funded bike cafe?

markchalmers

Hi guy's this may be a long shot but what do you think of a bike cafe style shop that also offers light maintenance on the go and classes on proper bike riding techniques and training the idea sounds good but the catch is I would like to attempt this all via funding either from the local council or the community.

Do you think this is a good idea - feedback welcome on both ends!

and could this really be a possibility?

pangolin

The idea has potential to be a good one, it could be a nice cafe.

This sounds harsh I guess but, why should the council, or us, fund it though? It sounds a tad like you like the idea of running this place as a job, but don't have the capital and don't want to save up to do so.

mudcow007

there was a cafe in Liverpool city centre with a workshop attached that offered bike parking etc

it was a great cafe but it shut down not long after it opened, granted this was a few years ago when bikes were not as fashionable

markchalmers

Living in Portsmouth There are ALOT of people in-fact - "The City of Portsmouth has a population of 207,100 and is the only city in England with a greater population density (5,145 /km2 (13,330 /sq mi)) than London" as you can imagine that means a lot of cars and even more traffic in a much smaller city.

I believe getting more people on Bikes and enjoying is something that EVERY person or Council with the power to do so should. Having more bikes = less cars and we all know thats good for everyone. The council are willing to throw money away all the time this is something I can see being of use to community and could even save money in the long run.

You may be right It does sound like I'm trying to sell something I'm not paying into but I have never run a shop nor do I have the time and I don't have any plans to quit my current my job. However I would be willing to volunteer in the shop whenever I can and also help with anything I can.

rubertoe

Is this something that you are proposing to set up or are there already proposals in place?

markchalmers

rubertoe wrote:

Is this something that you are proposing to set up or are there already proposals in place?

This is something I am proposing. I would be happy to give the idea and details I've carved out to someone with more time influence if needs be I'm only trying to do this for the community.

All takes is one person to get the ball rolling

gtvlusso

I think it is a great idea, in the right area.

Similar to this; I nearly bought a luxury B & B business in a lovely village in Exmoor. With the intention of setting it up as a training camp. So, luxury B & B, food, cafe/cake stop and bike maint. Offer bike training over Exmoor and triathlon training as it was also close to a lake.

Raising the cash was another issue though and ensuring a profit in the British climate.

rolf_f

Local councils are making people redundant - I can't see them being able to justify funding businesses even if they wanted to.

And this sort of thing probably won't make money privately as the real money in commercial business is usually just in the property itself.

markchalmers

I was trying got look into in a way that would benefit the whole community but of course cash is king so I guess you always need to make sure you are covering costs. I think with some real long talks with people and brain storming I can come up with a pretty solid business plan that would encapsulate my ideas and hopefully actually making the money it needs to stay afloat.

I believe there are a lot of options to pursue including apprentice scheme, volunteer work, Local Bike Shop Sponsorship (maybe a small shop selling parts bikes?) and a lot more. Maybe this is just me musing over the idea I mean everyone think's there ideas are great I guess, still thanks for humoring me guys :roll:

the_fuggler

Hasn't the government launched a Community First programme that might be useful? No idea how it works, but I'm pretty sure a quick Google would reveal more.

Depending on the potential location and having a solid business plan, I would have thought you would be able to source some private funding.

gtvlusso

markchalmers wrote:

I was trying got look into in a way that would benefit the whole community but of course cash is king so I guess you always need to make sure you are covering costs. I think with some real long talks with people and brain storming I can come up with a pretty solid business plan that would encapsulate my ideas and hopefully actually making the money it needs to stay afloat.

I believe there are a lot of options to pursue including apprentice scheme, volunteer work, Local Bike Shop Sponsorship (maybe a small shop selling parts bikes?) and a lot more. Maybe this is just me musing over the idea I mean everyone think's there ideas are great I guess, still thanks for humoring me guys :roll:

Do it man!!!! Go to a major bike retailer with a business plan? get a plan together for the council - they will have some money for this - get the local cycle groups on your side too!

We have a place in Bristol called Mud Dock: http://www.mud-dock.co.uk/

They have a bar, cafe, Restaurant, Over priced bike shop and do workshop courses for self repair and have a monthly bike jumble. They also have showers and lockers for a monthly fee for city commuters - there is money to be made.

Kieran_Burns

Sounds like that post of mine found some ground to grow on:)

viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12893861

Maybe you should contact these guys and see what help they can provide with funding ideas

markchalmers

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Sounds like that post of mine found some ground to grow on:)

viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12893861

Maybe you should contact these guys and see what help they can provide with funding ideas

Good Sir it was this post that inspired me

I think the Community First Program is a great idea!

I also think sponsoring a local race team could be an awesome Idea as there is a massive race track in Portsmouth that is used by loads of what I class as serious racers and it would be good to get them on in it. The reason I love riding my bike is the feel of "community" you get just by owning a bike you feel more connected to other bike owners (if you want to word it that way). The other day when I was walking home with a flat an older gentleman stopped to ask if I was OK and even offered me a spare inner-tube Even thought I declined the offer I was shocked by this. If I can give back in anyway I'd be very happy, I guess I just think this is something everyone can benefit from

BelgianBeerGeek

This is a good idea. It's true that local govt is short of money but if you ran it along the lines of a social enterprise/not-for-profit scheme they may well be interested. It's a way for councils to add their names to a scheme without too much risk for them.
Mrs BBGeek works in local govt and assures me this sort of local partnership is all the rage at the minute. If you do want to run it as your own business, there still might be help and grants available from the council.

jonomc4

Local Government will probably not fund this but you could try the Big Issues invest - they have a private fund for community based projects - they will then loan you the money if they think the project has legs, you will pay it back out of profits.

I work in Regional Government and am aware of funding streams - I also know the chairman of the big issue fund as a friend - this type of project - provided you put a sensible business plan / costings together - along with social element e.g. creating jobs for long term unemployed or maybe formerly homless people, working within the community (not just cyclists).

davmaggs

markchalmers wrote:

This is something I am proposing. I would be happy to give the idea and details I've carved out to someone with more time influence if needs be I'm only trying to do this for the community.

All takes is one person to get the ball rolling

Ideas are two a penny and absolutely worthless, its implementation that counts. Handing off an internet idea to someone to slog their way into actually doing isn't of help

/negative rant

On a practical note (and from experience) you do not want to rely on grants. If you need year after year of grants to keep going then you'll close when local politics gets bored. If you need a lump sum to get started, then that is different.

The Little Cat Cafe in SE5 was started with lottery money and had all sorts of volunteers in the early days. They really brought life into the park, but they did have to change. The amateurs couldn't guarantee service, took a great deal of effort to manage (many lacked skills too) and so they gradually professionalised. The funding got them going.

Why not partner with an existing park cafe?



edit: typo

markchalmers

OK, so there is a possibility and support for this but I'd like to approach this knowing exactly what I need to make this work. This is where I am going to need some help from people in the know about funding IE my best approach.

Also I've never made a business plan before so what are stipulations or what would the council be looking for in a business plan. I have a very good idea of marketing the cafe and areas of interest for the community.

Thanks for all the feedback guys

markchalmers

davmaggs wrote:

markchalmers wrote:

This is something I am proposing. I would be happy to give the idea and details I've carved out to someone with more time influence if needs be I'm only trying to do this for the community.

All takes is one person to get the ball rolling

Ideas are two a penny and absolutely worthless, its implementation that counts. Handing off an internet idea to someone to slog their way into actually doing isn't of help

/negative rant

On a practical note (and from experience) you do not want to rely on grants. If you need year after year of grants to keep going then you'll close when local politics gets bored. If you need a lump sum to get started, then that is different.

The Little Cat Cafe in SE5 was started with lottery money and had all sorts of volunteers in the early days. They really brought life into the park, but they did have to change. The amateurs couldn't guarantee service, took a great deal of effort to manage (many lacked skills too) and so they gradually professionalized. The funding got them going.

Why not partner with an existing park cafe?



edit: typo

I would obviously take it further than here, As it is I've already started writing out a plan. I don't plan to just stick it on here an leave it I'm the sort of person that would follow it to the end. I do understand your point and I'm sure it happens often enough.

On another side of things there isn't any other Cafes local to Portsmouth and I'm not sure a cafe from London is going to want to offer anything to a town 70 miles away.

rubertoe

What about approaching an established LBS and picthing the idea to them as well.

risi

Something in the pipeline (spring, maybe) for Bristol http://www.rollforthesoul.org/

Might be worth contacting.

markchalmers

rubertoe wrote:

What about approaching an established LBS and pitching the idea to them as well.

I was thinking this if not selling there products in cafe and getting some funding that way maybe have one of there staff doing the bike repairs and maintenance it would look GREAT for the companies image and still make them money without costing them loads.

markchalmers

This looks like a great business plan in terms of formatting and well written I think I may be going for something similar: http://www.communityfirst.org.uk/attach ... 011-14.pdf

And do you think getting some feedback from the local community would help to bolster my talks with the people when it comes to funding I guess it would be good to get a feel for what the community want.

cyclingprop

http://www.micycle.org.uk/

davmaggs

I'm not convinced that bike tinkering is enough of an earner to support premises and staff, so you really need the cafe to be good enough to draw in the cash.

The cafe I mentioned was part time in the afternoons to begin with, and over the warm summer time only. They had long term unemployed people working there supported and managed by volunteers. They put a lot of effort into making the cafe the centre of various little events to drag in foot-fall so that they generated surplus cash to reinvest and to cover the cold rainy days when sales were low. Having different types of event also broadened the customer base away from one hobby group too. The opening days got extended many months later once the concept was proven and cash was coming in. They had enough to get a salaried manager.

Starting any business is a hard slog, with this one I would spend considerable time talking to the council and to other community groups to see what you can piggy back off.

markchalmers

davmaggs wrote:

I'm not convinced that bike tinkering is enough of an earner to support premises and staff, so you really need the cafe to be good enough to draw in the cash.

The cafe I mentioned was part time in the afternoons to begin with, and over the warm summer time only. They had long term unemployed people working there supported and managed by volunteers. They put a lot of effort into making the cafe the centre of various little events to drag in foot-fall so that they generated surplus cash to reinvest and to cover the cold rainy days when sales were low. Having different types of event also broadened the customer base away from one hobby group too. The opening days got extended many months later once the concept was proven and cash was coming in. They had enough to get a salaried manager.

Starting any business is a hard slog, with this one I would spend considerable time talking to the council and to other community groups to see what you can piggy back off.

Thanks for the feedback. Id be interested in speaking to the manager/staff of this cafe if they are still going would be useful to get an idea of the best route to take and what did and didn't work.