Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

Opening a Tea / Coffee Shop

I was doing some research for a friend who wants to start a coffee / tea shop and I realized I had quite a list of links.  I offer these for anybody who might be interested in starting up a coffee shop or tea house.  I don't endorse any of these sites or products, I merely offer them here as I would to my friend, as resource material and a starting point to do your own investigation.

Coffee / Tea Industry Events

For the coffee/tea business people, if you're going to be in Seattle next weekend, you can hop back and forth between two industry events:

April 15 - 16, 2005:
8th Annual Specialty Tea Institute Symposium, Seattle, Washington. Tel: (1)(212) 986-0250 Email: [email protected], Web site: www.teausa.org

April 15 - 18, 2005:
SCAA 17th Annual Conference & Exhibition, Seattle, Washington. Tel: (1)(562) 624-4100, Fax: (1)(562) 624-4101, E-mail: [email protected], Web site: www.scaa.org

More coffee/tea business events: Tea & Coffee Trade Calendar

In Praise of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

I've been keeping half an eye on the Fair Trade issue.  I think it's cool that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. has been ranked No. 2 on Business Ethics magazine's 2005 list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens".  They've been on the list before, but not as high as No. 2.

Green Mountain has been a pioneer in helping struggling coffee growers by paying them fair trade prices. The company also offers micro-loans to coffee growing families, and each year they contribute at least five percent of their pre-tax profits to support socially responsible initiatives. 

Robert Stiller, President and CEO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. said,

"We are honored to join the other excellent companies on this list that have incorporated social and environmental responsibility into daily business practices. This recognition is a direct result of the support we have received from our employees, our customers, and our shareholders who have continued to believe in the positive direction we are moving as we continue to develop a business that is successful and sustainable for all stakeholders and our planet."

It's good to know that successful business doesn't necessarily mean heartless and earth-human unfriendly.

From: Yahoo! Finance, April 7, 2005

Yay for the Independent Coffee Houses

Today's Small Business Trends post confirms that, at least in Cleveland, small business owners are more in touch with the emotions and needs of their customers/clients.   In  Independent Coffehouses Understand Their Market, Anita comments on a recent tour of coffeehouses in Cleveland that offer free wireless Internet (wi-fi) service.  And it's the small, independent coffee houses that are serving up free wi-fi service.  The big chains all charge for it.  Unfortunately, as is the case with most things, the big guys with the big budget don't have to care.

Sounds like a good time was had by all!  An all-day event, with bloggers/wi-fi enthusiasts/coffee-lovers strapping on their notebook PCs and other techo-accoutrement and taking in the Cleveland coffee house circuit.  Sounds like my cuppa tea... er... coffee.   

Spring Coffee and Tea Handbook

My First Day of Spring offering, for the tea / coffee shop owner:

Spring Remodeling: 2002 Spring Coffee and Tea Handbook
by Greg M. Gorman, Gourmet Retailer Magazine

Just ignore the 2002 marker on this article.  It's chock full of great tips for giving your coffee shop or tea house a quick face lift for Spring.  Stuff you can do "on the cheap" include adding artwork, decorating with spring flowers, changing the background music (or introducing background music), and changing the lighting.  If you have the budget for it, bigger changes will get noticed, such as new flooring, ceiling fans, or change of paint color.

There's great advice here for any business.  Including virtual.  Add some Spring artwork, specials or news to your website for a quick seasonal update.

Coffee and a Scroll

I like to complain.  Today I'm moaning about the warp speed changes on the web.  It's all changing so fast, and getting faster every day.  My hardware and software have undergone dozens of changes.  Today's purchase is tomorrow's paperweight.  In the 10 years I've been doing web design, I've learned and abandoned more software programs and coding languages than I can count. I get proficient at something and POOF, it's obsolete.

Some small business pundits recommend specializing.  That's all very well and good, but what if you choose to specialize in something that becomes obsolete in 6 months?  Trying to figure out which of the latest trends to follow and learn, with my admittedly limited brain power, is a task and a half. 

Web Future - A New and Constantly Evolving Ball Game, recommends developing an early warning system to keep an eye on trends of the future.  But those of us who don't eat, sleep, and breathe business don't have unlimited resources for the "constant attention and intense concentration" required to stay ahead of the trends. 

I needed to find ways to ride the crest without becoming totally depleted, without spending 20 hours out of 24 doing research and trend-watching. 

Now my morning routine includes hot coffee and a scroll...  I slurp and I scroll through my favorite sites to see what's going on.  Two of my favorites are the Small Business TrendTracker and Small Business Brief.  Why?  Because I'm lazy.  These sites gather the latest information from all over the web for me.  They watch the latest trends, review the latest information, and make it much easier for me to keep track of what's going on without having to do all the legwork myself.  And the things I find most useful or interesting, I post on my Small Business Resources Page. 

I guess that makes me sort of a 3rd tier trendwatcher, 2nd cousin once removed.  That's ok, that's right in my energy level.  Even with the help of coffee or tea, I'm no A-Type personality. So I raise my cup to these other trendwatching sites.  I and all the other lazy, tired-of-swimming-at-warp-speed entrepreneurs salute you and thank you!