STiR coffee and tea magazine

22 STiR coffee and tea | 2023 Issue 5 (October / November) T By Melanie Boehme and Brian Mertens he coffee sector has long attracted entrepreneurs thanks to growth rates in the double digits in some business categories and markets. New entrants are attracted to businesses like cafes, online retailing, roasteries, training centers, professional services, equipment, repairs, software, farms, post-harvest processing centers, and more. But success takes more than having a good product or service; it also requires fi- nancial savvy. First-time business owners should heed the importance of having good access to funds. Money is needed to get started and to expand. And ongoing opera- tions require a nice cushion of working capital to proceed smoothly. These were some of the points raised in an informative presentation at SCA Expo 2023 by Emily McIntyre, co-founder of Portland, Oregon-based Catalyst Trade, a spe- cialty green coffee company. Cash is king One powerful business lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic is that when bad things happen, a company "needs money in order to be resilient," McIntyre said. It must be able not only to cover routine expenditures like payroll and supplies but also to capital- ize on new opportunities. Economic downturns and disruptions sometimes open up gaps in the market that a business can fill if it is able to invest. But when cash comes in more slowly than it goes out, a business can't take advantage. And the business might stumble in other ways if Money Matters: Financing a Coffee Business It takes more than beans to found and operate a successful coffee enterprise. Always keep funding in mind. Economic downturns and disruptions sometimes open up gaps in the market that a business can fill if it is able to invest. – Emily McIntyre Co-Founder, Catalyst Trade Accurate forecasting of cash flow is the first step toward ensuring financial stability of any new coffee business.

• Cover