I am a small business owner running a small, independent coffee shop in Los Angeles county. Since opening in 2009, I’ve learned a number of lessons about the “do’s and don’t’s” of small business, but I know I still have a lot to learn.
This is a very brief profile of my small business, its history, its challenges, and what I do as an independent coffee shop owner.
History
In 2008, a business partner and I scouted locations to lease in northern Los Angeles County, in an area of the southern Mojave called Quartz Hill. It’s a nice little area that formerly was known for its almond trees and which is now in a state of slow re-definition. New shops open every year and the street that gives Quartz Hill its identity is gradually changing its face with renewal.
Signing a lease in 2008 at our chosen location, we worked at demolition inside the existing building and began the application process for all the build-out permits we’d need. After nine months of tearing down, building up, and dozens of trips to the county offices, we were ready to open for business and start selling coffee.
In two-plus years, the coffee shop has developed a steady and growing clientele, largely through word-of-mouth, and has dabbled in live music, selling sandwiches, hosting art shows, art events and book signings.
What Does an Independent Coffee Shop Owner Do?
Being a small business owner means that you have quite a number of details which demand your attention. Payroll, payments, inventory and ordering are probably the largest back-room chores. These things are responsibilities in addition to actually running the business, managing employees, and, in my case, making coffee.
Communicating with our coffee roasters and the bakery that delivers the pastries we sell is a regular and essential ingredient to the business of an independent coffee shop. There are no corporate managers or branch managers who have a job definition of stocking and supplying my store. That is one of the many things that sets apart the experience of running a small business from running a franchise.
One of the great things about being independent, however, is that I get to work with other small business owners (the coffee roasters, the bakers, the stationary store people). They understand the dynamics of running a small business and they also understand that there is choice and risk that comes with being independent.
Every independent small business is part of a community of small businesses that work together, by choice, to make things work. The coffee roasters need coffee shops and the coffee shops need the roasters.
The day to day operations of a coffee shop owner include these relationships as well as customer relations. There is also, of course, lots of cleaning, regular maintenance on equipment and furniture, and advertising to do. Within some of these areas there is room to get creative, inventive, and have some fun.
Challenges Lead to Lessons
There have been a number of challenges that have arisen since opening this little coffee shop in 2009. In dealing with the relationships described above, we had to make some changes. There was a provider of cups and hardware that we had a hard time communicating with, so we had to find a new provider. We had to be willing to make changes. I could provide several other examples of changes that were right for the coffee shop, some being compromises and others related to products that just didn’t quite work out. But the lesson behind those changes is the same.
Lesson number one: Be on the look-out for positive change. Don’t wait for something to completely break down before making the decision to adjust, change or quit doing something that is not working for your business.
Lesson number two is to run the business like you think it should be run in an ideal world. Don’t pretend to be a person you are not. That will lead to less fun.
If you want to communicate via email instead of fax, do that. It’s up to you. If you feel better using the phone or texting with your small business network, then do that. Again, it’s up to you how you want to run your business. As long as communication is happening, and you are happy with the level of that communication, then you will be fine.
Also, wear the clothes you want to wear. Don’t dress up as the person you are supposed to be, just dress as the person you want to be. Your comfort and your identity will translate to your customers.
Lesson number three is an out-growth of both the first two lessons: Understand that running a small business, whether it’s a coffee shop or a record store, you are a manager of relationships. As cheesy as it sounds, and it does sound cheesy, I know, the fact is that customers and suppliers are people making choices every day just like you as to how to spend their time and money and who to spend it with.
Having a great product is only a part of the big picture. Maintaining good relationships is another significant part of what goes into running a successful small business. Don’t take it from me though. There is plenty of solid advice out there. Talk to a small business owner in your neighborhood and see what he or she has to say.
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5 Ways to Make Coffee At Home