Starting a business and opening a coffee shop is not just lucky! The cost of opening a small coffee shop is not high!

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I have been in the coffee industry for more than 15 years. At first, I just thought it was fun to stand at the bar, so I entered the business. I never thought I could go much farther ahead. fortunately, I happened to have experienced several key transformations of Taiwan's coffee culture. I took this opportunity to share with you my personal experience of opening a coffee shop.

1) break away from the Japanese style, Starbucks changes the coffee atmosphere

In fact, the context of the development of coffee culture in Taiwan is very clear. in the early days, it was deeply influenced by Japan, such as the traditional coffee brewing method and the service of ordering food at the table. When I was a child, I always felt that the coffee shop was a place where adults were talking about serious business, and they had to have some skills to get in. Until 1997, when Starbucks came to Taiwan to set up a site, it was one of the first countries for the brand to enter Asia. Local coffee ideas were greatly impacted, and American coffee culture began to have an impact. You had to order at the counter by yourself. Although the attitude is also friendly, you have to learn self-service service. People began to think that it was right to pay one or two hundred yuan for a cup of coffee, and indirectly set the price range of coffee.

My five years at Starbucks coincided with the rise of the first wave of independent stores and the growth of the chain system in Taiwan, such as real pot, coffee, gold mine and later 85C. However, Starbucks did set up the entire Taiwan coffee market in those years, and even people who did not drink coffee would go in and order a cup of Frappuccino, and friends would no longer have the option of taking a break or having a chat with each other. By the way, caf é s in Taiwan have always been less influenced by Europe. however, in recent years, there has been a trend of Nordic cafes in Taiwan.

Create independent and independent internal construction system under the 2 _ system

In the early days, Starbucks was not far from what it is now, and attached great importance to standard processes. They have a very sound training and teaching model. However, if a system does not introduce independent thinking, it is difficult to make a difference, which can make the brand image more distinct. I like to create independence under the system, and when everyone is wearing the same hat and apron, it's actually fun to do some creative behavior within the standard specification. My job as a store manager at Starbucks is actually a very happy process in my career, which builds my basic imagination of the coffee industry, and the hutong drinking gathering place (hereinafter referred to as Hutong) is the beginning of my attempt to cross the art space.

At that time, A P, the owner of Hutong, invited me to be the manager of the store. The first thing that attracted me was that I could finally get in touch with hand-brewed boutique coffee. Of course, I liked the connection between hutong and many arts and cultural activities. In the past, under the Starbucks system, all raw material supplies were handled through company logistics, and it was taken for granted that when I went to work in an independent shop, we had to find the right manufacturer for coffee beans, sugar, cream, cups and even mixing bars in order to make a good cup of coffee without losing money. I found that, in fact, independent stores need a system to build it down, whether it is financial or human resources.

Even if the number of customers, turnover or business direction cannot be compared with that of chain brands, the management methods and strategies are the same, and the digital management of the income statement, the establishment of education and training methods and even the promotion system of employees, can make relatively small stores go longer.

3The unique appearance of opening coffee shops in various parts of Taiwan

Although Taiwan is small, each region has its own particularity. If we want to analyze the differences in the style of cafes in different places, I think we should return to the issue of eating habits, which affects the mode of operation, spatial performance and consumption patterns of cafes. After all, Taipei is the capital, with a relatively high degree of internationalization, entertainment and even spending power, so there are many alliances in different industries, good use of equipment and equipment, and the number of independent stores is astonishing but uneven. Taichung cafes usually win with spacious space, and the decoration is more gorgeous or minimalist. The food performance is very good, but it is a little too weak in the field of coffee specialty. if you want to drink good coffee, you have to rely on the recommendation of the people.

The cafes in Tainan are as special as this city. The old house is the main space, and most of them are small. The boss is the representative of the store almost every day. When the guests come, they want to find the boss, and his job is to concentrate on making coffee, which is very close to the appearance of early life in Taiwan. In recent years, the coffee space in Kaohsiung has begun to follow the industrial style, with a sense of roughness, and the degree of attention to food is as good as that of Taichung. I have found that the coffee eating habits of people in the south tend to be deeply roasted, which is different from the shallow roasting popular in the north. Many interesting shops have sprung up in Huadong in recent years, but many of them are not owned by locals, and there has been a wave of immigrants on the island (of course, some of them have returned to their hometown). In fact, cafes in various parts of Taiwan are a distinct microcosm of local culture, while operators create different landscapes.

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4. The mentality of the operator is related to the development of the market.

I think there is a triangular relationship among operators, consumers and baristas in Taiwan's cafe ecology at present, but operators are the most important link. After all, consumers are sometimes forced to accept it. The management of chain enterprises must keep pace with the times, and the mentality of independent store owners should be mature enough. nowadays, many people want to open their own stores in order to realize their dreams, but they do not take into account that many of the problems they have to face after opening stores usually cannot be decided by themselves.

With the coffee ecosystem becoming more and more sound, if operators can create markets and create markets, they should be responsible not only to themselves, but also to employees and consumers. It's like making a record or writing a book, and a good idea that can be put into practice can make the environment different and even bring excitement to the person who feels it. In addition, I sincerely hope that the barista will become a more professional position in the public impression, like the head chef of a Michelin restaurant, and the guests come to the store for his major and his enthusiasm.

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Wang Shiyu

A native of Taichung, born in Taichung, he became interested in coffee at the age of 17 and is still interested in it. After the baptism of Starbucks, Hutong Coffee, Akuma Caca and other stores, shuttle between chain and independent coffee brands, good at management and brand building.

This article is from "Shopping Design" 70 "Secret Cafe"

Photo courtesy of Wang Shiyu