Reader Question: How To Start A Coffee Shop

In: Business Ideas By: Brian Armstrong

26 Jun 2009

Check out this question from a Breaking Free reader…

Hey Brian,

I have been thinking about opening a coffee shop, not long actually probably for this past month, Im 21 years old and currently part of an internship. I have a lot of time to plan, and research, but I cant seem to grasp what exactly I need to do. The obvious would be taking a basic course in business, however, in the meantime… Do you have any suggestions on what I should start learning, if I am someday to own a coffee lounge? Books? Sites for people starting coffee shops? Anything you post is HIGHLY appreciated thanks…

Brimo Knight

Hi Brimo,

I have zero experience starting coffee shops, but I can tell you what I’d do if I wanted to learn how: find half a dozen local coffee shops that seem to be doing really well, and see if you can get a meeting with the owner.

Most business owners are willing to help if you approach it as a younger person who is eager to learn. Just tell them you are an aspiring entrepreneur and have no idea what you are doing, but want to see if you could get 10 minutes of their time and some advice. They’ll talk your ear off with all the challenges they’ve faced, some may try to talk you out of it, but it will all be valuable. If you happen to connect especially well with one of them, try to follow up with them on a regular basis and get them as as mentor.

Remember: the best way to be successful is to find someone who has already done it and do what they’re doing. Only after you have really mastered what they’re doing is it time to innovate – not in the beginning.

Also, be careful not to get advice from a coffee shop owner who is also doing it for the first time, almost bankrupt, or barely getting by. Obviously this is a delicate issue and you can’t ask them outright for their financial statements, so you’ll have to use your best judgment. Advice from a failing coffee shop owner could actually be worse than no advice at all. Find the people who have been doing it a long time, own multiple shops, and are actually successful at it.

At least that’s how I’d go about it – do any readers have experience opening coffee shops? Maybe you can leave your advice for Brimo in the comments.

Good luck, and keep breaking free!
Brian Armstrong

14 Responses

John Bardos

June 27th, 2009 at 4:57 pm

Meeting with owners is a good idea. It never hurts to ask experts questions. You may even find someone willing to help you get started.

I would also suggest getting a job in your favorite cafe and learning everything you can.

I worked in the restaurant industry for many years, including a cafe and I think it is safe to say that the background business it is not complicated. However, running a great cafe is not easy.

My wife and I are huge coffee lovers. We take pictures of our coffees from around the world. We definitely know what makes a great cafe. Coffee quality is important, of course, but everyone has good coffee now if you get a decent espresso machine.

The difficult part is the atmosphere of the cafe. I love it when the owner is behind the counter and it is clear they really love their business. Get to know your customers and express your personality in the cafe and you will likely build a loyal following.

People the world over are tired of the big chains with all their cookie cutter copied cafes. Real coffee lovers want a unique experience in an artistic atmosphere.

If you love coffee and love people, it won’t be difficult to have a successful cafe.

Brian Armstrong

June 27th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

I agree with seeing the owner behind the counter and expressing your personality…i recently met an owner like that in a tiny little town St. Augustine Florida when I was there for a wedding. Got to talking with him about his business and I ended up going there almost every day for lunch. His place stood out – in the deep south where it was nearly impossible to find healthy food he had a little oasis of free wifi and healthy fast good, just my kind of place and a cool guy.

This is totally unrelated, but funny enough that I figured I’d mention it. The last day we were there, we were all a little drunk and decided to “help him with his marketing” a little bit. So we climbed the sign outside his shop and changed “Organic Coffee” to “Orgasmic Coffee”. Here is the result:

http://bit.ly/RR94a

Luckily he had a good sense of humor about it :) And he had some very inquisitive customers the next morning.

John Bardos

June 27th, 2009 at 5:32 pm

Now that sounds like good coffee!

Hubtonomy

June 28th, 2009 at 10:20 am

We need people like Brimo right now with a desire to succeed. There are too many high street chains dominating the high street.

Wayne

June 29th, 2009 at 2:33 pm

Hey Brian, I’m the former co-owner of two successful coffee shops. I have a course that takes people step-by-step through the process of opening a coffee shop.

If you could have Brimo send me an email (referencing your blog) I’ll give him a free copy of my Coffee Shop Secrets course.

To your success,

Wayne

Chuck Cohn

June 29th, 2009 at 8:49 pm

Brimo,

I actually put some thought into this a few years back for an entrepreneurship course I took and would be happy to share the presentation with you.

I to quickly building a strong brand centers around distribution. You could certainly go the traditional route of trying and encourage foot traffic to your store, but I think there are other ways for a unknown company to ramp up sales faster. The implicit assumption in all of this is that you’ll have good coffee. That means having consistent coffee. From what I’ve seen, a decent roaster that provides consistent coffee is a moderately large amount is a at least a few thousand dollars.

I start the business by (1) buying a roaster and getting the roast down, (2) developing a killer logo and great website, and (3) distributing your coffee through other stores.

A couple of examples of companies that have done a great job branding themselves in the coffee space (besides starbucks, obviously) are Kaldis Coffee in St. Louis, MO (http://www.kaldiscoffee.com/) and Santa Barbara Coffee Company in Santa Barbara, CA (http://sbcoffee.com/). Both have blown up in recent years due having a great brand and a good product. They were helped by a great brand image. SBCC sells the Northern Cal lifestyle. Kaldis coffee has great distribution deals. Kaldis started off 12 or so years ago selling through a free standing stores and then working their way into local restaurants and has since launched bigger deals with local Universities, corporate cafeterias, grocery stores, etc.

I suggest that after you’ve created a great brand / logo with the help of a website like http://www.crowdspring.com for $300-$500, you buy a good roaster, get an attractive website and go restaurant to restaurant and try to sell them on why they should stock your coffee. Also, you might want to consider selling into the gift shops at high rise condos – you could sell coffee that is less than 24 hours old on Saturday morning, for instance, out of a high rise building (I’m thinking 20+ stories to get the scale).

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Chuck Cohn

Brian Armstrong

July 3rd, 2009 at 7:41 pm

Wow, good thoughts Chuck…looks like you investigated it quite a bit.

“Santa Barbara Coffee Company” is an good name. It lets people know they’re supporting a local business – the kind of name you could build a following around. Most people would probably assume you should pick something that can expand later (”city coffee” etc), but then you’re just another corporate coffee. Reminds me of the “law of sacrifice” (from the 22 immutable laws of marketing).

Carl Natale

June 30th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

It’s important to remember you aren’t selling coffee. You’re selling a caffeine addiction fix and an experience. You might also be selling a strong dose of sugar and fat. Your customers will be loyal because of the experience you provide.

Brian Armstrong

June 30th, 2009 at 10:15 pm

Great point.

simona@personal development coach

June 30th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

It’s a good idea but then if the owner is negative and tries to talk you out of the idea, you may become doubtful about the whole thing, especially if it is your first business venture. Talking from the experience here:)

Take only advice that is going to help you get started, but ignore all the discouragement.

Brian Armstrong

July 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Thanks Simona.

College Town Menus (CTM)

July 2nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Getting a mentor is key. Getting a mentor in your industry is even better. I would suggest looking into SCORE – retired executives and business owners that can answer all/most of your questions, for free! They are all over, so finding a chapter near you shouldn’t be hard. Get the advice you need, but my suggestion would be to DISTINGUISH yourself from the others. You know how many coffe shops there are? Tons. You know how many of them advertise free internet? Tons. Do something different – be unique. Being unique will get you press, a solid and loyal consumer base, and will have others that copy off you because they think it’s a good idea, giving you credibility and bragging rights. Good luck!

Brian Armstrong

July 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 pm

SCORE is great.