If you don’t start a tea business now you may hate yourself later.  Here are 10 reasons to make 2014 your year to start a tea business.

 

#1 You Have A Dream

Passions come and go but dreams stay in our hearts.  If you have ever dreamed of a tea business now is the time.  There are more opportunities to own and operate a tea company than ever before.  You can run a business from home or you can open a shop on main street.  Here are a few of the tea businesses that you can own.

Tearoom

Tea Cafe

In Home Tea Party

Tea Catering

Tea Writer/Speaker

Tea Import

Online Tea Store

Loose Leaf Tea Shop

Children’s Tea Parties

Private Label Tea Company

 

#2 You Can Start Small And Grow BIG

The tea industry is filled with tea entrepreneurs who started small and grew as they built their clients and their income.  You can begin selling tea at farmer’s markets, online or in someone else’s shop.  The key is to START.  Face it, the reason we don’t move forward in life is because we don’t start or complete our actions.  Dreams that don’t follow through into action, don’t count.  The key? Start small and reasonable.  Use your kitchen table or your garage as your store front.   Grow slowly and get good tea and business education.

 

#3 Health Is Hot

Every year in a hundred different locations we hear that “tea is healthy.”   If you have a tea dream, that is code for, ” OPEN DOOR.”  A tea business can go hand in hand with a local medical practice, a cancer ward or a naturalistic center.   The secret?  Getting out there and asking your local medical community what they need and how you can provide it for their patients.

 

#4 Tea is Ageless

Time for a quick pit stop. Let’s go check the mini mart coolers and count the teas.  Ready to drink, bottled tea is now available everywhere.  Why?  Because all ages have been trained to drink tea.  Green, black, oolong or flavored, there is a ready to drink tea for everyone.   The ready to drink market offers millions of dollars in income for people brave enough to create and market their own RTD tea product.

#5 Boomers Drink It Hot

Think the traditional tearoom is gone for good?  Not so!  In America, Baby Boomers have disposable income and they like to buy, “experiences” versus “stuff.”   Traditional tearooms provide elegance, manners and hot tea.  Baby Boomers will pay to sit down, shut off the cell phones and communicate with their friends and family in a civilized way.  You could provide the experience these families need.  A quiet place to re-connect.

 

#6 Starbucks Loves Tea Too

Think coffee is king?  Think again.  Starbucks recently purchased a major tea company in order to EXPAND their tea market.  Why?  The tea market is growing and they didn’t want to miss it pouring only coffee.  (makes you think doesn’t it?)  Starbucks now owns two major tea companies and you can believe they have their eye out for more.  When Starbucks grew in the coffee industry it only birthed a bigger coffee craze.  Get ready to jump on the tea wagon because now is a great time to take advantage of the tea business opportunity.

 

#7 No Website Needed

You can sell tea online without even owning your own website!  Jump on board, build some customers and make your tea business a reality.  You can work from home on the side and build the business you once thought impossible.   You can even keep your products up to date, just using your cell phone. (and how great is that?)  Websites like Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, Gourmet Food Mall and more offer tea business owners a chance to connect like never before.

 

#8 New Financial Backers Available

Did the small business association turn you down for a loan?  Is your house underwater and your credit cards cut up?  No problem.  Believe it or not, many people are getting their businesses funded completely online by people just like you and me.  It’s called crowdfunding.  Crowdfunding offers a way for small tea businesses to grow while gaining new fans and customers.  It’s a win/win situation.  One of my favorite sites is KickStarter.com but there are literally hundreds of sites popping up everywhere.

#9 You Can Own Your Own Product Line

A few years ago you would have had to spend thousands of dollars to own your own line of tea.  Now?  You can do it in 5 easy steps with as little as a few hundred dollars.  The private label industry is exploding, allowing the small tea business owner to create a line of tea without all the licensing.  This amazing revolution means YOU could have your face on a bag of tea  if you know who to use.  Tea isn’t the only product you can add to your lineup.  Consider mixes, spices, soaps and more.  Private label opens a whole new world for the small business owner.

 

10. Care For Your Cause

In 2014 more and more people are looking to make a difference in the lives of others.  You can make a difference by connecting your tea business with a charity that you care about.  Tom’s Shoes is a great example of how a company can be paired with a cause.  It’s call it social entrepreneurship.  If you want to make a difference find a way to sell tea and give back to something you care about.

 

Ok, so there are 10 great reasons to get moving on your tea dream.  But, there is a catch, to succeed you need quality training.  A coach who has been there, done that and can help you avoid pitfalls will enable you to take your tea business to a sustainable level.  If a business owner won’t invest in their own education how can their customers trust their product?  Education is key to succeeding in the tea business.

 

 

CLICK HERE to discover tea business training completely online. Class begins January 7th.