# Coffee Shop....



## sicknote (Sep 5, 2011)

Like many on this forum I'm researching locations, premises etc for opening a coffee shop and have a few questions.

I'm negotiating the purchase of a domain name just now and was wondering if I should also trade mark the name?

To the working baristas reading this what would attract you to leave your current position to start in a new venture? Would installing equipment used in the barista championships attract interest? Would offering a management position attract a quality barista? etc....etc.

I can have the food/cake menu designed by a celebrity chef at no cost and would be allowed to use his name. Is this something I should consider or would it bring added pressure to a new start up?

I want to set up the coffee shop as a business rather than provide myself with a job.


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## coffeeman (Mar 20, 2010)

it's the age old question of what do people what, I personally think the first thing to do is look at where you want to set up and what the main audience is (mums, shopprers, office workers etc) and ideally survey them. It may be worth putting some of the q's you have into an online survey and popping it on here, they're usually pretty well received as everyone's happy to help.

from a barista POV i'd move for the chance to work with speciality coffee but, if most of the shops in the locallity are chains, the most likely people will leave will be the chance to work for more than minimum wage.

Sure there will be more along with an opinion also.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Maybe have a look at http://www.londoncoffeejobs.co.uk/ to see how people try to attract staff in their ads.

Just wondering - why do you need to negotiate buying a domain? Surely they're about a fiver and you can pick one up in a matter of minutes?

Anyway, here are my views.

It's embarrassing as a barista when you can't meet your own quality expectations because you haven't been given the right tools and materials. I wouldn't need a top of the range espresso machine, but I'd like to know what equipment was there, which roaster(s)/beans were being considered, what kind of coffee offering the owner had in mind. And I'd like input into that considering I'm the barista and therefore potentially know more about it than the owner... unless he/she knows their coffee very well. I think of a barista the same was as a chef. They can do more than just cook what they're told to, so they should be given the opportunity to do more, within reason.

I'd also need some assurances that the owner or manager knew what they were doing, because that directly relates to my job security. And that links to your last sentence... which sounds like you're taking the "work ON your business, not IN it" approach recommended by people like The Coffee Boys. I think that's fine once the business is up and running, and there's a solid management team in place making decisions on behalf of the owner. But it's incredibly frustrating when an owner can't decide whether they want to be involved or not, and pops in and out making random decisions and believing they're helping when infact they are throwing multiple spanners in multiple works. In my experience it can have a tangible adverse effect... e.g. stockouts, wrong stocks, confusion over rotas/staffing, generally leading to a poorer customer experience and disillusioned staff. In my view the input of absent owners should be at a stragetic and tactical level, not operational, and it needs to be made clear to any incoming staff who is in charge of operations. (This is obviously different during startup, when the owner needs to be involved every day in my view.)

I'm intrigued by your celebrity chef suggestion. Would they actually work with your staff to ensure the food is prepared the intended way? Would you be employing a non-celebrity chef, and if so, how would they feel about having a menu dictated to them?

Sounds exciting! Looking forward to hearing more as you progress.


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## sicknote (Sep 5, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback guys.

coffeeman - My audience is my downfall. Do I pay higher rent and rates and gain access to a high footfall location or try to save money and hopefully reputation will draw customers to the shop. The high footfall location would be a random mix of people but I'm not so sure about a shop in a not so busy location.

Mike - It's possible to buy and sell domains online rather than just registering your own name. I wanted a .com name that wasn't available and tracked down the owner. The name I feel will tie in with some of the ideas that I have. I have been selling domains for a while now and sometimes you get lucky. I have a few coffee related domains that I'm thinking about running simple sites on that will be used to draw business.

I'm not suggesting that baristas need top of the range machines to produce good coffee. I want to create an environment where the workers love the machinery they are using on a daily basis. This will rub off into the coffee and onto the customer. I would also be hoping to attract one or two individuals who would be a draw to the shop. Guys that are interested in entering competitions.

I don't know what I'm doing in a commercial retail environment and thats why its important for me to put the right people in place. I would rather earn money in my current business and use it to pay a consultant who 100% understands the coffee industry. I don't agree about being involved everyday at the start up either. I feel I would just get in the way that in the long run will cost the business money.

The chef suggestion was something that was put to me as a favour of sorts. I can get a small menu designed as well as some staff training. The problem is obviously how much food would we sell and the higher set-up and staff costs.


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## CoffeeClassics (Apr 19, 2011)

Hi

The feedback that I have had from SEO people is that running several simple sites to draw business doesn't really work - you are better off having one good site that you regularly update with good content as far as google is concerned. I've also been told that .co.uk domains are on a par with .com, just don't bother with the others. Your metadata and keywords are really important. But it sounds like you know a bit about this already.

Do give us a shout when you are looking for your equipment, we sell Futurmat traditional espresso machines and Compak and Cunill grinders, as well as everything else you'd need. Websites prices on the equipment is negoiatable!

Good luck with it

Clare


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