The convenience store launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 52 steps in 8 phases, 28 of them specific to a convenience store. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan52 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A convenience store makes money on volume and mix: hundreds of , where the blended depends entirely on how much of the basket is high-margin back-end...
Typical for one unit is $500,000 to $2,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 3 to 10% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: because traffic, licenses, and fuel infrastructure are hard and slow to build, buying a proven store at a fair price (with a careful look at the mix and any fuel liabilities)... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
Opening a convenience store in a leased space is mostly shelving, coolers, and the first load of stock.
The itemized cost to open9 lines
- Coolers, walk-in, freezers & ice merchandiser: $11,000 to $66,000An 8 to 12 door walk-in cooler with glass doors runs about $25,700 to $35,200 before installation
- Shelving, checkout counters & fixtures: $23,000 to $44,000About 32 island and 16 wall gondola sections, end caps, counters, and the tobacco display
- Coffee station, roller grill, safe & ATM: $4,000 to $17,000
- POS registers & security cameras: $2,000 to $13,000
- Signage: $2,500 to $17,000
- Build-out (construction, electrical, plumbing, walk-in installation): $42,000 to $174,000The biggest swing; a second-generation store with good lighting and restrooms costs far less
- Opening inventory: $60,000 to $120,000Lottery tickets usually come from the state on consignment and are not part of this
- Licenses, permits, insurance, deposits & opening marketing: $18,000 to $67,000Tobacco, lottery, and beer and wine licenses, first insurance premium, lease and utility deposits, grand opening
- Initial working capital: $54,000 to $111,000Payroll, rent, and bills for about the first three months while sales build
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed5 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr (25 with real estate) · up to $5M · 75-85% government-guaranteed)The workhorse for opening or buying a store: it funds build-out, equipment, inventory, working capital, or an acquisition.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying an existing store.
- Equipment financing / lease (Secured by the equipment)Finance the walk-in, coolers, and POS on their own, secured by the equipment, to keep cash free for inventory and the first months.
- Supplier programs (Product placement and payment terms)Beverage, ice cream, coffee, ice, and tobacco suppliers often lend coolers, brewers, freezers, and displays if you carry their products, and wholesalers extend short payment...
- SBA 504 loan (Up to 25 yr · real estate & heavy equipment)For buyers purchasing the building too.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
A convenience store lives on traffic and proximity: busy roads, corners, fuel access, and a steady stream of nearby drivers and residents.
What decides it for this business: high vehicle & foot traffic, visibility & easy access, fuel or anchor draw, residential & worker density, right level of competition.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
- 06Not started0/13Open
Permits and the build-outone to three months
A convenience store sells age-restricted products and often food, so it carries more licenses than most small shops.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:For the and the walk-in cooler’s electrical and refrigeration work, pulled by your contractors and closed out by inspection.
After:Local approval for exterior signs and lighting.
Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county business license.
State registration to collect and remit tax; many states also tax tobacco and alcohol separately.
A state, and in many places a local, license to sell cigarettes, cigars, and vapor products.
A state license, often with local approval, to sell beer and wine to go.
An application to your state lottery with a background check and a bank account or bond for weekly settlements; the lottery supplies the terminal.
A county if you sell coffee, hot dogs, or any unpackaged food, with an inspection of sinks, food storage, and temperatures.
If you add fuel: state registration of underground storage tanks, proof of financial responsibility for leaks, fire marshal permits, and weights and measures inspection of the...
Local sign-off that the space is approved for retail use, with a fire inspection of exits and extinguishers.
After:Local sign-off that the space is approved for retail use, with a fire inspection of exits and extinguishers.
After:
- 07Not started0/12Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
A scan-based POS rings up hundreds of small an hour, prompts an ID check on tobacco and beer, tracks sales and by item and category, and takes...
A dedicated business account with cash deposit service keeps register cash, card deposits, lottery settlements, and supplier payments separate from personal...
Close the books every month so you see by category, shrink, and as a percent of while there is time to act.
Long hours mean many shifts and part-time clerks.
, property and inventory, crime cover for cash, and workers’ comp, plus liquor liability if you sell beer and wine.
Order from your convenience wholesaler’s online system on a set day, receive by scanning, and count high-theft items like tobacco weekly.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state employer, withholding, and workers’-comp registrations once you hire.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Daily: Open and run the registers, keep coolers and shelves stocked, manage... Weekly: Order from distributors, schedule staff across the full day,... Monthly: Reconcile blended and shrink, adjust the mix toward...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/5Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
on thin-margin lines; across long hours; Shrink, theft & cash risk.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Convenience stores sell actively, mostly to owner-operators, and buyers pay for documented , a long lease, and licenses that carry over.