The pros to owning a coffee franchise or coffee business are easy:  You have a giant portion of the population hooked on your product; recent media has made hanging out with a coffee cup a status symbol that says “I’m rich enough to waste six bucks on a double mocha, espresso, cappuccino with a dusting of cinnamon.”; and many like hanging out in the relaxing environment of coffee shops.  

But there are cons to owning a coffee business.  One is Starbucks.  Many believe that Starbucks is a franchise.  Starbucks is not a franchise and you won’t be able to own a Starbucks franchise in North America.  What you can do is either start your own coffee shop or buy a coffee franchise other than Starbucks.  The problem comes in when a Starbucks targets you and opens shop across the street.  Starbucks has killed many independent and small franchise coffee shops around the world and that is something you must consider before entering into this potentially lucrative market.  

If you do decide to open your own coffee business or franchise make sure that you have something that Starbucks doesn’t, or at the least make sure that you can compete on their level. Make your coffee shop cooler than Starbucks.  Sell more books, play hipper music, do something unique.  You can compete with Starbucks, but it will take a creative entrepreneur to do so.