I HATE STARBUCKS!

[voodoocat]

Alright. I made a good/bad decision last night. Between the hours of 8-11pm I drank approx. 8 shots of espresso. Two double shots and two cappuccinos. Bad because I couldn't get to sleep last night. I think I'm still wired :shaking:

Needless to say I was thinking quite a bit while trying to fall asleep for 4 hrs. Yesterday I went into our cafe at lunch and asked who was running the place now. The guy that I asked turned out to be the new owner. I then asked him who's decision it was to open starbucks there. It was his and he asked if it was a bad thing. I said it was for me since I recently had this idea. I left it at that.

Last night I thought maybe he has a deal already with starbucks but why couldn't I go in with a better offer? They haven't done any work towards adding an espresso bar so I'm gonna see if he'll hear me out today. Last night I discovered the BEST espresso blend. I've had a lot of great espresso in my life and this stuff is special. With my $20 black and decker pump machine I got on ebay I was pulling some incredible shots. Anyway... I'm going to try meeting with him today or tomorrow...
Wish me luck!

 

[bogleric]

I wish you the best... sounds like a great plan to me.

 

[voodoocat]

Well no go

He didn't want to hear if I had a better offer because he signed a contract with starbucks two weeks ago. I'm sure he could have found a way out since they haven't moved anything in yet.

I'm inspired right now. I'm going to find another company that has 5k+ employees... or maybe get a cart and set up shop in front of a hospital or something.

 

[terri34 6]

Yeah, and a contract with corporate whores like Starbucks is unfortunately almost certain money in the bank.....bastards!!!

But you're onto something. Everyone always wants their coffee and all you need to do is find out where it.....isn't. Hospitals may or may not already have something going, depending on how progressive they are. Another place I've noticed is government complexes, ie, around courthouses and adjacent buildings. I've been stuck in jury duty twice in 2 years and I would have paid damn near anything for a cup of real coffee, not the plonk they had from the vending machine. It was hell.

Have another shot and think some more! :thumbsup:

 

[voodoocat]

And companies actually like places like that close so the employees don't have to go far to get a drink.

I wish you all (the coffee lovers) could taste my espresso shots. Especially with this new blend... So if you're comin through phoenix for any reason stop by.

 

[oriecat]

Here ya go, man. Good luck!

http://portland.craigslist.org/for/20651896.html

 

[Dew]

great!!!! ... good-luck

 

[MDowdey]

dude, u rule. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!




md

 

[voodoocat]

Yah... screw em.. I was 2 weeks too late.

 

[captain-spanky]

all the best fellamundo!

 

[bogleric]

i know this is cheezy but good things always come to those who are willing to wait for them... I can't even count the number of times things didn't work out at first in my life to only end up way better than I expected.

 

[mrsid99]

I'd love to see it work for you and when it's hot sell sodas!
Just remember that people buy from Starbucks mostly because it's cool not because they like the coffee.
Most people have my kind of tastebuds, i.e. absolutely destroyed so you could sell them just about any brown hot liquid.

 

[voodoocat]

Well after going through January and not seeing Starbucks open, I decided to ask the owner of the cafe when they were coming. His answer "they're not"

So now I need to figure out a good deal that would make both of us happy. I'm trying to find out the total # of employees here so I can come up with some #'s.

What I was thinking of was offering him to rent space from him to setup shop. I'd have to figure out a way to come up with $10k to get the equipment. Then I would pay him rent. Like $500/month for up to $5k/month in sales. Then 10% past that.

So if anyone has advice on putting together a proposal or where I might get some information from would be great.

 

[Not Neve]

Wow, your persistence may pay off. I know nothing about business but wish you good luck.

For what it's worth I'd always go for the independent coffee folks over Starbucks. It's always much better tasting!

 

[terri34 6]

Well, good god. Looks like you're back in the running, eh? This could be way cool.

All start-up businesses need start-up cash, so if you took out a loan that would be its stated purpose. Know any accountants? A 15 minute conversation would help you get the tax laws straight, what you could write off against it. Be extremely careful if you don't have much real collateral for such a loan. Think of the worst case scenario and figure out how you'd get by, then see if it's still do-able.

I don't mean to be a downer, just the cool hand of caution. Since I'm currently working for a doc who is on the verge of bankruptcy from being embezzled from (no fault of her own other than trusting the wrong person, but the banks don't give a damn, you know?). Plan every step and talk to as many people as possible. Research the web or even ebay for the equipment. Figure out your own man-hours, too, so you don't forget to find sleep between this and the day job. I'm excited for ya - good luck!!