New business, new journey. Your advice appreciated.

[texanbrew]

I've recently came across this great and informative website and realized most of you have great knowledge of the field. I've done quite extensive research on my new business plan, and would now like to gather more specific information from patrons of this web site. I want to hear what you guys have to say.

About the business....

• Partnership- One w/ Business and Management Degree and the other with a General Contractor license.
• Coffee, espressos, smoothies and teas.
• $120,000 capital
• Houston, TX
• Location off a major intersection facing inbound traffic
• 3 full time and 2 part time experienced baristas
• Opens Summer 2014

1. Beans
We do not plan to go 'cheap' on our roasted beans. We also do not intend to travel and taste various suppliers. Therefore, any direction to a good supplier?


2. Machinery
From grinders, to espresso and coffee machines, which brands offer above average commercial quality? Online sources?


3. Coffee Flavoring
Best tasting brands and sources?


4. Any other pointers or advice, even what not to do woud be greatly appreactied.






Again, our background in coffee, although growing, remains novice. Our advantage is the ability to establish companies, manage staff, marketing, etc.

Thank you all!

 

[John P]

Texanbrew,

Quickly,

No expertise in coffee/espresso.. how can you sufficiently judge whether a barista is capable or not?
Honestly, if you don't know the top quality roasters in the US, you shouldn't be opening a coffee shop. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
120K isn't much in today's market. You had better be a coffee expert first.
Houston is a HUGE area, so it depends.
? How easy is it to stop at this intersection? Do many people stop? Is it a stand alone building, or in a strip?
See first comment. I believe nothing about barista experience from a non-expert.
Summer may be too soon.


If you are not willing to put the time in to travel to trade shows, coffee houses, in addition to using the search function on this site, on other sites, etc. to gather the knowledge, then assisting you would be a waste of everyone's time.

If you have put together businesses before, you know there's a lot of leg work. Get to it.

 

[texanbrew]

Hey John P, thank you for your reply. I've actually read a few of your contributions on this site.

-To answer your first questions, we plan to hire two very experienced baristas. Not only with the final selections of machinery and supplies, but also with the training methods.
- I have yet to identify the top quality suppliers. Hoping I would learn that through here but i will research this next.
- It's a capital of $120k, with credit lines and investments in various other places. Another $75-100k can become available if situations cause for it.
-This will be a stand alone building and very easily accessible to inbound traffic- 30 feet from the major roadway/feeder. Significantly heavy traffic in this area 6 days a week.
- I too have a sense that summer might be a bit soon, there's some reasoning to this and deadlines are also a daily motivator which inhibits you to maintain focus and keep track of your weekly goals. Summer would be optimal although early winter is a close runner up.

And lastly, I currently have over 40 pages of research throughout internet findings only. I created this thread to narrow down the list of candidates and sources...coffeeforums.com is a contributing piece of my research.

 

[John P]

texanbrew,

I saw your original comment. Again. How do YOU judge expertise? You cannot take their word for it, and "years in the business" does not mean expertise. Just sayin'

Do your research. It's important.

Credit lines. Good. You should be fine then.

Stand alone is always better. BUT you must make it a "destination". That people will make an effort to go to.
Also foot traffic is a must. I hope it's a good walking area as well.

Don't rush. Keep working at it. Better to be slow and right than fast and broke.