Money isn't everything...It just makes everything happen

     As we went through the business plan process, money plays a huge role.  We plan on how to make it, how much it will take to get us going and how much it will help us grow.  Then we plan for what happens if it slows or stops coming in.  Money makes the world go around, but money isn't the mission. It is just a tool in the tool bag to help us make our mission! An important tool for sure, but just a tool. But, when it comes to measurement, the company will be measured by the almighty dollar.  Success is measured, not on the perfect cup of coffee but by how many units are sold at what profit.  Its business.  And with all that said, I am really glad it is the way it is. Because I like it.  I like the numbers, projections, the art and science of guessing, planning and preparing and money is the biggest part of that.  But to start it takes money to make money, so this is how we got our money so we could bring you a cup of espresso.

     Through my time with the military I have had the opportunity to make friends with a lot of people that are in the private sector; many that run their own businesses.  Many of these guys are retired military and their business is just private contracting.  Picking up a six month job overseas doing the same thing they had done when they were "green suiters".  That was not what my plan was, I intended to branch out of the comfort zone of doing what I know and try doing something new, food and beverage start up.  There were some good reason for this, some I have already talked about and many that I haven't hit on yet.  But this was what we wanted to do.  We wrote out the business plan, dug deep into our own pocket to show we were serious, and set out to pitch the banks.  WOW.  Talk about risk averse in so many ways.  So many bankers said to us "Looking at this plan I really think you guys are going to do well.  But come back and see us after you have been running for 18 months. we could maybe do something then."
Well, if I have been running for 18 months, I probably don't need them anymore anyway.  This was for a start-up;  not an existing, proven business.  It was going to take some calculated risk management on the part of the bank.
     We talked with some great bankers, settling on one who we really liked. He got our vision and understood who we were as a business.  This is important, because the best business plan still looks risky if the owners seem like they don't have the force of will needed to make it happen.  Another point is that some bankers believe they know more about business, YOUR business, than you do.  Well, they don't.  If you have done all the research, know every little detail and came up with all of your own financials, then you know way more than they do.  But sometimes it doesn't hurt to let them think they know it all.  Generally correcting this is pointless and ultimately you are going to do what you need to do anyway.  I mean, you are the only one that knows this business inside and out.  Or at least you should.
     We had another advantage when it came to financing.  That was our Veteran's status.  There are programs out there that the SBA provide backing for start-up businesses.  This provides bank with less risk and they like that.  The SBA has more information on this or your veterans admin counselor.  Or if you want my long and boring story on how to make elephants fly (that's what it seemed like we were trying to do when asking banks for start up capital), just ask me or email me.
     Here is one thing for sure, once we were approved and received our financing the fun really began.  I work out money issues every morning, look at the numbers, work through problems, spend hours on it. But I enjoy it and it is the heart of my business.  Oh, and did I mention CPAs?  Ya, I LOVE them.  And I think I have a great one too.  Well worth the money.  

It's not about the coffee.

I'm neck deep in coffee beans.  I lived up in the Pacific Northwest for 12 years and learned how to buy coffee.  It’s a thing up there.  Maybe I would even call it a saturated market.  But there is some great coffee.  I never considered selling it myself. I brewed some and I knew the best way to order my favorite stuff at the drive thru windows.  I was only ankle deep in coffee at that time.  Now it’s all changed. 

I  am nearing retirement from the military and preparing for my "next career".  It my world that would usually mean a contract job with the Department of Defense or maybe teaching something somewhere.  But, guess what? Those things are looking less promising than they used to and I kept thinking that there is something else out there for me. We had thought about opening a drive thru coffee place near Fort Bragg. Being from Washington State we were missing our coffee thing.  We started looking more and more into it.  We got books, read articles and researched the industry.  Then we got serious, and wrote a business plan.

A business plan is a funny animal.  I have read a lot of them, looked at many examples, and read articles about them.  There is one thing I understood about them, they are operational.  That is something familiar to me coming from the Army.  We do operations all the time, before we do operations we write a plan. Simple.  In many of the articles, seminars and examples they talk about "guessing", research and being short and concise.  That’s all good advice, and all are needed, but a business plan is not just conjecture and hope, it is an argument.  It is a "pitch" with solid and supportable evidence for your argument.  I read that your business plan should be kept simple and fluid, but my business wasn't going to be simple.  We plan methodically and we needed to write it down and sound it out.  So, while many experts often suggest keeping the business plan to 10 pages or so ours pushes 60.  It’s detailed in some places and general in others. It makes assumptions, it analyzes, it predicts, it uses evidence, and it argues.  There are charts and diagrams and a few pictures, but at least we feel like it represents our ideas and it represents who we are.  I honestly believe it wouldn't be as long as it is if it wasn't needed.  We have rewritten in at least four times, although certain parts have stayed the same from first draft until now.  Was it good? We always thought so. So did many other people we took it to. Including the bank. Which will take me to my next topic of financing.

Our business plan made us realize a couple of things.  We realized what we were really getting in to and how we were going to do it.  We realized that we wanted to be in business and that we were in a place and time were the coffee business made good sense.  If it didn't we would have changed what we wanted to do. We are not married to coffee- we are invested in going into business and making a profit.  It’s not all about the coffee... except in the mornings.  Then its coffee time.

Starting a business one bean at a time

So this is where it starts. I've decided to start a blog and tell the story of how this idea started, how we got where we are and where we are looking to go.  It's important for me to write this out, so that I can see the map.  Maybe it would be good for some one else to read too.  There are a million blogs about start up businesses, I've read a few, but I am going to write it from my perspective, even before this thing has "proven" itself.