FAQ
Typically, the breakdown for our revenue sources on our established wineries is as follows:
Wine by the bottle: 40%Wine by the glass: 10%
Food/Appetizers: 30%
Guest bottling experience: 5%
Wine Club: 15%
The royalty fees are five percent of your gross monthly sales, and are exclusive of any sales tax and net of discounts. In addition, we offer support services that help the small business owner. In addition to the royalties, we currently charge $350/month for specific services that we provide. These services include
- The development and maintenance of your website
- Providing access to our robust intranet system managed by a technology company used in over 200 other major franchises. Our intranet system contains all of our franchise documents, materials, training, social media content and our operations manuals online
- You will have access to our PR firm at any time to assist with marketing your grand opening, and after your opening to help you promote events and milestones to your local media as well as strategic marketing advice
- Access to our training manager to assist with knowledge improvement, questions and remote staff training when needed
Our goal is to help you make as much profit as possible – ensuring your long-term success in our system.
There are three phases of our training program. First, we will send to you home-study materials and a curriculum to follow. This will give you a base level of knowledge and prepare you for the second phase of our training. In Phase Two, our trainers will guide you through all aspects of wine making, tasting, customer service, marketing, purchasing procedures, inventory control and day-to-day operational procedures during an intensive training program. We will provide you with the Waters Edge confidential Operations Manual detailing all that you have learned. Finally, Phase Three of training takes place at our local Affiliate winery. This phase is our internship that lasts two days.
When it comes to training you on the larger tank system, we will utilize your winery systems and equipment on site. Training is conducted by our winemaker. You are taken through a complete vinting cycle referencing your phase one wine making education. You will learn the critical wine making procedures required to produce high quality wines every time. Our team of experts will provide on-going support to ensure the success of your business.
There are many ways to fund your franchise. One of the more recent methods is using a 401(K) fund that you have built up during your career. The IRS has now recognized a legal method to allow your 401(K) funds to purchase stock in your own company. When using one of our preferred providers for this type of financing, there are no early withdrawal penalties or tax liabilities on the funds you use to fund your company. We can connect you with several companies that provide this service.
Click here to find out what financing may be available to you.
In addition, the SBA will generally guarantee bank loans if a borrower has good credit and there is some type of collateral, such as real estate, to secure against the loan. Finally, many people have successfully turned to friends and family to raise the funds necessary for the startup – you’ll find they usually are very interested when they think they can be part of a new winery!
We have partnered with the leading Point-of-Sale (POS) provider in the wine industry. Their software automates all of your POS functions and cash controls, as well as inventory management and accounts receivable. It also integrates with QuickBooks. The software also includes a complete Wine Club Management module that automates the billing and pickup of your member’s wines. The system includes a restaurant module that makes it easy to use a touch screen interface commonly seen in much larger restaurants and bars.
Waters Edge will supply you with our exclusive “Wine Management System” (WMS) production tracking tool. This unique spreadsheet is designed to assist you in day-to-day winery production information as well as tax calculations as required by federal and state authorities to accurately pay taxes required on alcohol production.
To help with your financial management, we utilize an online version of QuickBooks that allows you to access your financial information securely from any computer at anytime.