A cup of coffee opens a dream of entrepreneurship, coffee culture and common sense

"my dream is to open a coffee shop." maybe I yearn for that kind of petty bourgeoisie life, maybe I want to run a foreign culture, and many people have a dream of opening a coffee shop. But starting a business is different from being a guest. Most of the time, the boredom and difficulty of starting a business will wear away your enthusiasm and patience. Recently, our reporter interviewed Zhang Li, the owner of Yantai Hemerocallis Cafe. Through her entrepreneurial story, she gave you an inspiration for you who are looking for a job or exploring a turning point in this recruitment season.

Choose to open a coffee shop six years after graduation

Zhang Li, 33, worked in real estate for three years when she graduated, and then, like many young people, began to travel alone with a bag on her back. All the way south and west from Yantai, Zhang Li traveled more than half of China in three years, traveling and working at the same time, during which time she worked as a photographer and clerk in a coffee shop, and then went on a trip to the next city after saving enough money. At the end of 2011, Zhang Li ended this life and returned to Yantai because of her parents' health.

"then I will face a problem in finding a job. I am almost 30 years old and unmarried and childless, and the other person refused to hire me as soon as I read my profile, and I was caught in a vicious circle. If you don't have a job, you can't find a partner, and if you don't have a partner, you can't find a job." Zhang Li said that because of her parents, she wanted to settle down in Yantai and finally decided to open her own store. At that time, her specialty was photography and making coffee. When she opened a photography studio alone, she had to do a lot of make-up, later work, and so on, which was not very realistic. Finally, Zhang Li chose to open a coffee shop.

At that time, I made the psychological expectation of losing money.

Zhang Li said that her family was against it at that time. At that time, there were very few independent coffee shops in Yantai, and the earliest ones were opened in 2006 and 2007, such as Deep Blue, which were closed at that time, and Yantai had no place to drink coffee. The family thinks that there is no market for coffee in Yantai. "I like it myself, and I think I have to support myself, so I start to drive." The first store in Zhifu District facing the market street, only 48 square meters, is Zhang Li invested 200000 yuan to start. The storefront is small, the decoration is simple, and one person can take care of it completely.

"when I learned to make coffee, I knew it was hard to open a coffee shop, and it wasn't romantic at all." Zhang Li said that she had fulfilled her psychological expectations, thinking about what the store would be like to lose and what it would be like to lose everything, so the coffee shop started in May 2012. After opening the shop, Zhang Li's daily work is to open the door, clean, brush cups and make coffee. Sometimes she doesn't even have time to sit down all day.

"many people think too well before starting a business, but after starting a business, they find that it is different and the psychological gap is too big, so it is difficult to stick to it." Zhang Li said.

When you open a shop, you have to stand the panic in your spare time.

With the increase in the number of guests, the 48-square-meter storefront has become very crowded, and the simple decoration at that time is also out of date. This year, New Year's Day and Zhang Li opened a second day lily coffee shop on Shangluo West Road, with an area of 260square meters and two floors. In addition to coffee, Zhang Li cautiously added juices, drinks and French cakes that did not conflict with coffee, and added beer in the evening according to the needs of the guests. There are also training courses on cakes and coffee.

Zhang Li said that many people asked her about opening a coffee shop and found it very romantic and comfortable, and wanted to open one of their own. "I will ask them why they want to open a shop, and if they are just enjoying the atmosphere of a coffee shop, I suggest that they give up the idea and go to the coffee shop as a guest." Zhang Li said that the coffee business cannot persist without enough love, and many baristas have changed careers because it is boring to repeat the same action over and over again and to repeat the same thing day by day, and it is obviously different between opening a shop and being a guest.

Zhang Li said that unlike other businesses, coffee shops sometimes do not return money for two or three years, without particularly clear ideas and entrepreneurial enthusiasm, do not do it blindly. If you really want to do it, you'd better work as a clerk in a coffee shop for a while before deciding whether to open a shop or not. (source: Qilu Evening News)