Dream of owning a coffee house - Hoping for advice

[Alun_evans]

I would back Buck100- 100% (pardon the pun)! I think it is really, really important to get some ground/counter time in a busy hospitality situation, especially if this is a career move from an office type job. One thing for sure, starting a new cafe means you will spend a lot (read all) your time there in an active role. In Indonesia (for instance) many of the new breed of cafe owner have absolutley no experiece or understandng of the physically demanding nature of cafe work. It is hard yacker! A lot of the new cafes I either provide coffee or machines to are owned by a group of owners with plenty of money. However when it comes to the time they spend on the floor- they are often wiped out after just a few hours. I have been in hospiality for 24 years...I am the opposite, I love the time on my feet and the whole experience of face-to-face customer interaction. But then again, put me in an offce and it could be a disaster. I guess my point is different folks, different strokes. So...

Practical experience will help you to learn not only the barista and preperation skills you need, but also show you the other opperational aspects of the business. I think, in some ways, this is more valuable than using a consultant solely (although their experience is still vital for helping with design, operational and business plan aspects). Help from existing owners (such as those found on this forum) may ultimatley be one of the best ways to go forward. Anyway good luck! Hey Rena, PM me if you want to, I am always keen to meet Indonesians looking at opening cafes and do not mind being a sounding board.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Well I guess I'll throw my two cents in for what it's worth. There are some good points being made here. There is no subsitute for OJT, i.e., on the job training. I often advise people that are still in the research phase to try that for a few months. If you choose that route, you must not loose focus for the reason for taking a job like that. Because if you do you may get side tracked and find that you have a job working for someone else. You must also be true to yourself and to the prospective employer that your stay with them is only temporary. I know, why would someone hire you on that basis? Well put yourself in there shoes, would you? Basically it's to gain a few drink making skills and feel confident enough behind the machine to make drinks. But that is the simple part of the business. It takes months and sometimes years before you will be able to actually operate and own your business. Most employees don't take and active interest in wanting to know how to run the business, they just do it for a paycheck. With that being said, that is why I caution you to stay focused. Otherwise you may find yourself thinking like an employee and not an owner.

You know it's kind of funny about "Consultants"...Because that term conjures up a lot of different implications :grin: . Over the last several years I've seen or heard about many consultants that will advise you on a lot of stuff and provide you with a bunch of fluff and pretty pictures, however how many of them have actually worked the business, or built one and ran it successfully? Furthermore, went on to build more locations? The TRUE consultant is the business owner that has learned from many tries and many mistakes. And from each mistake has come improvement, and from those improvements came success. So in that regard, if you seek becoming an owner, then you will have to do a lot of work. If you need additional help and are willing to invest in a "Consultant", then give that a try.

O.K. I'm falling asleep now...But keep at it

 

[Mocha Psyc]

Let me toss my dog in...

As a perspective coffee house owner I'm on the "outside" looking in. I've noted the suggestions many have made in regards to OJT. However, it's REAL easy to say "get some on the job training" - but that advice may be unrealistic. Why? Because there are those of us who have very good paying jobs which have nothing to do with coffee - myself included.

Opening a coffee house “shouldâ€

 

[DavesLT]

Learning to make a great cup of coffee or a mean latte is very important, but I’d rank it second to strong business skills when it comes to a successful operation.

Keith, I'd hate to agree with that statement entirely, but I do agree that good business skills are vital to your success. And it's not rocket science to make espresso drinks, otherwise as you've noted, there wouldn't be a zillion Starbucks in operation. I would hope that whomever you are partnering with as a coffee supplier or espresso machine supplier has already commited to training your staff? I do when I sell a machine in my territory and most of the coffee roasters do as well. It's in our best interests to see that our customers succeed. That's just good business.

Good Luck, -Dave

 

[Muddycup]

rena, thanks for the good words, as you get closer to your dream keep us posted.

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hey Jim:

I have to agree with rena. You do have a cool looking site, and your locations look warm and inviting. I'll have to drop my when I come to the New York area.

 

[Muddycup]

all are welcome to visit, although I warn you I will talk your ear off about the coffee "Business". Having a marketing background I think I have analized every aspect of this business from coffee to furniture and even though all our stores look completely different their is a common theme, standard and consistency.

Great coffee is a given, it is the expectation of comfort and reward that sets all of us apart.

I never thought when we first started after I was layed off from my well paying dot com job that I would be planning on opening our six store this year.

Coffeeguy - is right about consultants, those that are currently in the business, not their past! make the best advice givers, this business does evolve not only nationally, culturally and locally. I feel only an entrepreneur type person will understand the business of the product/ customer relationship.

Well ok enough ranting from me :grin:

 

[rena]

I think this forum have some interesting suggestions. I agree that to start a business like Coffee Shops & Cafe is best to consult it with those who already have experiences.

I'm acctually work in a private art and culture organisation. I'm using my house for the activity and I rent some space to a small book shop and library. The activities like reading club, writing club, jazz club, hobby club, exhibition, music and reading poetry perfomance,etc, have been going for nearly 3 years now. And of course these activities are nice to have it with coffee. I noticed, most of the visitors are big fans of coffee. Some of them even already mention that the only thing missing here is a cafe. So basically we already have some customers for the Coffee Shop.

As I'm also a big fans of coffee then I start to think about opening a small coffee shop. I realize that it needs proffessionality and attention to do it. One of my friend is interested to be a partner in the business. She used to have a cafe in Jakarta and could not compete with other big coffee industry. As there are already many other cafe in the neigbourhood we have to consider the sustainability of our business. I still collecting informations before we start. I do get inspired by the concept of Muddy Cup from the website. I hope to check out more site of Coffee Shop & Cafe. Or perhaps any suggestion that coffee shop e-learning can be usefull.

 

[Alun_evans]

I would say from an Indonesian perspective you are already quite a long way ahead of quite a number of cafe operators in this country. As you know when Starbucks came in here 3.5 years ago, coffee suddenly became trendy. It lead to the opening of all those cafes you mentioned in Jakarta, as well as in other cities. From an expatriate point of view (and from a supplier insiders view point :wink: ) I have to say many of these first wave of specialty coffee shops are built solely on the back of the desire to make money out of a new product. (specialty coffee). I am not kidding when I say probably 80% of tehse cafes are owned by people who have 1/. no real interest in coffee 2/. no interest or love of the hospitality industry and 3/. no interest (after an initial 6 month burst) of running their cafe businesses themselves. I would say it would not hurt to look close to home first to see what the survivors are doing well. It only takes a visit to CITOS, Pondok Indah Mall and Plaza Senyan for you too see, feel and experience the huge range of quality differences in specialty coffee. From this, and from what you learn in surfing the web and networking with people on this forum- you will be able to begin to put together some concepts for your cafe. As a wholesale roaster I am often pleasantly surprised to see the cafes with small beginings and owner passion, quickly go from small orders to very, very reasonable ones in a short period of time.

I think in Bandung you have a great opportunity to make something quite unique. I know there are quite a few cafes there now, but there are very few that produce international quality coffee (hehehe...I wont do any free advertising for anyone here by mentioning the good, bad and ugly).

I think having a situation where you already have frequent visitors is an excellent start point. There are one or two cafe/galleries I supply in Surabaya and Malang that begun the same way.

Good luck- Its just great to see someone else from my part of the world on this forum.

 

[Alun_evans]

BTW sorry my spelling is so bad, seems to be getting worse if anything

 

[Coffee Guy]

Hey rena:

Actually you are pretty lucky to have A.E. in your area. For he is very well educated in the coffee world, and I would urge you to probably pm him more about your plans and use him to provide your coffee as well as the training. :wink:

 

[Alun_evans]

Thanks for tht C.G...maybe we can do a barter deal where Rena helps me with my spelling

 

[rena]

oops.. excuse me for the miss spelling. You need to know that people in Bandung have often mixed up the 'p', 'v' and 'f'. And this time I put too much 'f'.

Thanks Alun, I'll pm you as I get closer to the plan. I'll tell you, you won't need my expertise in spelling and grammar

It’s true that there are not many café here can offer you good quality coffee. Perhaps they don’t know how to make a good espresso, latte, cappuccino etc. Sometimes they’re not sure on how to use the machine or the milk is not good enough. The other thing some people here prefer the traditional way, that is ‘kopi tubruk’. And I’m sure there are many other ways if we do a research. I just don’t think I’ll use it to start a Coffee Shop.

Alun, I do need help from an expert like you. Maybe someday is good to make a small workshop of making good coffee or even an exhibition open to public in our place. We’ve already made some documentation of a coffee roaster in Bandung. It’s part of the culture that we want to study. I would like to record the whole process of making a Coffee Shop.

 

[rena]

Another thing is that my friend had to close her Coffee Shop in Kemang after the opening of Citos and other Malls. Now that Starbuck is expanding to Bandung and more outlets and malls are coming, we have to consider the concept of our Coffee Shop. A.E. is right there’s still a chance to have loyal customers in Bandung.