Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/29864
Jack’sBlend Jack Groot owns JP’s Coffee in Holland, Mich. He also provides coffee business consulting and training through the Midwest Barista School (MBS). Check out Jack’s new blog, “Jack Groot’s blog — confessions of a coffee shop owner” at www.coffeegroot.com. Jack can be reached at jack@jpscoffee.com with “Jack’s Blend” as the subject line, or at (866) 321-4MBS. S uccess, according to dictionary.com, contains the following meanings: Th e attainment of wealth. A successful performance or achievement. Th e favorable outcome of something attempted. A simple way of defi ning success is a “happy outcome.” I like that. Happy outcome. Th at is what I want…and what you want, in your business. You want customers happy when they come to your shop. You want employees happy when they work at your shop. And you want vendors happy they supply your shop. If I could to sit with you individually and ask what success means to you, some of you might tell me being able to pay your bills. Others would say being able to consistently create a perfect shot of espresso. Many of you would tell me you thrill at supporting your community, being a place where people meet; still others, being self-employed or employing others, providing them a living. Th ere are as many ways to defi ne success as there are coff ee shop owners. Th ere is not one fi nite achievement by which we can all be measured. I recently wrote in my blog something I must repeat here. In his book, Growing a Business, Paul Hawken states, “Th e most successful business, your idea for a business, will grow from something that is deep within you, something that can’t be stolen by anyone because it is so uniquely yours that anyone else who tried to execute your idea would fail.” I do believe that (business) success implies an ongoing venture—how can I claim to be successful if I have to close my business? But even in that situation, success is still possible. It could be a major health issue forced the closing of an otherwise successful business, or a natural disaster destroyed the business and any chances of it re-opening. It could have been considered a success within previous parameters. But in most situations, success means an ongoing venture. 10 | May 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com I consider us successful because, so far, we have stood the test of time (18 years and counting). I consider us a success because we are profi table and I have made my living from the business (although there have defi nitely been both abundant and lean times). I consider us a success because we have a good reputation with the community, with vendors and suppliers, with many existing and former employees and even with our competition. So what does success look like to you? Is it being able to serve your small town with food and beverage and be a place where the community gathers? Is it roasting and selling the fi nest coff ees the world produces? Is it being able to be closed for a part of the year to travel with your spouse? Or is success something completely diff erent from what most coff ee shop owners might think of as successful? When I consult people in their businesses I always try to put myself in their position, think of things in terms of their location, their goals and desires, and the business they want or need to run to make a profi t. Not every coff ee shop will, or even needs to, serve the best coff ee in the world. Some coff ee shops have a higher purpose than executing perfection in espresso extraction. Some shops use equipment that others in the industry would consider inferior. Th e important thing is this—are you succeeding according to your own standards? If not, then you have work to do, things to change and decisions to make. If you are, you can be proud of the fact you have achieved your goals. If, in your business ventures, your defi nition of success has eluded you thus far…don’t give up. If, on the other hand, things are going well and you have achieved your goals, maybe it’s time to set some new ones.