Check out Jones Coffee’s workshop for home baristas. It’s a great idea for pro baristas to take a course like this, too, since they’re often talking to customers about home brewing.
Archive for the ‘Expert Advice’ Category
Video: Home Barista Workshop
Thursday, April 12th, 201210 Rules for Surviving the Recession
Monday, March 5th, 2012Nearly every business has felt an impact from the recession. There has been no escaping. The root causes were universal and had a domino effect.
Some small-business owners believe they’ve seen the bottom and they are surviving — they are OK and they expect to persevere with modest adjustments. These small-business owners are kidding themselves. The bottom has not been reached, and it will be a long slide until it does. We are in for a five- to 10-year disaster.
Defeat the Downturn
During such times, it’s easy to panic. Panic, which is fear-driven and not based on fact but on emotion, has tremendous power, the power to change the direction of business. But do you want to give in to panic, throw your hands in the air and accept self-destruction, actually accelerating it, becoming a part of the panic, stimulating more?
There’s an alternative to panicking. We are confronting change, and change is an opportunity for advances. Now you have the choice to take advantage of change it or allow yourself to be buried by it.
Make the right choices today and see the results tomorrow. It’s not just about adjusting prices — you need to broadcast your differences, tell people why they should shop with you, provide them with added value, and not discounts, and watch your business grow in a down market.
Be a leader, and the people will follow. As a small-business owner, you can help lead the way out of the recession. Start with your employees, move to your vendors, and then support your customers and your market area. Announce the good news, and everyone will line up.
For 10 rules of engagement that will help you successfully recast your business and succeed in the new economy, read the rest of this article at Entrepreneur.com.
5 Tips to Maximize ROI By Saying “Thanks”
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012You know it’s important to say thank you. Here are some easy ways to express gratitude–and have it impact your bottom line.
Erin Newkirk admits that she too, has been guilty of touting the value of handwritten thank-you notes at the expense of actually sending them.
Except that unlike the rest of us, Newkirk was actually at the helm of one of the first online greeting card companies, Red Stamp. Founded circa 2005, before Facebook was a regular part of everyone’s daily life, the company aimed to be an online “social secretary,” acting as a reminder service along with offering high end occasion cards sent through its website. “Our twist was that for an additional fee, we would hand-write and send cards on behalf of our clients,” says Newkirk.
By focusing on physical cards only, Red Stamp Cards lost its way, explains Newkirk. So the company did a hard pivot (though it still offers paper options for those who prefer it) to serving up e-greetings via mobile. Launched in September, Red Stamp’s app is approaching half a million downloads, testimony to the rising tide of consumers eager to send greetings on the go.
A far cry from texting, these e-messages deliver thoughtful dispatches in a polished format, with the added punch of immediacy. For those sending thank-you notes for business, this is particularly powerful because, as Newkirk puts it, “expressed words of gratitude are more important than the paper they’re written on anyway.”
She does recognize that communicating at this pace is fraught with potential pitfalls (ever hit “reply all”and send something to unintended recipients?) and with that in mind, Newkirk offers Fast Company some pointers on modern etiquette for virtual correspondence, and tips for businesses to get maximum ROI from a note of gratitude.
To see Erin’s tips, read the rest of this article at FastCompany.com.
Freezing Out The Competition
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011How To Make And Market Your Own Ice-Blended Drinks by Chris Ryan
Fresh Cup – May 2011
Learn how to increase your coffee shop’s attractiveness this season through signature frozen beverages!
Years After Opening Shop, Do You Still Have A Business Plan?
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011Barista Magazine – June 2011
A clear plan of action is crucial when starting your business. It helps you pencil out your possibilities for profit, get financing, and determine as best you can if your goals are attainable. But after you’ve been making killer cappuccinos and stocking fresh pastries for a few years—or 10—your business plan is probably collecting dust in a drawer, or buried deep in your hard drive. If you can find it.
Why unearth your business plan?
Because if it’s sitting on a shelf, it’s worthless. An active plan will help you concretely assess your progress, and change course if need be. Hopefully your existing plan includes specific dates, budgets, forecasts, and management tasks. You need to be able to track these specific data to determine if your plan is on track. If when reviewing your business plan you can see that it’s not working as it should, then you’ll know that you need to fine tune your operations.
Read the full article here.
