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The entrepreneurial story of a coffee man in Lanzhou

Published: 2026-06-08 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/06/08, In the early days of business, in order to promote hand-brewed coffee, every time he would send a cup of hand-made coffee to regular customers for comparison. This kind of promotion is very difficult, before and after a year, the business in the store can be regarded as improving. Light coffee fragrance, wooden tables and chairs, two random walking cats, walls covered with barista certificates, neat bar. This is a cafe with typical decoration style. Li Gou is a post-80s generation.

In the early days of business, in order to promote hand-brewed coffee, every time he would send a cup of hand-made coffee to regular customers for comparison. This kind of promotion is very difficult, before and after a year, the business in the store can be regarded as improving.

Light coffee fragrance, wooden tables and chairs, two random walking cats, walls covered with barista certificates, neat bar. This is a cafe with typical decoration style, and the post-80s Li Gou is its boss. As one of the early founders of boutique cafes in Lanzhou, Li Gou has a positive and optimistic attitude. Over the past six years, his small cafe has gained a lot of die-hard fans among coffee lovers, and many tourists from other places will come here if they want to drink coffee. For him, the person who is willing to stop and taste a cup of coffee is also a person who understands and knows how to live. Making friends and sharing exchanges with these people has become an indispensable part of daily life.

Two failures lay the foundation for success

Li Gou, a native of Ningxia, was born in 1988. On the afternoon of March 5, the reporter talked to him about his way to grow up in his cafe.

After graduating from university, he applied for a job as an actuary, trader and financial manager in a securities company. These high-end jobs are not as easy as he thought. Without certain qualifications, qualifications and background, it is very difficult to succeed. So he resigned decisively and started his own business.

"at that time, cafes were not very popular in Lanzhou. When I described to my classmates how to make a cup of coffee, their expressions were stunned!" He thought the industry would be promising, so he opened the first coffee shop on Baiyin Road. At that time, the storefront was less than 20 square meters, except for the bar, there were only four small tables. Many people turn around and leave when they see the people are full. In such a state of operation, the rent can barely be paid. Then, he wanted to find a place with a large number of people, so he opened a shop and reopened it in an alley near Lanzhou University. However, due to the remote location, the second store failed again. The doubt from his family once made him feel very difficult. "since he is in this business, persistence is the only choice." Li Gou expressed her firm determination to her parents.

In order to practice skills, "drunk" coffee

With the first two failures, Li Jie settled down and decided to improve his professional and theoretical knowledge first, and then combine with practical operation to improve the ability of coffee making. When there are no guests, he practices his skills and replenishes his knowledge of coffee. In order to obtain various professional qualifications, he can't remember how many cups of coffee he drinks every day. If you drink too much coffee, you will get drunk, and if you consume a lot of caffeine, you will have palpitations, shaking hands and dizziness. In addition, caffeine can also speed up the body's metabolism, drink too much, run more toilets, and crack the mouth every day. Hard work will pay off. When the qualification certificate is placed in the most conspicuous position of the new storefront, Li Jing smiles.

Li Gou's new store has wooden tables and chairs, a bar, a profile about coffee, and two lazy cats. The decoration style is very comfortable.

Hold on for a year before the promotion of coffee is successful.

In the early days of business, in order to promote hand-brewed coffee, every time he would send a cup of hand-made coffee to regular customers for comparison. "this kind of promotion is very difficult, before and after a year, the business in the store can be regarded as improving." Li Gong said. At present, half of the turnover in the store is brought by hand-brewed coffee, which is a good start.

Li said that although business is getting better and better now, if you take care of your work, you will spend less time with your family. Fortunately, after getting married and having children, the whole family still gave him 100% support for starting a business. The so-called standing at thirty, he proved it with action. Next, taking root here, expanding the store and expanding the business of the cafe is his goal. During the chat, he admitted that many tourists from other places who want to drink coffee will find his shop, which makes him full of confidence. Li Gou is satisfied to be able to communicate with more interesting customers and share his learning experience with his peers.

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