operational intricacies of your store.

Describe the layout, design, and atmosphere you want to create. Detail your inventory management strategy, including supplier relationships, order management, and restocking procedures. 

Clearly define employee roles and responsibilities, emphasizing the importance of a well-trained and customer-focused team. Research point of sale (POS) solutions and outline the features and functionality you plan to implement in your POS system. 

Consider investing in a robust point of sale system built specifically for liquor stores , like Bottle POS. Solutions like these have the features you need to streamline operations and ensure seamless transactions.

7. Financial Projections  

Finally, you must include a section of financial projections in your liquor store business plan. This section provides a snapshot of the potential profitability of your liquor store. Present your monthly and yearly sales forecasts outlining your growth trajectory. 

Next, estimate your expenses, including rent, utilities, inventory costs, and staffing needs. Provide a comprehensive cash flow projection and accompany it with a break-even analysis to demonstrate when your business is expected to reach a point of sustainability. This data-driven overview gives potential investors a tangible sense of your store's financial viability.

Getting the Most From Your Liquor Store Business Plan  

Following the outline above should give you the framework you need to create your liquor store business plan. However, your business plan is, of course, only the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey!

If you want your store to succeed, you must invest in tools that help you streamline operations, delight customers, and easily manage your inventory.

Bottle POS is an all-in-one point of sale solution designed for liquor stores. Our solution offers industry-specific features every liquor store needs, like age verification, case break inventory, built-in customer loyalty programs, and more.

Schedule a free demo of Bottle POS today to see how our solution can help you get your liquor store up and running the right way. 

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Liquor Store Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Food Industry » Wine Business ideas » Wine & Liquor Store

Do you want to start a liquor store and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a sample small liquor store business plan template & FREE feasibility report.

The liquor business indeed has come to stay and this is thanks to the huge amount of liquor brands, as well as the people who purchase them. One of the best things that you could possibly do is to start a stress free business like the liquor one.

A Sample Liquor Store Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

One of the easy to enter and thriving business line that an entrepreneur how is looking towards starting a business of his or her own is to go into retailing business. The retail business is indeed a wide business of which liquor store business falls under.

Simply put, a liquor store is a retail shop that that is licensed to sell prepackaged alcoholic beverages usually in bottles to customers who are likely to take home or elsewhere to consume.

In the united states of America, the Liquor store business is a regulated business which is why The Twenty-first Amendment of the United States Constitution gives states the power to regulate the sale and consumption of liquor and other alcoholic beverages.

It is important to note that State regulations vary widely. Most states In the united states of America have laws that clearly define which alcoholic beverages must be sold in specialty liquor stores and which may be sold in other venues et al.

The Liquor, Beer and Wine industry is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in all the parts of the world. Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 41,285 licensed liquor stores responsible for employing about 170,399 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $48bn annually.

Activities in the Liquor, Beer and Wine Stores industry is on the increase in the last 5 years (i.e. from 2010 to 2015), even though the revenue generation have not shown remarkable growth within the stated period. Owing to the obvious increase in consumer confidence, more consumers have purchased high-margin products such as craft beer, boostingthe industry profitability .

Additionally, the legislation on the liquor, beer and wine market in many states in the U.S has allowed more entrepreneurs to open their own liquor stores. Revenue in the Liquor, Beer and Wine Store industry is expected to grow over the next 5 years as stores generate greater sales especially of high-margin products.

The Liquor, Beer and Wine Store industry is known to be heavily concentrated in the most densely populated regions and cities, mainly in the Mid-Atlantic, which comprises 24.2 percent of total liquor stores. Statistics has it that within the region, New York accounts for 8.5 percent of total liquor stores and trails only California which has 11.6 percent with the largest percentage of industry liquor stores.

So also, the Southeast and Great Lakes regions are heavily concentrated with industry liquor stores, and account for 17.9 percent and 15.4 percent of total liquor stores, respectively.

Comparatively large liquor stores, in terms of employment and revenue, tend to be located in the Mid-Atlantic region. Nevertheless, the industry is small business oriented, with 68.0 percent of liquor stores employing four or even fewer full – time employees per time.

Over and above, the liquor, beer and wine industry is a profitable industry and it is open for any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can chose to start on a small scale in a street corner like the average mom and pop business or you can chose to start on a large scale with several outlets in key cities.

2. Executive Summary

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is a neighborhood liquor store that will be located in centralized area between a residential neighborhood and a busy business district in downtown Long Beach, California.

We aware that online in most states in the U.S California is one of the states that allows individuals to operate a liquor store and also sell other alcoholic drinks which is why we have decided to launch our liquor store in Long Beach, California.

We have been able to secure a 10,000 sq. ft. facility for our liquor store as required by the law in the United States of America.

We are in the liquor store business to make profits at the same to give our customers value for their money and time; we want to give people who patronize our liquor store the opportunity to choose not only from a wide range of both locally and imported liquors but also from a wide range of beers and other alcoholic drinks that are manufactured in the United States of America.

We are aware that there are several large and small liquor stores all around California, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct our feasibility studies and market survey so as to enable us locate the business in an area that will support the growth of the business and also for us to be able offer much more than our competitors will be offering.

We ensured that our facility is easy to locate and our outlet is well secured with the various payment of options. Much more than selling liquors and other alcoholic drinks of top brands in the alcohol industry, our customer care is second to none in the whole of Long Beach California.

We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business which is why we will go the extra mile to get them satisfied when they visit our liquor store and also to become our loyal customers and ambassadors. Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our store.

We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers no matter how large the numbers of our customer base may grow to. We will ensure that we get our customers involved in the selection of brands that will be on our racks and also when making some business decisions that will directly or indirectly affect them.

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is owned by Mr. Jeffry Jordan who has successfully managed several bars and night clubs in Los Angeles and Las Vegas prior to opening his own liquor store. It is a family business that will be managed alongside his immediate family member.

3. Our Products and Services

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is going to operate a standard and licensed neighborhood liquor store that will retail a wide range of liquors, beers and wines just like any other licensed and standard liquor store in the United States and in any part of the world.

We are in the liquor retailing business to make profits and give our customers value for their money. These are some of the products that we will retail in our liquor store;

• Beers (Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra-Light, Natural Light, Busch Light, Bush, Redds Apple Ale, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Keystone Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bud Light Lime, Bud Light Platinum Lager et al)
• Locally Crafted Beers (Pale Beers, Amber Beers, Dark Beers, Hebrew Beers, Gluten Free, Organic Brews, Cider et al)
• Distilled spirits
• Non – alcoholic beverages

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a one stop liquor store in Long Beach – California and in other cities in the United States of America.
• Our mission is to establish a liquor store business that will make available a wide range of liquors, wines and beers from top brands at affordable prices to the residence of Long Beach – California and other cities in the United States of America and Canada where we intend opening our outlets and selling our franchise.

Our Business Structure

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store do not intend to start a liquor retailing business like the usual mom and pop business around the street corner; our intention of starting a liquor retail business is to build a standard liquor store that will be a one – stop shop for liquors, beers and wines which is why we will ensure that we put the right structure in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.

We will ensure that we only hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more especially when we start selling our franchise. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Store Manager

Merchandize Manager

Sales and Marketing Manager

Information Technologist

• Accountants / Cashiers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO (Owner):

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Store Manager:

• Responsible for managing the daily activities in the store
• Ensure that the store facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Enhances department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carrying out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Interfaces with third – party providers (vendors)
• Control the sales floor inventory
• Ensures that goods and products are properly arranged
• Supervises the entire sales staff and workforce
• Any other duty as assigned by the CEO
• Manage vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Help to ensure consistent quality of liquors, wines and beers on our rack
• Responsible for the purchase of wines, beers and liquors for the organizations
• Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
• Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
• Manage external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identify, prioritize, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develop, execute and evaluate new plans for expanding increase sales
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represent the company in strategic meetings
• Help increase sales and growth for the company
• Manage the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manage logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manage the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant / Cashier

• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the organization
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Client Service Executive

• Ensures that all contacts with customer (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with customers on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the store manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to students when they make enquiries
• Responsible for cleaning the store facility at all times
• Ensure that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
• Any other duty as assigned by the restaurant manager.

6. SWOT Analysis

Our intention of starting just one outlet of our liquor retail store in Long beach – California is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other outlets all over California and also sell franchise through the United States of America and Canada.

We are quite aware that there are several liquor retail stores all over Long Beach and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store;

Our location, the business model we will be operating on (physical store and online liquor store), varieties of payment options, wide range of liquors, wines and beers (locally crafted beer inclusive) and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store.

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new liquor retail outlet and we don’t have the financial capacity to engage in the kind of publicity that we intend giving the business.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our liquor retail store in one of the busiest district in Long Beach – California provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our liquors, wines and beers to a large number of people.

We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential clients will be looking for when they visit our liquor retail store; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.

We are quite aware that just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new liquor retail outlet in same location where ours is located or even the arrival of a nightclub and bar.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

In the United States of America, most of the states have strict control on liquor stores hence it is not easy to secure license to open one.

In California and in few states in the U.S, individuals can actually open their own liquor retail store and it is the practice for them to sell loads of assorted alcoholic drinks and not only liquors; they are known to retail liquors, wines, beers and even tobacco et al.

If you keep tab with liquor store business and retailing business generally, you would have noticed that It is now a common phenomenon for retail outlets to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their store to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology help retailers to maximize supply chain efficiencies.

No doubt data collected from customers goes a long way to help retail stores serve them better. Another common trend in the retailing industry is the pricing system.

Aside from having varieties of alcoholic drinks in a store, one of the easiest ways for liquor retail stores to sell the drinks on their racks as fast as they can and keep re – stocking is to ensure that the prices of their drinks are a bit lower than what is obtainable in elsewhere.

For example, it is common to see items with prices in this format; $3.99, $99 and $199 et al as against $4, $100 and $200. Liquor stores are also known to follow the rules and regulations regulating the industry in any state that their store is located; regulations like not selling alcoholic drinks to any person who is under – aged.

8. Our Target Market

When it comes to selling liquors, wines, beers and locally brewed beer, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who drink liquors, wines and beers and those who would want to try out liquor.

One thing is certain, our liquors, and other alcoholic drinks will not be sold to people who are under aged. In view of that, we have positioned our liquor retail store to service the residence of Long Beach – California and every other location our liquor retail stores will be located all over the United States of America and Canada.

We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail a liquors and a wide range of alcoholic drinks to the following groups of people;

• Corporate Executives
• Business People
• Celebrities
• Military Men and Women
• Sports Men and Women (with the exemption of under – age)
• Students (with the exemption of under – age)
• Every adult in the neighborhood where our liquor store will be located.

Our Competitive Advantage

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is launching a standard and licensed liquor retail shop that will indeed become the preferred choice of residence of Long Beach California and in every other location where our outlets will be opened.

Our liquor retail store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates in Long beach and few meters away from a busy business district. We have enough parking space that can accommodate well over 20 cars per time.

One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of liquors, wines and beers available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our store and not see the brand of alcoholic drinks that they are looking for.

One of our business goals is to make Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store a one stop alcohol shop. Our excellent customer service culture, online store, various payment options and highly secured facility will also serve as a competitive advantage for us.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the liquor, wine and beer store retailing industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to sell a wide range of products to a wide range of customers.

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store will generate income by retailing the following alcoholic products;

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. One thing is common with liquor retailing business, the larger a liquor retail store the larger the numbers of customers that will patronize them.

Although we may not be as large as the biggest liquor retail store in the United States, but we will ensure that within our capacity we make available a wide range of liquors, wines, and beers et al from different brands both local and foreign in our liquor store.

Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Year-: $75,000
• Second Year-: $250,000
• Third Year-: $700,000

N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and the arrival of a competitor in same location as ours within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location for Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store, we conduct a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residence of Long Beach – California and in every other cities where our outlets will be opened.

We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the numbers of customers we want to attract per time.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the liquor, wine and beer retail industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in Long Beach – California.

In other to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell the products that are available in our store which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver. In summary, Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

• Introduce our liquor store by sending introductory letters to residence, business owners and organizations in and around Long Beach – California
• Open our liquor store with a party
• Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Direct marketing
• Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our liquor retail store is well located, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. We are going to explore all available means to promote our liquor retail store.

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store has a long term plan of opening outlets in various locations all around the United States of America and Canada which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Long Beach California before venturing out.

As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Long Beach – California
• Engage in roadshow from time to time
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where our liquor retail store is located.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the key factors that give leverage to liquor retail stores, it is normal for consumers to go to places (liquor retail outlets) where they can get liquors, wine and beers et al at cheaper price which is why big player in the liquor, wine and beer retail industry like attract loads of consumers.

We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with other bigger liquor retail store, but we will ensure that the prices of all the brands of liquors, wines and beers et al that are available in our liquor store are competitive with what is obtainable amongst liquor retail stores within our level and in our location.

• Payment Options

At Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store, our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

• Payment by cash
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
• Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

When it comes to starting a liquor retailing store the major areas that you look towards spending the bulk of your cash is in of course renting or leasing a standard store facility. Aside from that, you are not expected to spend much except for paying of your employees and the stocking of your store.

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in California – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Pappy J & Sons Liquor Storein the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580.
• Cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500.
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
• Cost for Shop remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of liquors, wines, beers, tobaccos et al) – $70,000
• Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, food case) – $3,720
• The cost for counter area equipment (counter top, sink, ice machine, etc.) – $9,500
• Cost for serving area equipment (plates, glasses, flatware) – $3,000
• Cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• Cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
• The cost of Launching a Website – $600
• The cost for our opening party – $7,000
• Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $250,000 to successfully set up our liquor retail store in Long Beach – California. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first month of operation.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Mr. Jeffry Jordan and family. We do not intend to welcome any external business partner, which is why we have decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $75,000 and soft loan from family members $25,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factor is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

Pappy J & Sons Liquor Store will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner. We have the plans of

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and remodeling the shop: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers,electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of our list of products ( liquors, beers, wines, and tobaccos et al)that will be available in our store : Completed
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – wholesale suppliers of various brands of liquors, wines, beers, and tobacco et al: In Progress

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Small Liquor Store Business Plan Template

Jun.10, 2021

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Table of Content

Small Liquor Store business plan for starting your own business

One of the most lucrative businesses that you can get into right now is a small liquor store. That’s why we have brought this business plan for a liquor store so that you can easily start your own business. This business does not require a lot of starting capital or any experience.

If you are looking to learn how to write a business plan for a liquor store, you are in the right place. We will introduce you to all the aspects of writing such a business plan and will also give you a franchising business plan that you can use to expand your business after you start making profit out of it. This will be somewhat similar to a microbrewery business plan .

Small Liquor Store Business Plan Summary

2.1 the business.

This business plan for starting a liquor store will be based on the example of Harry’s Liquor Outlet, a small liquor store situated outside Detroit, Michigan. The business will be registered and licensed to sell Liquor.

2.2 Management of Small Liquor Store

If you want to know how to start a business plan for a liquor store, the most important thing for you to learn is the management of the business. Harry’s Liquor Outlet will be headed and owned by Harry Castle, a former bar tender. He will hire a cashier and a manager to run the store.

The manager will oversee all the operations of the bar will any matters that arise. The supreme authority in this business plan startup liquor store will rest with Harry and his verdict will be final in any matter regarding the business.

2.3 Customers of Small Liquor Store

The next thing that you need to consider when writing a writing business plan for investors is determining the customers of the business who will bring in all the money. Just like a distillery business plan , the main customers here will be the people looking for alcohol.

2.4 Business Target

Our targets are:

• To establish and maintain more than 95% customer satisfaction score.
• To start generating at least $23k in profit a month in 2 years.
• To expand to at least three more cities by the end of the 3 rd

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Harry’s Liquor Outlet will be owned by Harry Castle. He knows this industry inside out as he has worked as a bar tender for more than 10 years. He has recently won a lottery and wants to invest the money and that’s why we are basing this wine and liquor store business plan on his business.

3.2 Why the Small Liquor Store is being started

The next thing to discuss in this liquor store business plan sample is the reason behind starting this business. As stated above, Harry has a lot of experience and interest in this business, so that is the main reason. Another reason for starting this business is that there is no good liquor store in the area and this market gap can be capitalized easily.

3.3 How the small liquor Store will be started

Step1: Create small liquor store business plan

The first needed to start a small liquor store is to have a valid liquor store business plan example pdf. All the aspects of the business from the starting costs to the staff required and the market to be targeted will be included in this business plan. Just like a brewery business plan , having figured out all the details of the business before starting is the most important thing if you want this business to be successful in the longer run.

Step2: Define The Brand

The next step is to make a brand. People these days like to shop from established brands rather than a simple shop. Advertisement and marketing will be used to make a presentable brand for Harry’s Liquor Outlet.

Step3: Establish Physical & Web Presence

We will have to make the store as well as a website. It is noted that more than 50% of the customers prefer to order their liquor online rather than going to a store. We will make a website to cater the needs of these customers.

Step4: Promote and Market

The last and the most important thing to do is to market the brand in such a way as to make it a household name in the area to attract as much business as we can.

Services of Small Liquor Store

The next point this liquor store business plan template needs to touch is the services it will be providing. You can use this business plan for existing liquor store or start a new business around it.

The services of the liquor store will be focused more on products because this is more of a products business than a services one. The services of Harry’s Liquor Outlet will be:

• Liquor Supply

As there are no good liquor stores in the vicinity, all the retailers who sell liquor in the area will be buying it from us. We will deliver them the products on weekly or monthly basis, as they prefer.

We will also supply liquor to retail customers, bars, and for parties.

• Signature Drinks

We will experiment with different famous liquor drinks and brands and will make cocktails and our own signature liquors to bring diversity in the business.

• Spirit Supply

We will arrange and provide spirits for medical and cleaning use. This will not be a regular service and we will entertain these demands on request of buyers.

• Remote Bar Services for parties

Anyone looking to arrange a party in the area has to buy the liquor from other cities. We will cover all the parties in the area and will provide take-away and delivery services for party liquor supply.

 Marketing Analysis of a Small Liquor Store

Marketing analysis refers to the process of conducting a thorough market research to determine whether or not starting a business makes economic sense. If you want to know how to write a business plan for a liquor store, you need to know how to do marketing analysis.

Here are the details of the marketing analysis that we performed prior to starting a liquor store.

5.1 Market Trends

One of the key reasons for we are going foropening a liquor store business is that this market is growing at a fast pace. The global liquor industry was worth $1.4 trillion in 2019 and is expected to be worth $2 trillion in the year 2024.

Another reasons for starting the business that we think is worth mentioning in this liquor store business plan example is that the trend of drinking is changing from bars to homes. More people are buying alcohol to consume in the comfort of their own home than are going to bars. So, just like a seafood restaurant business plan , we have an opportunity here.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Another important thing to note before we start this business is the marketing segmentation of the industry we are going to enter. Marketing segmentation focuses on the various categories of the market we will be targeting.

The main market segments this liquor store business will be serving are the following:

5.2.1 Individual Customers

The main customers of our products will be the people who need a good drink at the end of a long day. We will cater for the needs of these customers and will make sure that they get the best liquor from us.

5.2.2 Retail Stores

Retails stores in the area source liquor from other cities and that is not feasible for them. We will offer them better rates and they will purchase the products from us on a regular basis.

Bars will be one of the bulk customers of our products. They will buy large amounts of liquor on a regular basis. We might offer them a lower rate as a wholesale discount. These customers will pay us on a routine basis and not individually for every purchase/delivery.

5.3 Business Target

Our business targets are:

• To establish our name as a dependable and reliable supplier of Grade-A liquor.
• To expand to more locations and make our business a chain of stores.
• To provide the best products and services and gain high customer satisfaction while we are at it.

Great service

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5.4 Product Pricing

The prices will be mainly based on the prices of the manufacturers we will be sourcing the stuff from. However, we will keep out profit margin low and offer lower prices than the competitors to earn some customers and then we will increase the prices when we have made a name for ourselves. This is the same approach as we used in the gourmet food store business plan .

 Marketing Strategy of Small Liquor Store

Now that we have established all the things necessary for starting a small liquor store, the next thing to focus on is the liquor store marketing plan. There can be a lot of liquor store marketing strategies but we have to find out the one that works the best for our case.

The things that influence the marketing strategy are the following and they are more or less the same as those for a butcher shop business plan .

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Harry’s Liquor Outlet will have the following competitive advantages:

• The owner of this business has a lot of experience in the liquor business.
• There is no reputable liquor store in the area where we are going to start this business.
• We are offering all the major liquor brands and all of them are decided after asking the people of the area which brands they will buy.

6.2 Sales Strategy

• We will use all the social, electronic and print media channels to advertise our business in the area.
• We will have social media pages and our own online store to market and sell the product.
• We will offer discounted rates for the first two months to boost sales in the start.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 sales yearly, 6.5 sales forecast, personnel plan.

The next thing we need to talk about in this business plan for alcoholic beverage store is the people that we will need to start and run the business. We need to plan the workforce in such a way to run the business with the maximum possible efficiency without being an unnecessary load on the business.

7.1 Company Staff

Here is a list of the people who will run Harry’s Liquor Outlet:

• Harry Castle will be the owner and CEO of the business.
• 1 Manager will be hired to run the day-to-day operations of the liquor store.
• 1 Cashier will be needed to manage the register.
• 1 Web Developer will be hired to run the online store and social media pages of the business.
• 3 Drivers for the home delivery of products ordered online.
• 2 Cleaners.
• 1 Accountant.

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial plan.

Lastly, we need to discuss the cost that will be incurred by Harry to start this business. Let’s see we need how much to start a liquor store.

Harry will have to arrange money for the following:

• Acquiring a location to start the store.
• Buying the stock to start the business.
• The money needed for the salaries of the staff for the first 3 months.
• The money needed to buy vehicles for delivery.
• The cost of making an online store and the allied social media pages.

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 break-even analysis, 8.3 projected profit and loss, 8.3.1 profit monthly, 8.3.2 profit yearly, 8.3.3 gross margin monthly, 8.3.4 gross margin yearly, 8.4 projected cash flow, 8.5 projected balance sheet, 8.6 business ratios.

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Liquor Store Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Liquor Business Plan Template

If you want to start a Liquor business or expand your current Liquor, you need a business plan.

The following Liquor business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning Liquor business plan.

You can download our Liquor Store Business Plan Template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Liquor Store Business Plan Example

Below are links to each of the key sections of a business plan for a liquor store:

I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan

Click below to see each section of our free liquor store business plan template. You can also click here to get our liquor store business plan pdf .

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Liquor Business Plan Outline

Management plans for supplying liquor

Having a management plan in place will help you minimise the risk of harm from the supply of liquor.

On this page

What is a management plan, types of management plans, some licence holders must have a management plan, venue management plan, alcohol management plan, event management plan, keeping the plan current.

A management plan is a detailed document that you, as a licensee or an applicant for a liquor licence, can create. It specifies the policies, procedures and practices that you, as the licensee will have in place to minimise the risk of alcohol-related harm. It also provides guidance to you and your staff on actions that will be taken to ensure you’re meeting your obligations under the liquor laws and the conditions of your licence. It is the responsibility of all staff to follow the plan.

When you apply for a liquor licence, you may be required to provide a plan. If your application does not ask for a plan, LCV may still request one from you during the assessment of your application. Below is some guidance on what a management plan should include.

There are three main management plans that LCV may ask you for, depending on the nature of your business or event. The plan will help us ensure that you understand your obligations and have practices in place to reduce risks.

• A venue management plan is a plan to help venues such as live music venues, bars and restaurants manage the supply of liquor and the safety of their staff and patrons.
• An alcohol management plan is to help licensees who supply packaged liquor manage the risks of alcohol-related harms and their obligations as a licensee.
• An event management plan is designed to help businesses holding pop-up or one-off events manage the risks associated with the supply of liquor.

While some licensee have a condition on their licence to have a plan in place, it is not mandatory for everyone. 

Applicants seeking to vary their licence conditions for a live music venue and applicants subject to the late night liquor licence guidelines in the municipalities of Melbourne (including Docklands), Stonnington, Yarra and Port Phillip, must provide a venue management plan  to LCV as part of their application.

If you want to sell discounted or promotional liquor or rapidly delivered packaged liquor, you will need to submit an alcohol management plan. Rapid delivery of liquor is when you deliver packaged liquor within 2 hours of the order being made.

LCV encourages all businesses that supply liquor to have an appropriate management plan in place.  

A well-developed venue management plan identifies and enforces a responsible approach to running the venue and is a statement of actions to be taken by your venue. Your venue management plan should reflect an ethical approach to operating your business. A venue management plan should include such things as:

• details of the liquor licence being applied for and/or currently held
• hours of operation of the venue
• details of the maximum number of customers to be permitted on the premises
• security or crowd controller arrangements, including the number of personnel and their hours of operation
• lighting on and outside the premises (security and safety)
• existing noise reduction measures (for example, enclosing outdoor generators to minimise noise, sound barriers installed in beer gardens)
• bottle storage and removal arrangements, including hours of pick-up
• general rubbish storage and removal arrangements, including hours of pick-up
• contact details for public services such as co-health, police, emergency services and taxis.
• responsible service of alcohol principles (for example, provision of free drinking water, managing intoxicated and disorderly customers, restricting the types of drinks served after midnight)
• managing minors on premises
• drugs and weapons on premises
• dealing with theft and damage on premises
• first aid (including training of staff, location and maintenance of first aid kits).
• managing entry and exits and pass-out arrangements (if any)
• details of any regular special events and specific management strategies for dealing with such special events
• managing incidents on premises (for example, drink spiking, gender-based violence, minors on premises)
• responding to drugs and weapons found on premises
• emergency evacuation procedures
• monitoring and handling noise reduction measures for the venue (for example, keeping doors and windows closed when bands play, curtains or soundproofing for insulation) to prevent excessive amplified noise
• assisting customers to safely leave the premises (for example, public transport options that are available nearby, including taxis)
• a complaint handling process to be put in place to effectively manage complaints received from neighbouring and nearby businesses and local residents (for example, a detailed complaints register kept at the premises).

An alcohol management plan is a detailed document specifying the policies, procedures and practices that you, as the licensee of a business that sells packaged liquor, create to ensure your shop, venue or online business is compliant with the laws and mitigating alcohol-related harms.

LCV encourages all businesses that supply packaged liquor to have an alcohol management plan in place.

An alcohol management should include things such as:

• d etails of the liquor being supplied
• h ours of operation of the shop or online business
• i nformation around safety measures of the venue (if applicable) such as lighting and/or CCTV
• m andatory signage and licence conditions
• o n-going training of staff in policies and procedures
• c ontact details for public services such as police, emergency services, and Directline.
• responsible service of alcohol principals, such as identifying signs of intoxication or drunkenness
• refusal of service
• ID checks/proof of age and acceptable forms of ID
• management of minors
• preventing secondary supply
• self exclusion policies (if any)
• management of risks during high turnover periods
• incident register.  
• a dvertising and promotional guidelines of liquor
• w hat kinds of discounts or promotions you intend to have (2-for-1, bulk buys, half price sales, etc)
• m anagement of risks with promotions and discounts.
• n o delivery of liquor after 11pm on any day
• a ttended deliveries procedures
• u nattended deliveries procedures
• i nstructions to delivery drivers around ID/intoxication
• r efused/failed deliveries procedures, recording and reporting.

A well-developed event management plan identifies and enforces a responsible approach to running your event and is a statement of actions to be taken by you.

If you already have a venue and are hosting special events, consider creating a separate event management plan.

An event management plan should include such things as:

• c ontact details for the event manager and any other relevant staff
• details of the liquor to be supplied and methods of supply 
• details of the event, such as name and location(s)
• details of any other permissions required (such as Council permits)
• specifics of the event such as trading hours and maximum patron capacities
• noise reduction measures (barriers, fencing, location of speakers, etc)
• patron management procedures (corralling, managing entry and exits, pass-out arrangements (if any), ticketing and/or wrist banding arrangements)
• managing incidents at the event (for example, drink spiking, gender-based violence, minors on premises, drugs or weapons found on at the event)
• monitoring and handling noise reduction measures for the event
• procedures for setting up and packing up at the start and end of the event
• a complaint handling and incident report process to be put in place to effectively manage complaints and incidents received during the event.

Your plan should include details of how these practices will remain up to date (for example, ongoing staff training, annual review of the plan).

Your management plan should be:

• be dated, and include clear headings and page numbers (for example, 1 of 4 pages)
• include contact details of your local police
• be easily accessible by staff
• be updated as your business or licence conditions change
• be available upon request by LCV or Victoria Police.

For more information, see your licencee obligations .

Updated 8 May 2024

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• Accessibility Statement

More topics

• Determine if you need a liquor Special Event Permit
• Prepare and apply for a liquor Special Event Permit

Before your special event

• During your special event
• After your special event
• Withdraw a permit
• Resources for liquor Special Event Permits

Follow these steps to get ready for your special event. Review information about on-site documents, rules for selling and serving liquor and planning event safety and security.

On this page

• Step 1: Gather documents for the day of your event
• Step 2: Review the rules for selling and serving liquor
• Step 3: Review your responsibilities as permit holder

Step 4: Arrange event security and safety

Step 5: get your liquor, step 1:   gather documents for the day of your event.

Once your permit is issued, you can download and print it from the  Special Event Permit application portal .

Check the Application status for your Special Event Permit. It is ready to download when the status says "issued" .

On the day of your event, you must have your permit posted it in a visible location in the liquor service area during your event. 

• The area where liquor will be sold and consumed is called the service area.  

On-site documents

Your permit will list the specific documents required for your event. Keep these documents on-site and available for inspection. They may include:

• Liquor Special Event Permit
• Serving It Right or Special Event Server certificate information

Security plan

• Signage to help manage your event
• Receipts for liquor purchased or donated before the event
• Drink price list
• Incident log
• Letter of exemption from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch
• Documents from police, local government and First Nation
• Documents endorsing event significance (municipal, provincial, national) 

For a printable checklist, download On-site Documents for Your Special Event (PDF, 72KB ).

Step 2: Review the rules for selling and serving liquor 

You must follow B.C. liquor laws and the terms and conditions of your liquor Special Event Permit.

Before your event date be sure to:

• Review the Special Event Permit Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF, 433KB)  
• Review the Special Event Permit Policy Manual (PDF, 533KB)
• Check for any additional terms and conditions listed on your permit 
• Contact local authorities for additional rules that may apply to your event

To find out how cannabis rules relate to special events, review  Cannabis Information for Liquor Licensees and Permittees (PDF, 339KB) 

Serving It Right or Special Event Server certification

Ensure that all permit holders, event managers and anyone serving liquor at your event has  valid Special Event Server (SES) or Serving It Right (SIR) certification. 

Special Event Server  is a mandatory self-study course training specifically for serving alcohol at special events. 

Serving it Right is a more detailed liquor sales and service program generally intended for servers in a licensed establishment.

• A server with a valid Serving It Right certificate does not need to complete Special Event Server training as well
• Certification from another province may be accepted. Find information at   Responsible Service BC

Maximum drink prices

If you are selling liquor at your event, drink prices are limited under the Special Event Permit. 

• This applies whether you are charging a price per drink or including a drink in the price of event admission

Maximum drink prices are set by the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB).

• Drink prices are outlined in Appendix 2 of the Special Event Permit Policy Manual (PDF, 533KB)

There are some exceptions. You may be able to charge more than the maximum drink price at your event if:

• You are raising funds for charity
• The event has municipal, provincial, national, or international significance
• You have approval from the LCRB’s licensing division 

If your organization has a Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration number, you can include GST in the liquor price.

Liquor quantities

There is a limit to the maximum number of drinks you can serve at your event and the serving amounts for each drink. The LCRB or local police set these limits to help prevent attendees from getting intoxicated.

The  maximum number of drinks you can serve at your event is listed on your Special Event Permit.

The amounts you can serve to one person at one time ( serving amounts ) are: 

• Two standard cans or bottles (12 oz or 355 mL each)  for packaged beer, cider or coolers
• Up to 24 oz (682 mL) for draught beer, cider or coolers
• Up to 10 oz (284 ml) for wine by the glass
• Up to 3 fl oz (85 ml) for spirits

For tasting events, drink servings sizes are smaller. Refer to the Liquor Service section in the Special Event Permit Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF, 433KB) . 

Service area limits

Your Special Event Permit states the maximum number of people, including staff, that you can have in your liquor service area at one time. Check your permit to ensure you don’t exceed the maximum number of people allowed.

Step 3: Review your responsibilities as permit holder

You have specific requirements and responsibilities with your Special Event Permit. Make sure you understand your role as permit holder.

• Review permit holder responsibilities
• Review Permittee Responsibilities in the  Special Event Permit Policy Manual (PDF, 533KB)
• Review Your Presence and Controlling Your Event in the Special Event Permit Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF,  433KB)

You must take steps to prevent disturbances or illegal activities at your event. If your event poses a safety threat, the liquor inspector or police can cancel your permit and order guests to leave.

Liquor service area

The area where liquor will be sold and consumed is called the service area. The entire space where your event takes place is called the event site and should be outlined in your site plan .

• For events where liquor is permitted throughout, the liquor service area would be the entire event site 
• For events where liquor is served in a specific area, like a beverage garden, the liquor service area would be a portion of the event site

Your permit specifies the maximum number of people allowed in the service area at any given time. This means the number of people allowed within that designated space, not the number of people who can stand at the bar at one time.

Fencing around the perimeter

Your liquor service area must be surrounded by a barrier to limit the sale, service and consumption of liquor to only that space. ​

For more information, review the Controlling Your Event and Security sections of the  Special Event Permit Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF, 433KB) .

Prevent overcrowding 

Your liquor Special Event Permit indicates the maximum number of people, including staff, that you can have at your event site and in your liquor service area at one time. For events over 500 attendees, you must have controls at each entry point and you must be able to count the number of people entering and leaving.

The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch will review your Special Event Permit application to determine if a security plan is required for your event. A security plan outlines how you will:

• Control crowds
• Prevent minors from accessing liquor
• Prevent overconsumption of alcohol

Drinking and driving

ICBC offers a Special Event Kit to help remind your attendees to get home safely. The kit includes materials to help you encourage attendees to use a designated driver or other safe options to get home. Order your kit from ICBC.

It is against the law to provide liquor to a minor. You must have policies in place to make sure minors don’t drink, serve or sell liquor on your event site. Minors are not permitted in beverage gardens where the service of liquor is the primary focus.

• Review the guidelines for checking identification (ID)
• For more information, review the Minors section in the  Special Event Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF, 433KB).

Once your Special Event Permit application is approved, you can buy liquor for your event. Attendees cannot bring their own liquor to your event.

All liquor sold and served at your event must be purchased from one of the following:

• BCLIQUOR store (government liquor store)
• Private liquor store in B.C.
• B.C. winery, brewery, or distillery with an on-site store
• Wine store or special wine store within a grocery store
• Rural licensee retail store (private rural liquor store)

Keep all receipts for liquor purchased and have them available on-site during your event.

Liquor must be purchased in B.C.

Types of liquor

At private special events:

• You can sell or serve all types of liquor except UBrew and UVin
• See examples of private special events that can serve UBrew and UVin 

At public special events:

• You can sell beer, wine, cider, and coolers
• You cannot sell spirits designed for rapid consumption (shooters)

You can purchase kegs of beer and beer products directly from B.C. breweries.

Donated liquor

You can serve liquor that has been donated under the following conditions:

• It was donated by a licensed liquor manufacturer or agent
• The purpose of the event is to raise funds for a charitable purpose

Family events and businesses cannot receive donated liquor.

Private liquor collections

You cannot provide liquor from a private collection to be served by the glass or as samples to attendees.

Next: During your special event

• Review the rules for hosting events in the  Special Event Permit Terms and Conditions Handbook (PDF, 433KB)
• Read the Special Event Permit Policy Manual (PDF, 533KB) to understand the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch's policy and regulations
• Learn about responsible serving certifications including Serving it Right and Special Event Server
• Order your  ICBC Special Event Kit  to help encourage guests to get home safely

The B.C. Public Service acknowledges the territories of First Nations around B.C. and is grateful to carry out our work on these lands. We acknowledge the rights, interests, priorities, and concerns of all Indigenous Peoples - First Nations, Métis, and Inuit - respecting and acknowledging their distinct cultures, histories, rights, laws, and governments.

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Council passes first reading of short-term moratorium on cannabis, tobacco, liquor and sexually-oriented businesses

Published 6:27 am Tuesday, May 14, 2024

By Sarah Stultz

The Albert Lea City Council on Monday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would place a moratorium on the creation of new tobacco, off-sale liquor, sexually-oriented business and cannabis licenses for up to six months as the city studies how to regulate these businesses equitably.

City Manager Ian Rigg said in recent attempts at drafting zoning changes for cannabis businesses, city staff noticed that comparative businesses would be treated differently.

To create parity with those businesses, the city wanted to place a pause on any new, expanded or relocated businesses in these categories, which all are businesses that work with people ages 21 and over, as it studies how to proceed.

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The moratorium is in response to Minnesota legalizing recreational use of marijuana in 2023 and allowing new types of cannabis businesses to open in 2025 or earlier.

The city council is concerned about the placement of cannabis businesses and regulating them with parity in regards to tobacco product shops, off-sale liquor sales and sexually-oriented businesses. The council is also concerned that these businesses will be concentrated in areas of Albert Lea where the community has invested in maintaining a historic nature, or where and how minors would be exposed to products they are prohibited from buying.

Rigg said the city wants to create uniformity in topics such as locations, designs and other questions and determine it there are other limitations they wish to put forward on the licenses.

The city will be required by the state to have a minimum of two cannabis businesses in the city, he said.

Joel Holstad said while the state is substantially controlling the licensing process, the city will still have authority on placement of these buildings and presentation.

Holstad said it is his impression in many communities that there are many more people who believe they are going to be licensed than who actually will be able to be licensed.

“The public service that I think the council can execute with this type of moratorium is keeping people from spending money, establishing an operation that ultimately they aren’t going to be licensed to operate,” he said.

He said the moratorium protects potential license applicants by saying they can’t make an application until the issue is thoughtfully put together.

During the moratorium, the city’s Development Services Department will study how best to regulate these businesses with the goals of protecting:

• Public health
• Neighboring properties
• Economic viability
• Public assets
• General welfare of the city

The department will also study possible changes to official controls of these businesses, including the zoning code, related policy and how to improve the regulatory process.

The city will host an open house on the issue from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. May 22, with a presentation at 5:15 p.m. At that time city staff will present a draft ordinance on zoning off-sale alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and sexually-oriented businesses. The public may also provide input at the open house or by emailing Wayne Sorensen, building and zoning official, at [email protected] .

After the study is complete, city staff will report back to the council with recommendations on how to proceed. While the council set a maximum time period of six months for the moratorium, the Development Services Department expects to make recommendations to the City Council before then.

The recommendations may include changes in zoning laws and licensing requirements. The department will seek input from a wide spectrum of interested parties for determining its final proposals.

The moratorium does not alter licenses already in place for existing license holders in these areas. Existing businesses may continue to operate. They may also apply for renewal of their licenses, or transferring them to new owners as long as the business space remains the same.

The council will hold a second reading and final vote on May 28. The council must also approve new or transfer of licenses for these businesses. The soonest that could happen would also be May 28.

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Furniture Store Business Plan PDF Example

• May 15, 2024
• Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful furniture store. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial plan. It helps establish your furniture store’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure funding for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a furniture store business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the retail industry, this guide, complete with a business plan example, lays the groundwork for turning your furniture store concept into reality. Let’s dive in!

Our furniture store business plan is structured to cover all essential aspects needed for a comprehensive strategy. It outlines the shop’s operations, marketing strategy , market environment, competitors, management team, and financial forecasts.

• Executive Summary : Offers an overview of your furniture shop’s business concept, market analysis , management, and financial strategy.
• Store & Location: Describes the shop’s design, layout, and why its location is appealing to potential customers.
• Products & Pricing: Lists the types of furniture offered by your shop, including pricing structure.
• Key Stats: Shares industry size , growth trends, and relevant statistics for the furniture market.
• Key Trends: Highlights recent trends affecting the furniture sector.
• Key Competitors : Analyzes main competitors in the area and how your shop differs from them.
• SWOT : Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis.
• Marketing Plan : Strategies for attracting and retaining customers.
• Timeline : Key milestones and objectives from start-up through the first year of operation.
• Management: Information on who manages the furniture shop and their roles.
• Financial Plan: Projects the shop’s 5-year financial performance, including revenue, profits, and expected expenses.

Furniture Store Business Plan

Fully editable 30+ slides Powerpoint presentation business plan template.

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your furniture store’s business plan, offering a concise overview of your store and its products. It should detail your market positioning, the range of furniture and home decor items you offer, its location, size, and an outline of day-to-day operations.

This section should also explore how your furniture store will integrate into the local market, including the number of direct competitors within the area, identifying who they are, along with your store’s unique selling points that differentiate it from these competitors.

Furthermore, you should include information about the management and co-founding team, detailing their roles and contributions to the store’s success. Additionally, a summary of your financial projections, including revenue and profits over the next five years, should be presented here to provide a clear picture of your furniture store’s financial plan.

Make sure to cover here _ Business Overview _ Market Overview _ Management Team _ Financial Plan

Dive deeper into Executive Summary

Business Overview

Store & location.

Briefly describe the furniture store’s physical environment, emphasizing its design, layout, and the welcoming atmosphere it offers to customers. Mention the store’s location, highlighting its accessibility and the convenience it offers to shoppers, such as proximity to popular shopping districts or ease of parking. Explain why this location is advantageous in attracting your target clientele.

Supply & Products

Detail the range of furniture and related products offered, from basic home furnishings to specialized items like custom-made pieces, home accessories, or eco-friendly furniture. Outline your pricing strategy , ensuring it reflects the quality of products provided and matches the market you’re targeting. Highlight any promotions, financing options, or loyalty programs that provide added value to your customers, encouraging repeat business and customer loyalty.

Make sure to cover here _ Store & Location _ Supply & Products

Market Overview

Industry size & growth.

In the Market Overview of your furniture store business plan, start by examining the size of the furniture retail industry and its growth potential. This analysis is crucial for understanding the market’s scope and identifying expansion opportunities.

Key Market Trends

Proceed to discuss recent market trends , such as the increasing consumer interest in personalized furniture solutions, sustainable and eco-friendly products, and innovative design styles. For example, highlight the demand for furniture that caters to specific lifestyle needs and preferences, alongside the rising popularity of environmentally conscious furniture stores.

Key Competitors

Then, consider the competitive landscape, which includes a range of furniture stores from high-end boutiques to budget-friendly options, as well as online furniture sales trends. For example, emphasize what makes your store distinctive, whether it’s through exceptional customer service, a unique range of products, or specialization in certain types of furniture. This section will help articulate the demand for furniture store services, the competitive environment, and how your store is positioned to thrive within this dynamic market.

Make sure to cover here _ Industry size & growth _ Key competitors _ Key market trends

Dive deeper into Key competitors

First, conduct a SWOT analysis for the furniture store , highlighting Strengths (such as quality craftsmanship and a diverse product range), Weaknesses (including high operational costs or intense competition), Opportunities (for example, an increasing trend in home improvement and interior design), and Threats (such as economic downturns that may decrease consumer spending on non-essential items).

Marketing Plan

Next, develop a marketing strategy that outlines how to attract and retain customers through targeted advertising, promotional discounts, engaging social media presence, and community involvement. This could include collaborations with interior designers, staging partnerships with real estate companies, or hosting DIY furniture workshops to increase brand visibility and consumer engagement.

Finally, create a detailed timeline that outlines critical milestones for the furniture store’s opening, marketing efforts, customer base growth, and expansion objectives, ensuring the business moves forward with clear direction and purpose. This timeline should include key dates for product launches, seasonal sales campaigns, and potential entry into new markets or online expansion.

Make sure to cover here _ SWOT _ Marketing Plan _ Timeline

Dive deeper into SWOT

Dive deeper into Marketing Plan

The Management section focuses on the furniture store’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the furniture store toward its financial and operational goals.

For your furniture store business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the business.

Financial Plan

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of your financial projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out your furniture store’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your furniture store business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. number of customers and prices, expenses, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

The Unique Burial of a Child of Early Scythian Time at the Cemetery of Saryg-Bulun (Tuva)

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Pages:  379-406

In 1988, the Tuvan Archaeological Expedition (led by M. E. Kilunovskaya and V. A. Semenov) discovered a unique burial of the early Iron Age at Saryg-Bulun in Central Tuva. There are two burial mounds of the Aldy-Bel culture dated by 7th century BC. Within the barrows, which adjoined one another, forming a figure-of-eight, there were discovered 7 burials, from which a representative collection of artifacts was recovered. Burial 5 was the most unique, it was found in a coffin made of a larch trunk, with a tightly closed lid. Due to the preservative properties of larch and lack of air access, the coffin contained a well-preserved mummy of a child with an accompanying set of grave goods. The interred individual retained the skin on his face and had a leather headdress painted with red pigment and a coat, sewn from jerboa fur. The coat was belted with a leather belt with bronze ornaments and buckles. Besides that, a leather quiver with arrows with the shafts decorated with painted ornaments, fully preserved battle pick and a bow were buried in the coffin. Unexpectedly, the full-genomic analysis, showed that the individual was female. This fact opens a new aspect in the study of the social history of the Scythian society and perhaps brings us back to the myth of the Amazons, discussed by Herodotus. Of course, this discovery is unique in its preservation for the Scythian culture of Tuva and requires careful study and conservation.

Keywords: Tuva, Early Iron Age, early Scythian period, Aldy-Bel culture, barrow, burial in the coffin, mummy, full genome sequencing, aDNA

Information about authors: Marina Kilunovskaya (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Vladimir Semenov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Varvara Busova  (Moscow, Russian Federation).  (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Kharis Mustafin  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Irina Alborova  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Alina Matzvai  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected]

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