Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/105573
NICOLE O'BANION ROASTERS REALM continued from page 53 purchase from one of the many established importers will set the tone for your roasting brand. Next comes how you will decide to turn the "green stuff brown." There are many philosophies on roasting; rather than debate the avant-garde versus the classical, I'll just say it's important to understand where you fit. This is a roaster's fullest form of expression, and for newbies like me it requires the advice and counsel of the experienced. It's important to be open to the learning experience while simultaneously attempting to find your own style. Finally, determining where the coffee will go is critical to what your business will look like. I do not see myself having a large wholesale operation with Brash. This (like everything else) may change in the future, but the decision comes from considering this question: What avenue of sales will be both profitable and enjoyable? The answer will be key in determining how you distribute your product. It will also determine your customers' experience and how much control you have over it. Some may prefer the confines of the roaster, while others will opt for being in front of customers each day in the café. The key is understanding what activities you love. Feel confident walking your own path and not necessarily doing what the industry tells you. THE WORK Managing a business is pretty simple in theory: start with the product, then follow it to supply chain, sales and collections. The final link in the chain is certainly not my expertise. However, I've learned that without a healthy sales and collections operation, a company's product and supply chain—no matter how amazing— cannot be successful. To illustrate this idea, I'll use the example of Brash opening a café. Six months ago I did not expect that this winter I'd be looking 54 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com at the imminent opening of a retail space. The path to getting here had to do with my desire to find successful ways of supporting my product and supply chain. As a small start-up micro-importer, I learned quickly it would be impossible for me to be sustainable just selling green coffee. So what about selling roasted coffee? I did the math and saw that could be a path to profitability, but I also realized I wouldn't necessarily love that route. The satisfaction of the work, for me, is in serving a single cup of coffee. I decided I needed to follow that sense of satisfaction. Herein lies the balance of managing work and passion when it comes to coffee. How can your day-to-day be both enjoyable and successful? YOUR LIFE This is about managing how you want to live and how it relates to how you work. I get the feeling that this is always going to be an evolving process, but I am determined to make my work not just something I do, but a part of how I live. I enjoyed strictly being a barista, and it was fun to go to work every day and prepare coffee for people. When I look at the prospect of what I will do at my company, I am open to defining that space as it evolves. Maybe I will source, or roast, or be the barista, or all of the above. Either way I want to be true to who I am and how I want to live. Let your life be the guide to managing your business and how you make coffee. If your goal is to make a lot of money in the coffee business, you have probably already stopped reading. For those who want to make their passion their profession, I'm here to tell you that it is possible. Do not settle for the status quo. Do not accept that the only roads to sourcing, roasting and brewing have been paved. Make a path that fits how you want to live and work. Write your own story—one that encompasses the things you love about coffee.