My first year as a coffee shop owner
I opened a coffee shop during COVID, and, despite the odds, it’s going well. The odds: COVID could have went either way, I’ve no prior experience as a business owner, I hadn’t worked in food service for 20 years and never in a coffee shop, financial institutions and insurance agencies do not support new food businesses, it’s a small town, and it is/was a big risk. But, now I’m a “culinary entrepreneur” with a year under my belt! For anyone entertaining this kind of change, a pivot from employee to employer, here’s a recap of how it all went down.
The one thing I did know is that for over a decade, visiting cafe after cafe, I had a dream of having my own shop. A romantic dream where I got to create the third space where people could gather; designed to my tastes, it would attract the people I wanted to be in community with.
There was that cute little red storefront in the run-down Fort Erie neighbourhood I’d convinced my wife to exit Toronto for. And I was facing an existential crisis of having worked those 20 years on fleetingly intangible, boring to describe, website marketing and software development projects. I’d found a pretty good situation doing meaningful consultation for an impressive roster of clients with a diverse portfolio of projects under my belt. And yet. I’d never be driven to smash the glass ceiling. What I found myself doing instead was sizing up storefronts and making a list of where I should set up shop, committed to investing in my hometown and my skills.
The journey started when I dropped a hand written letter in the mailbox of the abandoned red storefront in my dingy, formerly downtown neighbourhood. It was definitely informed by an astrological reading in 2021 which described 2022 as a blank year in my house of career. For the record, I also drew tarot cards daily to help with timing of key actions. 🌌
Business foundations on the fly
There is no handed down lineage of entrepreneurialism in my family. No mentorship on how to work it. No real estate in which to work in. I’ve worked alongside small business owners, but there is only so much you can understand as an employee.
A text message came back weeks later from the owner of the building I’d dropped the letter off at. It quickly set in motion a series of events that would make the sole shareholder in a named corporation in the province of Ontario.
A series of life changing process-trigger events
- Signed a lease in the location that had spurred the idea.
- Used a law website to inexpensively incorporate.
- Joined a Facebook group for coffee owners and read a lot of posts.
- Applied for grants and small business funding opportunities. Attended small business mentorship meetings through these opportunities.
- Used templates (based on a coffee shop, what luck!) to create a business plan and two-year financial projection. Researched my neighbourhood and greater regional business market, subscribed to industry newsletters.
- Established a logo and graphic style.
- Set up an eCommerce website and social media accounts. Fun fact: I immediately received a scam email demand for a refund (before opening my doors), which prepared me for many future interactions.
- Was awarded a grant and a small business loan through Futurepreneur.
Setting up shop
When taking the leasehold in November 2021, I naively assumed I would be open in January. The shop was a husk. The corporation was a brand new baby. I was working a full-time job and making ‘owner contributions’. And there was a lot of work to do.
The slightly longer than expected road to open
- Worked with friends and family on construction, bookkeeping, and general cobbling of supplies to DIY a business start-up.
- Got very into flooring, wood working, and physical construction and put the business on the shelf for a couple of months.
- Selected an equipment vendor and coffee roaster, received basic training, and served a lot of free lattes over the course of 2 weeks.
- Got an architect to draft plans to submit to the town. This should have come earlier because this took a long time to action.
- Found an accountant. Got insured. Both should have happened way earlier, even factoring the expense of these aspects. Insurance was hard to get, and I felt like a real fool with no insurance after my machines were installed.
- Opened in June. Probably too early, but also, much later than I’d expected.
Learning never stops
- Coffee is finicky. Heat the carafes, work the microfoam, get attuned to grind adjustments. There is a split of people on those Facebook owner groups who really scoff at people like me starting up something they’ve never worked professionally doing. There are people who will walk in with more knowledge than you, and you may have to humbly ask for a clarification.
- My core product missed my market. People wanted lunches and baked goods as much as, if not more than, they want gourmet coffee. That took time to balance, as I can sell more coffees when I sell more food.
- Tourists are Googling for ‘coffee shops’ but residents aren’t. Traditional marketing like getting a newspaper article, or physically taking menus and samples to businesses so they know you is important.
- Stocking is tricky. Things are getting expensive and some of it is not available any more. My initial projections are pretty blown.
- “The boss isn’t here.” Social engineers and sales vultures will be calling you all the time. They tie up the phone line, and your time. Even if you answer the phone, the boss isn’t here. Without owner consent, they can’t solicit.
- Every social media post counts. My experience has been that when I make a post, at least one person comes in for that thing. Also, people want to hear from me, and also want to support me. Only a few trolls so far.
- You can’t work in the business and expect to be able to work on the business. Staffing can be difficult, making sure you have enough baked goods takes effort, ensuring the garbages get emptied and that the fridge is stocked with fresh items requires someone keeping an eye on the sales and stocking cycles. But also, someone needs to book a photo session, look for more funding opportunities, personally reach out to local businesses and organizations, update the website, schedule omni-channel media campaigns, and look for grassroots opportunities to build your brand in the community. Plus you have to eat, sleep, and keep that personal hygiene in check — you work with the public now!
Big wins from year one
- Location is Everything: I got a lease in the place I’d had my eye on. I don’t own it, and I wish I was able to afford it when the property was for sale… but, you know, maybe one day.
- Gift of Life: I incorporated early, which opened the doors for funding applications and grants. It used a website to do it, and it was very simple.
- Grant me access: I found support early. Niagara Falls Small Business Enterprise Center hooked me up! They continue to be an important part of my business network. Not only did I receive access to business planning tools and mentorship, but I won a grant! And they have tipped me off to other grants, all of which I’ve successfully won. 100% success rate, 4 out of 4. The application of that funding (including equipment, photography, social media support) were critical foundations for the business.
- Business Mentor: For an application, I got a mentor in my industry and region to commit to a 2 year relationship. The support and tips was invaluable, and having someone to ask questions to kept me from feeling isolated in my own planning.
- Point-of-sale: My POS provider also has an elegant website editor which syncs my online store and in-store terminal items, provides great reporting, and helps me schedule my staff. This is all time saved.
- The hoops: I received approvals from the Town of Fort Erie Building, Fire, and Business departments to operate. Niagara Health Board and Alcohol Gaming Control of Ontario needed leasehold modifications, architectural documentation, and physical inspections to be held. When we opened, the mayor cut my red ribbon though — and my grandmother was there and I only cried a little when I gave a speech about how much it all meant.
- Solid regulars: The best payoff of all this is that people make the decision, day after day, that my shop will be part of their routine. We Supporting small business connects a community. It becomes their own, and they will bring you plants and many other rewards.
What I’d do differently:
For me, when I have an internal compass guiding me it’s a long play until it’s done, but some moves are riskier and more enabling than others. In this case, it looked like signing a lease without doing much research and basically assuming I could do a thing. The truth is, I was not equipped to accurately plan financially for two years of business operation when I jumped into a legal contract in a commercial unit.
Here’s what I would recommend I do differently in a perfect world where I am a different and more prepared person:
- Get a part-time job as a barista for 6 months at some kind of coffee shop, even a chain if necessary.
- Look into getting barista training before opening
- Start the business plan and financial projections process before signing a lease with the help of Futurepreneur or groups like NFSBEC.
In closing, now that I’ve had this experience, it would be an honour to be a support those on the path to entrepreneurialism. Please contact me through my Digital Strategy profile, The Variables Co.
This is the day your life will surely change
Enjoy this article with listening to The The, with a quality espresso based beverage at your favourite cafe.
