自助酸奶店的经营成功要点
一条商业信息，让许多读者兴趣盎然。问了很多问题，我在这里集中谈谈。
首先，我在下面附录里放上两篇英文文章，供大家参考。第一篇文章提到的，就是让我产生兴趣的，也是在我们克利夫兰建的店。如果你去那个连接，还可以看到店的图片。第二篇则是来自《财富》杂志。
其次，开一家酸奶店，投资数目并不小。我估计，起码也得25万美元了。再少，恐怕就难成规模，没有气势。做这样的生意，玩的就是“心跳”——感觉和环境，而不是节省。如果是为了省钱，顾客是不可能花每盎司50美分去购买在食品店10美分就能够买到的酸奶的。到那种地方消费，为的是一份开心而已。所以，在设计上，你就得非常用心才行。
其中的设备开支是节省不了的。具体的预算，可以去几家开加盟店的网站看看，获得点感觉。很多加盟店要求在35到40万。如果省掉四万左右的加盟费，你还是需要不少的资金投入。
开支方面，除了每台1.3万美元的混合机需要至少四台之外，还需要冷冻柜，还需要在装修方面开支。混合机在国内有，大约在5000-6000元人民币。但是，美国是不是有限制，国内的质量怎么样，我就不知道了。如果是我，开第一家时，我宁愿花大钱买美国的设备，对方说，几十年都不会坏。你要的就是这种质量保证！否则，结果，你可能更亏，而不是节省。
做酸奶店的最大优势是，你不需要担心人工的问题，雇佣的都是薪水很低的年轻人。这，同时也是这个生意最大的劣势：你没有独特性！唯一能够让你不同于他人的，除了你的地点之外，就是独特的装修风格。其它的，服务特色，品种配置，估计也很难鹤立鸡群，与众不同。
中国人喜欢说，钱能够搞定的都是小事。在做生意这一块，确实是这样：靠资金投入就能够做成的事情，很容易被竞争对手挤压。目前有很多美国公司在进入，包括一家叫做几个兄弟的餐馆，也在我们这里购买了一个场地，专门用来训练做酸奶店的雇员。
这也是为什么，那么多美国公司开始涉足这个市场的原因之一。如果你坐拥很大的资金，同时，又和地产商们有比较好的关系，或者知道怎么样和地主们打交道，还对装修在行，对企业的运行有点经验，我个人估计，动作快的话，几年下来，捞个百来万的，还是有机会的。
你可别小看那些酸奶店看上去没有多少顾客，就是那不起眼的顾客流量，可能就是每年好几十万的生意。五十万的生意，利润至少应该在一半吧！
最好的办法，就是在一家店的门口呆上几天，数数对方的顾客，再乘上5，就基本上可以估计出每天的平均销售额了。每个顾客消费可能不止五元。一满杯五元是拿不下来的。
附录一： Self-serve frozen yogurt trend hits Northeast Ohio; local stores, franchises plan for aggressive growth
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/self-serve_frozen_yogurt_trend.html
WOODMERE, Ohio -- A hot retail trend promises to keep temperatures cool in Northeast Ohio this summer.
Self-serve frozen yogurt bars -- a concept incubated in Asia and along the West Coast -- are coating the region with swirls of flavor and buckets of toppings from virtuous fruit to indulgent fudge.
The Bechke family hopes to franchise its popular Lemonberry yogurt shop, which debuted on Pearl Road in Strongsville last year. Entrepreneurs in Maumee recently launched Yogurt Vi, which opened a store in April at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst. And Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, a West Coast newcomer to the market, could pop up in 30 Northeast Ohio locations during the next few years.
Yogurt Treats LLC, a company owned by developer Bob Stark's family and employees, recently opened its first Menchie's franchise in Woodmere. Additional shops are on tap in Avon, Fairlawn, downtown Lakewood, Mayfield Heights and Fairview Park.
"We're going to be in the vanguard of this flood of yogurt mania that's going to sweep across the United States," said Stark, who first encountered Menchie's in Los Angeles. "That's how I get my kicks - proving how our marketplace responds to great concepts."
This isn't frozen yogurt's first go-round. In the 1980s, TCBY started a fad with its "This Can't Be Yogurt" stores. But by the late 1990s, inventive ice-cream shops and consumer preferences for more indulgent desserts landed yogurt in the deep freeze.
A resurgence started in 2005, when Pinkberry opened its first shop in West Hollywood. The wildly popular retailer hopped from California to the East Coast, offering a tart-tasting treat that surprised American palettes and garnered celebrity praise.
Competitors followed, including a slew of self-serve shops where customers grab cups, dispense their own yogurt, add toppings and pay at the counter.
Elise Cortina, executive director of the National Yogurt Association, attributed the thaw to changing consumer preferences, a greater focus on health and the publicity surrounding probiotics - live microorganisms present in fermented foods such as yogurt. Studies show these healthy bacteria - called "live and active cultures" in yogurt - contribute to digestive health.
There are no solid numbers on the growth and sales of frozen yogurt stores, Cortina said, but the self-serve movement is clearly a phenomenon.
"We think that frozen yogurt's here to stay," said Rob Streett, senior vice president for franchise development at TCBY, which revamped its brand last year and has opened about 25 self-serve stores. "We don't think it will cycle like it did before because of how tastes and consumer choices have changed."
Out of 450-plus locations, TCBY - which now stands for "The Country's Best Yogurt" - has just two, older-format stores in Ohio. But Streett said the company is considering expansion opportunities here and expects to station a real estate representative in Columbus soon, to canvass the Midwest and find new sites and franchisees.
In Northeast Ohio, the longtime retailer could be competing on crowded turf.
Tuesday night, the Menchie's store at the Eton Chagrin Boulevard shopping center in Woodmere was teeming with teens, families and children. More health-conscious customers eyed labels identifying low-carb choices, no-sugar options, dairy-free flavors and Kosher treats above 16 taps dispensing frozen yogurt and sorbet.
Industry onlookers say the self-serve format moves customers through quickly and lets store owners save money on staff, while consumers get more choices and control over portion sizes and calories. Menchie's, which is based in California and opened its first store in 2007, rotates through 100 flavors and more than 70 toppings.
"You can make it as healthy as you want," said John Bechke, president of Lemonberry yogurt in Strongsville and CQ Printing, a family-owned business in the same building. "I go myself, and I'm about 10 pounds overweight, and I will go over and get some non-sugar with some strawberries and pineapple."
Bechke opened Lemonberry after visiting self-serve shops in other states. The store offers six flavors and 12 toppings that change regularly. His family is negotiating a lease for a second Northeast Ohio location and just finished the approval process to start franchising.
Yogurt Vi (pronounced Vee) welcomes customers to its colorful Legacy Village space with a chandelier on the ceiling and an exotic array of toppings including lychee and jackfruit. The yogurt shop's parent company, Lam Ho Enterprises Inc. of Maumee, has opened stores in Cincinnati and Virginia this year.
The company's executives, Vincent Ho and Michael Lam, have a construction business and own Anthony Vince and Venetian nail salons and spas in Ohio and other states. After visiting self-serve shops in California, they decided to bring the concept to Cleveland.
This year, new Yogurt Vi shops will pop up in Chicago; Columbus; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; and two sites in Maryland, said operations manager Kelly Wherley. Yogurt Vi is focusing on company-owned locations and hopes to open 20 additional stores in the Midwest and Northeast by the end of next year.
附录二：Once Block-busted, now yogurt king
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David Kahn
Then: Owner, Blockbuster and Subway franchises
Now: Founder, Yogurt Mountain
Until David Kahn's business model cracked like a defective DVD, he'd been doing just fine as one of Blockbuster's biggest franchisees. "I had a huge mansion with five plasma TVs; I was driving around in a Hummer," Kahn, now 49, recalls. "I was getting my picture taken with President Bush."
There was just one problem: His business was doomed. Blockbuster's model, Kahn realized, hinged on the notion that it often didn't have your first choice, though it might have your second or third. Netflix, by contrast, gave you exactly what you wanted. In the spring of 2006, Kahn decided he had to get out. His bank let him do a workout, so he didn't go bust. But this career was over.
With no idea what came next, Kahn announced a family austerity plan. Goodbye went the mansion, the club, and the Hummer. Kahn converted credit card points into California Pizza Kitchen gift cards, just so he could treat the family to an occasional dinner out. But he refused to obsess over the loss of social status. "You don't say, 'This is where I'll always be.' You say, 'This is where I am now.'"
Next Kahn looked hard at his skills, deciding that his expertise was in franchises, not videos. He bought six Subway franchises in mid-2007 and did a stint at the company's training school. "A few months earlier, I had 500 employees," he says. "Now, you've got mustard on your shirt and you smell like bread. But I was fine with that; I was reinventing myself."
It wouldn't be the last time. Six months later, Subway rolled out its "$5 Footlong," smashing Kahn's profit assumptions. He sold the franchises for a small profit, but it was back to square one. What Kahn had going for him was a financial cushion, a supportive family, and a deep belief that he would figure it out. So he cashed in more miles and told his wife, Carol, "I'm going to fly to Los Angeles, and I don't know when I'll be back. All the trendy things start in L.A."
In L.A. he drove the streets to see what young people were eating. He was awed by Yogurtland, where people create their own desserts, and filled out a franchise application on the spot. But Yogurtland never called back, so Kahn decided to go it alone. Unfortunately, it was 2008; nine banks turned him down for a loan. Unfazed, he put his house -- actually owned by his wife -- up for collateral for a $300,000 government loan. "I always told him he could do it," says Carol. "But just in case, I hid $10,000."
The Age of Disruption taketh away, but it giveth too. Kahn was able to conduct research, source his product, and find distributors, all online for free. His marketing budget was a $100 "Now Open" banner -- and a Facebook page manned by his teenagers.
Yogurt Mountain opened on Sept. 10, 2009. By that weekend there were lines out the door, and a second store soon opened. In March 2010, Kahn sold 40% of his business to a private equity group for $3 million, a line of credit, and help opening new stores (there are now 35). He tinkers with yogurt flavors, but he has just one reinvention recipe: "You've got to go into survivor mode, and you've got to reprogram yourself. What's your alternative?"
