What I Learned From My Failed Coffee Shop

00:00 Starting a cafe is HARD
00:35 So what happened?
02:15 All cafes HAVE TO do this
03:05 Cafe design issues
03:50 Our coffee and gear
04:49 Doing speciality coffee in a village is HARD
06:06 Community is the best marketing
07:19 When should you open?
08:19 It was pretty grim...
09:05 What happened with the channel?
11:21 I quit my job, and The Brew Ledger

[doobledoo]

Restaurant guy here with more than 10 years experience, including years working with startups. I have to chime in about your line where you said that everything has to be of the highest quality and if the mistake is made it has to be remade.

This line of thinking destroys startups in the food industry. It is simply not true. I get it that we all are lovers of the art, but you have to understand that quality is a never-ending scale that always increases price. Good enough is good enough. The most popular restaurants and drink shops in the world, are absolutely known for everything but their quality,

The average customer/consumer does not appreciate your art and would much rather have something in their hand now then something that you define as perfect a little bit later.

[aquathamer]

It takes a lot of courage revisiting and reflecting on a place of disappointment. As someone who wants to run a cafe, this video is really appreciated.

[lukang]

Tbh atmosphere of the space is probably more important than the coffee except for coffee snobs. Paper flyers in in mailboxes is probably best marketing in a small town

[TheTad]

Heya! Cafe owner here, coming to the end of my first year. 9 months of expenses in the bank makes a start up entirely unfeasible for most people. I opened my cafe (the wandering goblin, in Nottingham) with zero money left when the doors opened officially. The secret isn't online marketing, it's putting the work in the build community even before you open the doors. I spent months running pop-ups while getting everything organised, building a following and offering consistency before the cafe's location was even finalised.

You can either invest money OR time. As someone who's been in coffee 7 years, money wasn't an option because this industry doesn't pay. Your community will carry you through, if you put the time into building it. I hate the industry idea that everything has to be expensive. The idea you need an expensive machine and expensive grinder is also a load of crap. It's a matter of skill. I run my bar off of an old school lever machine I got second hand, and run everything through the same grinder - but with a thoughtful approach it's absolutely feasible to still keep everything dialed and tasting great. The mentality of "oh but if I had (x) machine I could do better" is super unconstructive and stops you focusing on what you can change in the moment. You need to work with what you have, and do the best within your means. A cheap machine isn't an excuse, and an expensive machine should be a low priority aspiration unless you're in it for the hobby. I'm really tired of running into this gearhead mentality.

Obviously my cafe is based in a city, so it's a little different - but the base premise is the same I think. I do agree that everything should be of equivalent quality - I think your cheapest thing should be as good as your most expensive. A bad shot should never be served, etc. An espresso shot in most cafes costs £0.30 (assuming you have half decent coffee on house). That's a worthwhile loss to remake if the shot doesn't pull right. 30p to guarantee a great experience is a no brainer.

I'm sorry to hear about the failure of your shop, I'm sure it was absolutely crushing. Having been doing nearly 100 hour weeks for the entire last year, I understand how difficult it is.

[erxu]

I learned more from the comment section than from the video itself...!!

[trollsneedhugs]

The village still wanted a cafe! A cafe has life, music, cozy seats, interesting decor, warm friendly hosts, a cabinet full of sweet and savory foods, tea, juice, soda, a freezer of ice creams and coffee. You gave them a bespoke coffee tasting pickup office.

[Alexa-uklj]

The appeal of the coffee shop isn't really the coffee but the ability to drink coffee in a "living room" away from your living room. Edit: My condolences.

[CMBurns]

Opening a cafe in a 1500 persons village is economical suicide

[kirk]

Coffee snobs are making their own coffee at home. Your little village just wanted a cozy place to sit and chat with their friends while drinking something that resembled coffee. If your coffee is good, people would pick some up on their way to work at 6am, with a scone or cookie. You opened a shop that reflected your lifestyle and wants, not the customers. I fear your book will go the same way.

[Jerome...]

''I can tell from looking at a coffee shop (or photos of it) if their coffee is good'' ... so I made my place look quite terrible because I couldn't afford better. Great plan.

[Jombozeus]

You sound like a passionate car engineer trying to sell the best modded Mazda Miata in the world to my mom.

[Restinpeaceblue]

I’m not sure if it would have made a difference, but the local cafe where I live opens at 5:30 AM. I believe you said yours opened at 8 AM. A lot of people are already at work or on their way to work by then.

[Redbird]

You started a coffee shop business in a village and opened at 8am. Did you do any research regarding demand? Did you produce a business plan? Did you have any business training prior to starting? A good business plan forces you to look at your expected income and expenditure realistically. Most businesses make a loss in the first year, break even in the second year and only reach profit in the third year. 80% of small businesses fail in the first year (in the UK). Sometimes a good business plan will show you that this business is not viable and save you from future debt, bankruptcy and regret. Too many people start businesses based on personal feelings and not facts.

[keeganwebb]

Unfortunately, it seems like the cafe was too much about coffee and not enough about hospitality, hence no culture/third space element to offer the community. That said, most people leaving rude comments have never tried to launch anything themselves. There has to be another path for you with your marketing experience and expetise in coffee.

[bananerz]

I like how you are a coffee autist who tried to sell coffee to other coffee autists in a village of 100 houses which probably had 1 other coffee autist living there at most. I am fascinated by your courage and trust in this business idea. I think in a hip area of a city it would have worked out

[Steven-jncw]

the thing is though, the general public are not coffee snobs, they just want a half decent coffee and a nice place to sit and chat. They overcomplicated a very simple concept and it didn't work out.

[FatNorthernBigot]

This is a brutal watch. I totally understand why your experience was difficult to talk about, but if it's any consolation, your cautionary tale was a fascinating watch. I'm sure it's no consolation at all.

[Bookworm-yd]

That didnt look like a coffee shop, it looked like a basement set up

[SyniStamouli]

People are focusing on the coffee but what confused me was the mention of “third places”, but not having anywhere to sit in the cafe? It’s hard to foster community unless there’s a place for community to be

[burnik]

I get it that you always want to serve 100% quality all the time. Like dialing in your recipe 3x a day due to temp changes and humidity. But always remember that sustainability is the key to success business. I think 90-95% is good enough for a sustainable business