Good place to store inspiration - Ill use this for briefing in a graphic designer for my logo creation and different people to show the vibe/direction...
http://pinterest.com/tracyjarvis/coffee-shop-inspires/
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Step 2 - read books and start a biz plan
These are the images of the books I am reading now - learning heaps. Like anything its a Pandora box, once you find out one thing it opens a whole world of more things to learn! I tend to fill the need to over plan and need to know everything before I jump...its good to plan but it shouldnt be a barrier. At some point you just gotta do it.
What I am learning about: business structure (to Incorporated or not), insurance coverages, licenses, equipment needs, operational ideas (little things like colored rags for different usages), who I need to hire (lawyer, accountant, etc), location considerations (signage factors, lease negotiation points, zoning, what is zoning), and all kinds of fascinating things about coffee (beans effected by atmosphere, cupping process, etcetc)....
I love coffee!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Step 1 be a professional barista....
After some amazing travels, I have relocated back to Seattle - the coffee capital of the US. I think its a good idea to work as a professional barista and really see if this will work for me....
The coffee scene is general has changed a bit since I was in the US. It was very much a get your caffeine-and-go kind of a place; in the biggest cup and most extra's as possible. Now it feels more destination and experience based...not just about getting "more" which is the typical american way, right.
There are a lot more cute cafes and coffee shops that have blossomed around Seattle and even more so in my hood - Capital Hill.
Since I havent worked in a year I am low on the cashflow and what I do have Im spending on trying latte's all over the city. Fuelled on too much caffeine, I have made my rounds in this city, found some good spots, applied at the ones I like and now I'm just waiting for the Universe to deliver.
Lets see the lay of the land here - everyone knows Vivace, Vitta, Stumptown, Victrola, Uptown Expresso. People are starting/should to know Seattle Coffee Works, Kaladi, Analog, and Bauhaus is a cool stop... Top Pot is cozy, coffee is just ok, get service.
This city is a bit too cool for school sometimes, the extreme rocker creative type seems to flood the coffee scene....
Monday, March 19, 2012
The beginning of a dream....
In 2007 I relocated to Australia from the US - Seattle. I was a driven online marketing professional looking to advance my career and experience life outside the US. I guess you could say I had the typical American mentality to work, work and work some more - from school, to college, straight to work. Life outside the US is just so different with the whole the work-life balance (and well everything else)...its in the fabric of their up bringing, to travel, to experience not just "get more", "be something", go, go, do, do....
Well, the ad agency life is hard to explain to those not in it - its another world. A stressful one at that. I loved life in Sydney but digital was up and coming so agencies were just getting defined. It took a lot of work, work that didnt start without a coffee, a skinny flat white to be exact.
Sydney Coffee is by far the best in the world. And I have been spending the last 4 years trying coffee around the world. Why is it so good? Something I will continue to explore in this whole starting a business process.
Many days begin with emailing from bed on the crackberry, which means frustration sets in even
before I got out of bed. One morning I was getting my coffee and made an observation how happy the barista’s are and how happy they made me with this simple pleasure in life. I decided then and there, this is what I want to do. And I know it’s not all roses and bubbles, I mean any type of customer service is bound to be annoying but still this is where my dream was born.
This (owning my own coffee shop) was the light at the end of my tunnel. Advertising and the corporate world were a means not the end – I was able to travel and do many wonderful things. It was/is a “love hate relationship” but I found peace knowing that it was just a means and I had a dream.
I try not to attached to things, if the dream changes, you know what... it changes. But here I
am, I quit my job and trying to figure out how to open a coffee shop. A lot of people are commending me on this, it is not easy to turn away from what you know. Not to continue climbing the corporate latter, not to make a lot of money, risky business but someones gotta do it. The more you make, the more you buy. The issue is... now that I got "champagne taste", this beer budget is harder to swallow that I hoped. Anyway, one step at a time, one day at a time….that is why I decided to start a blog.
Blog my experience, to talk out-loud or rather type out-loud... to no one I am sure. But it’s
a way to organize my thoughts, explore ideas, research how to do this….
So here's to opening a successful coffee shop or finding your dreams and chasing them...
Well, the ad agency life is hard to explain to those not in it - its another world. A stressful one at that. I loved life in Sydney but digital was up and coming so agencies were just getting defined. It took a lot of work, work that didnt start without a coffee, a skinny flat white to be exact.
Sydney Coffee is by far the best in the world. And I have been spending the last 4 years trying coffee around the world. Why is it so good? Something I will continue to explore in this whole starting a business process.
Many days begin with emailing from bed on the crackberry, which means frustration sets in even
before I got out of bed. One morning I was getting my coffee and made an observation how happy the barista’s are and how happy they made me with this simple pleasure in life. I decided then and there, this is what I want to do. And I know it’s not all roses and bubbles, I mean any type of customer service is bound to be annoying but still this is where my dream was born.
This (owning my own coffee shop) was the light at the end of my tunnel. Advertising and the corporate world were a means not the end – I was able to travel and do many wonderful things. It was/is a “love hate relationship” but I found peace knowing that it was just a means and I had a dream.
I try not to attached to things, if the dream changes, you know what... it changes. But here I
am, I quit my job and trying to figure out how to open a coffee shop. A lot of people are commending me on this, it is not easy to turn away from what you know. Not to continue climbing the corporate latter, not to make a lot of money, risky business but someones gotta do it. The more you make, the more you buy. The issue is... now that I got "champagne taste", this beer budget is harder to swallow that I hoped. Anyway, one step at a time, one day at a time….that is why I decided to start a blog.
Blog my experience, to talk out-loud or rather type out-loud... to no one I am sure. But it’s
a way to organize my thoughts, explore ideas, research how to do this….
So here's to opening a successful coffee shop or finding your dreams and chasing them...
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