Consulting

[jcgoldy]

I have been looking for some outside advice besides my Cousin who is helping me open my shop. He has 9 years of experience and owns 3 shops and 1 cart. However his drive is lagging and trying to get information out of him is sometimes challenging. He got into the business so early and for so cheap he don't understand why it costs so much more. Any ways, does anybody have any experience with Alex Fisenko?
Is his book a good tool? How about epsresso 101 DVD? Additional information is appreciated.

 

[BaristaTrainer]

Espresso 101 is great! You may also want to look into the American Barista & Coffee School http://www.coffeeschool.org

Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup provides expert consulting on every level. Visit http://www.espresso101.com for more information on books and videos (I would highly recommend looking at one of the Start-Up packages including the Bean Business Basics Manual) and http://www.specialtycoffeeconsulting.com for consulting information.

Bellissimo has been consulting for over a dozen years, and are true industry experts. They speak at all of the major tradeshows and have helped thousands of people get into the business.

I recommend doing as much research as you can, attend tradeshows, subscribe to Freshcup magazine http://www.freshcup.com and other industry periodicals, etc. Hiring a consultant can be very valuable.

Good luck,

BT

 

[BaristaTrainer]

Your are right. Having opened and managed multiple retail coffee operations myself, I have found these tools to be very helpful, not to mention the countless hours of labor saved in training and ongoing support/reference they provide.

I recommend that people that are serious about getting into this business do all the research they can early on (books and videos are a great source) then utilize a consultant in the areas they feel neccesary depending on their expertise and background if they feel this is the right industry for them.

Bellissimo has shown over the past decade a true passion for this industry and has seen the need for education. They have traveled the world to capture visually what most people will never have the chance to experience or see in their videos like the Passionate Harvest, and have interviewed and philosophised with great minds like Dr. Illy to broaden peoples view of coffee.

Quality and perfection are neccesary to compete in retail coffee as we can all see on this forum people want to learn as much as they can about every aspect of coffee.

I "love" all educational materials about coffee and have an extensive library of books and films from a multitude of resources.

BT

 

[jerry]

consultants

Hi, I am new to the site but I agree with cafemaker who is also a consultant ,that you should come out and say who you are . I have been researching several forums and taking in a world of info, its great , do keep up the good work.
To jcgoldy, Alex gives several names of people he has worked with and you can call and talk to them to get there feelings about his work. I called a couple and was given a good report, but am still checking out several others. I think some consultants have some of there services way over priced so be sure and check out several. The biggest web site does not always mean the best way to go. Keep at it and good luck.

Jerry

 

[BaristaTrainer]

cafemakers

I am not the author of the products of which you speak, however I have been fortunate enough to work for Bellissimo recently, and I am not trying to hide anything. My 10 years of training and work in the coffee industry BEFORE this involvement proved to me the excellence of the products that jcgoldy was inquiring about. There should be no problem with me sharing with this forum my extensive training background and experience in the specialty coffee industry.

I think you should review the rules of the forum as you are in violation of most of them:

1. No E-Mail excerpts of any kind are allowed in posts. The reason behind this is that its contained in the little buttons when you post so members can easily see your e-mail address if you allow for it to be seen.

3. Signing your name is allowed, however URL dropping in signatures is disallowed and will be removed. Your profile can contain a URL however it may not be referred to.

5. You agree that you will not copy or retransmit any of the information from within this site without first achieving permission of Coffee Forums and the original author of the message. and P.S. YOU DO NOT have my permission to copy my text!

Interesting how someone that is blatently advertising his own business (against forum rules) can criticize anyone else.

Let's not abuse this forum with personal issues.

I am sure that all of the above was also "never your intention".

BT

 

[BaristaTrainer]

I want to apologize to jcgoldy and the rest of you reading this ... who's legitimate questions somehow turned into this ridiculous discussion.

In no way do I want to keep this banter going. I have been on this forum for a while and I think it is great!

I'd rather be the mature one here.

cafemakers ... grow up please. I am not hiding anything.

I took my URL off to abide by the rules of the forum ... I'd rather be here as a resource than to solicit business asking people to PM me to get client references like you do.

BT

 

[BaristaTrainer]

believe what you want. i've spent 12 proud years in this industry ... working as a barista, manager, head trainer and consultant.

please stop wasting this forums time with your childish banter.

 

[Aliya]

Wow!

I joined this site 8 months ago, and I don't know what the problem is.

Cafemakers... chill out, dude. Barista Trainer hasn't done anything wrong. This site is to gather information, and he is supplying it. In no way should anyone take anything anyone writes on here as the "word of God" so to speak. We read, form our own opinons, and let people's advice guide us. If we choose to not take that advice, so be it.

If you read the prior pages to this you will see that I was considering taking classes from Barista Trainer's company. I was advised against it... that it cost too much. So, reluctantly, I bought one of their books instead, and was SO impressed that I decided to hire them as consultants. I then shared knowledge of my great experience for all to see on here. When you are pleased with a product/sevice, it's nice to share that information.

This is supposed to a friendly forum, but I think you making it quite unpleasant and tense. Yes, that is directed to you, Cafemakers.

I see that you just joined this month. Please read other posts to see how other people interact. This is the first time I have felt compelled to complain about someone. Seriously, grow up. It's just a forum to SHARE information.
~aliya

 

[jcgoldy]

While I can appreciate the banter between you two I was looking for some info not who is following rules or who has an agenda. I am simply looking for advice. I am not uneducated and/or ignorant to the fact that people have opinions. Opinions are great and I am able to decipher and digest most opinions. So please simply give your opionion if it has value. If there is no value given, most that i have read has value, then don't post.

Now that I have said my peace. thank you for the information. I do not plan to use a full consulting company because I would like to be creative in the process. I am very interested in partially funding my process through an SBA loan so any help in creating an excellent business plan would be the greatest help that I could ask for at this time.

 

[Aliya]

Jcgoldy. Thanks for your input... it's always good to be creative. I am sure you will learn a lot and prosper from the process. I am opening in 2 months, so if you have any questions, I would be happy to give some advice.

Cafemakers, my POINT of my earlier message was to clarify that the postings of Barista Trainer were to HELP people. There are other people on here doing the exact same thing. I don't really see how YOU are helping with your sarcasm and put-downs. If you are REALLY concerned... at least pose questions and concerns like an adult. We ARE all adults here, right?
~aliya

 

[jpscoffee]

JCGoldy
I have owned and operated an espresso bar in Michigan for 11 years (this Nov. 23 is 11 years). I also do consulting. If you would like information on what I offer contact me.
Thanks

 

[teanut]

consulting

Jcgoldy -

I can vouch for Jack from JPsCoffee....Great guy with lots of information!

Amy

 

[Coffee Guy]

WOW!!! :twisted: Now everybody kiss and play nice, nice :wink: This forum is valuable in the sense that it provides information and exchange of ideas...Now of course my opinion is the only one that accounts for anything...Just kidding... :roll: . Fact of the matter is this site and others like it are for professionals and non professionals to share. When appropriate, I through in my two cents in for what it's worth. With that said, lets get things back on track.

 

[BaristaTrainer]

Thanks coffee guy ... I agree with you.

 

[Cre8ive_being]

I just happened to come across this forum a few minutes ago. I am playing around with the idea of opening a coffee house, but don't know much about this business yet; still researching. I also am not a fan of the bickering, but in defense of cafemakers, I think it is very helpful to know that someone offering advise in this forum works for a particular company and that their opinions may not be completely un-biased regardless of how good intentioned they may be. I appreciate the fact that this was pointed out. (no offense to BaristaTrainer)