When it comes to opening a business, sheer determination and hard work continuously, without rest, does the job. If you’re thinking of starting a business, you need to have a basic idea and be motivated enough to carry it out and make it successful. It is easier said than done, but all business is a gamble, not in a sense of playing online slots in casinos or casino sister sites, you are gambling with your time, effort, investment for something that might never yield. However, the question remains, what is a good business idea?
Although there are a lot of good business ideas, the one which we will be talking about is a wine business. For the last 30 years, the wine business has done nothing but spread across the world, and while the current prices of Vineyards can be from $11,000 – $30,000, it is expected that this price mark will soon hit the one million mark in the next 30 years.
Before you consider investing your funds into a winery, you need to make sure you’re in a good position to invest your assets in the wine business. Jerry White, CEO of Global Impact Strategies, explains that it takes about 4-5 years to completely develop your vineyard and a few more for it to take off. He explained that for your winery to take off, you and all the people who are investing in it must go through every little detail, and work hard and be determined for it to flourish.
Being over with that, let’s jump right into those five steps to starting your own wine business, which is explained as follows:
Coming up with a name
Before going into the technicalities of your wine business, you and your wine business need to have a good, catchy name that attracts the attention of people. Having a unique name is essential, as you don’t want any other business to have the same name as yours, and mixed up brandings can cause devastating problems in the future of your business.
Alternatively, you can also choose a business entity for your wine business, which allows you certain protections that an individual business might not receive, while also giving you the choice to either get taxed as a sole proprietor or a corporation.
Writing a business plan
The next step in our “Starting a wine business” guide, you’ll be coming up with a business plan which you will refer back to for the years to come as your business hopefully flourishes. A good business plan includes extensive research about the industry that your business is about, how you intend to run your business, the rules and regulations and most importantly, your competition. Be sure to add all of these details to your business plan.
Moreover, you can either come up with a business plan from scratch or use ready-made templates available on the internet and keep it updated as your business grows. A business plan is like a development journal, and it should not be treated as a static one-time paper.
Licensing and Taxation
When it comes to the wine business, it is one of the most regulated businesses in the US. There are often many wine compliance companies that solely exist to help wine businesses navigate their way through license and taxes. When you’re starting a winery, you first have to apply for a permit so that you can legally operate your winery. Moreover, you’ll have to get approval from the FDA for business registration, compliance with the state laws, and have your label approved by the TTB. Doing so, you’ll be paying taxes annually to sustain your business.
However, if all of this seems a little overwhelming and confusing, you can consult a business lawyer or a wine compliance company that will help you in understanding how this works.
Formulate a Budget
You’ve got your business name, a plan and you’re done with the licensing. Now, one of the most important steps in starting a wine business or any other business is to create a budget. Keeping all the costs in mind, you have to make a budget for your business and keep track of the investments and the costs of production that the business is demanding, so you can have a brief overview of how much money you’re spending on your business.
It costs about $11,000-$30,000 for a vineyard in Northern California, which is famous for its surplus amounts of the wine business, however, the wine business is available in all 50 states of the US as well. Moreover, if you have space and the soil essentials, you can also install your vineyard in your backyard. After purchasing or installing your vineyard, you will also have to spend a lot of money to keep your grapevines alive, which adds around $15,000 annually.
Additionally, you should also keep these expenses in your mind too:
Land/Space
Equipment,
Vineyard
Storage and Fermentation
Cooperage
Office
Outside Funding for your business
The cost of a wine business sums up to about $1.5 million, and most business owners don’t have that kind of money just lying around, and it’s okay if you don’t. In that case, you’ll be needing some outside financing, which includes a series of loans from the bank, your friends and your family. However, you can shoot your shot at the small business loan provided that you own a vineyard.
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