Is a College Degree needed?

[lauren Imbrockk]

What kind of college classes do you need to take to open a coffee shop or which ones are beneficial?

[JavaQueen]

Well, you don't have to have a degree in anything to open a shop

Things that would be helpful,
Business admin degree
food service/ restaurant type degree

lots of "life experience" in the area.

Having or not having a degree isn't going to guarantee success or failure.

[BaristaTrainer]

A business background is always helpful, also restaurant or food service experience is benefitial.

en·tre·pre·neur Â*Â*
n.
A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture.

There are some coffee schools that cater to those who are opening a coffee retail business, http://www.coffeeschool.org is the American Barista & Coffee School. I teach there along with other leading consultants in the industry.

I would also recommend reading as many books as you can on opening a retail coffee business. Alot of this information is not something you can find in a college environment.

Good Luck!

BT

[cafemakers]

Hi Lauren,

You should focus on retail business cirriculum to best prepare yourself for the challenges of starting a new coffee shop. You may also with to consider joining a member organization like the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which offers helpful materials and opportunities to exchange knowledge with others already in business.

To our knowledge, there are no accredited institutions offering an independent curriculum specific to starting and running a coffee shop, though some private businesses may attempt to mislead you otherwise.

With a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a healthy business acumen, the coffee industry specific information can be obtained from a number of sources.

[Rockcreekcoffee]

Lauren:

Don't let "not having a degree" hang you up on starting a coffee business. The first thing I would recommend is to join the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) and seek out information from lot of resources. Go to a coffee trade show and see what the industry is all about.

In regards to the American Barista & Coffee School that the Barista Trainer spoke about, I have attend the week long school.

It was money well spent in my opinion. I was one month away from opening my doors and I went. The first couple of days is the business side of the industry and the later part of the week is hands on training.

The nice thing about the school is that there are several different types of espresso machines to "play/train" on and see what is comfortable for you.

I would recommend the school closer to your seriousness in opening a coffeehouse. Many great companies sponsor the school and there is "no hidden agenda". They are not there to sell you anything. You receive excellent training and information. The class is small so you can ask alot of questions. Since the class is limited in size, the training is more personal to what your needs are. It is also a great way to network in the industry and meet others.

When checking into consulting companies, ask for references for the services they offer. They should be willing to give you names of clients they hawill most likely give you several names and call the reference and ask very tough questions.

Good Luck!!!

Rockcreekcoffee
Billings, MT

[Polo]

I also don't think a degree is absolutely necessary to have in order to open and run a coffee shop. There are things one needs to learn that are covered in a traditional business school like accounting and marketing for example. However the time spent obtaining a degree is not a waste by any means. There are a handfull of business schools that have degree tracks in entrepreneurship.

[WajihSadad]

It is said that until and unless, you dont have a MBA degree you wont be able to survive in UAE.
And now I've finally realized this. Searching for job for more then 3 months, I have decided to first complete my MBA degree. Untill then, I will be working in some menial firm. Otherwise, my dream of living in Abu Dhabi would only be a dream.

So, this is a personal and honest advice. DONT COME HERE UNLESS HAVE A POST GRADUATE DEGREE.
I have suffered :/ in the past few months.


And then the rest depends on you !!

[dark_sun]

Friends, how do you think public education is successful for human development? Is it better to engage in self-education? and if so, how best to organize it? I am looking for some information for my friend from India about studying mbbs in Ukraine. Found some info here . I know that Ukrainian teachers and professors give European-level knowledge with practical experience but I want to get information from someone who can tell more details by experience.

[Uteros]

I believe that public education will play a large role as before, but gradually private education and self-study will crowd out these areas.

[BIC]

Friends, how do you think public education is successful for human development? Is it better to engage in self-education? and if so, how best to organize it?

before public education was based on "memorization of information", such as history, science, literature ...etc.
but now, it is becoming absolute because almost every information is literally on the palm of your hand. siri, google...etc

Success of human development will not come from normal public education, but it will come from your inner pursuit of truth and knowledge.
Developing your mind to be joyful, peaceful and being conscious will be our next true steps to our own development. Which you can not get from a school.