OPENING YOUR OWN TEA BUSINESS
Tea is becoming very popular. Now is the time to get into the tea trade. It is expected that the tea business will double in the next five years. In 2000 the tea business had $4.2 billion in sales. In 2010 it is expected to reach $10 billion. As you can see, opening a tea business now is going to increase as more and more people turn to tea. The potential earnings are there for you and your hard work!
Opening a tea bar is less expensive than opening a tea room. A tea bar would be in the same category as a Starbucks. A tea bar has less restrictions than a tea room which in generally classified as a restaurant.
Your tea business could be in-home sales and presentations. These are home parties where you could educate people about tea as well as sell tea and tea accouterments. Your imagination can run wild in this department. After all, we've all been to Tupperware parties, candle parties, kitchen parties, and clothing parties. You can use some of their ideas for launching this type of tea business. One of your biggest selling points for this type of business is the health of drinking tea. This would be one of the main reasons people would host a tea presentation in their home.
If you like to speak to groups, you could talk on all aspects of tea. You topics could range from health benefits to history of tea to Victorian tea parties or to tea etiquette. There are many groups that would love to learn about tea. Tea is gaining in popularity and the tea business is forecast to double in the next five years. Start with your local church groups. Retirement homes, newcomers clubs, health care networks, local bookstores, libraries, schools, including home schools would all be interested in having tea talks. You can present classes at your local community college and/or university. The parks and recreation department holds summer classes and would love to have one to offer on tea. Also, local clubs, such as the Red Hat Society love to have speakers. I found that once they knew I gave tea talks, they all wanted to hire me.
Another idea for a tea business is leading tea tours. These can be tours of your local area or adjoining areas. You can work with travel organizations and set up tours across the United States as well as in foreign countries.
If you like to write, there are many publications that have guest authors. Or, you might want to write a book. Books about tea are just becoming popular. You could publish a book about tea rooms across your section of the country. You could gather recipes from tea rooms across your section of the country or across the United States. Tea rooms love to have this free publicity.
About the Author
Writer and certified "tea professional" Sally Jones has been recognized by the Specialty Tea Institute after attending a series of classes and exams and has been awarded its highest level of certification obtainable at this time. She publishes tea business information on her main websiteTea Business Guide .