ACP 050: Stuart Guest-Smith of Bare Coffee

6:00 WHY WORK WITH AND FOR BARE COFFEE RATHER THAN ANY OTHER ROASTER

• Chance to work with friends
• Enjoy working in a space (the USA) that is still blooming
• A chance to apply skills from other industries and take into the coffee industry

 

7:30 WHAT ARE 1-2 BUSINESS MISTAKES COMPANIES MAKE

• Not specific to coffee, they’re always let by passion but don’t always identify the main goal whether that’s pure profit or a passion to be within the industry
• It needs to be business first and passion second, because at the end of the day the passion stops when the money runs out.
• Why is it you want a cafe rather than any other business. The key is when someone says “I wanted to run a great business and I love coffee.
• Or do what Richard Branson did, hire to your weaknesses so you can focus on your strengths

 

14:00 HAVE YOU HAD TO TURN AWAY A CAFE THAT DIDN’T HAVE THEIR BUSINESS ACUMEN UP TO SNUFF, OR A CAFE THAT SLIPPED

• Maybe its been a lucky streak with our marketing, but we haven’t had a customer in that situation
• Our marketing is a ‘wine to coffee’ and the intrigue round that

 

20:00 WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS YOU GET ASKED

• People trying to understand who we are, and why come from Australia to the USA?
• A good second question is what is the difference between the US and Australian market?
• We can talk about competition because the Australian market is so robust, so much competition in close proximity.

 

26:00 WHAT IS 1 THING YOU WISH CAFE OWNERS DID OR DIDN’T KNOW

• "Do you know what a balance sheet is?” 

 

29:00 THE TEAMWORK IN AUSTRALIA WAS GREAT

• “They’re paid well”
• Each cafe respects their internal culture
• Brothers Espresso, Queensland Australia
• Boom Coffee, Houston
• Wrecking Ball San Francisco
• 34:00 Smallest espresso bars, hole in the walls, are great. PROS: so cheap to setup and run day to day. Quirky and tiny, smaller, faster, cooler, small menu.
• 37:45 I think we’re tapped out on sports analogies
• 42:00 there is plenty of room for growth within the coffee industry

 

42:30 HOW CAN A CAFE GROW 10X?

• Know your COGs (cost-of-goods-sold)
• Understand your operating capitol needed
• Identify your differentiators
• Team up with another business like a local bakery, “What can we do where we both make a killing” also private label roast for other businesses
• Keep your eyes on cold-brew as well

 

49:30 IDENTIFY YOUR UNIQUE PROPOSITION

• Customer Service is a hard thing to market as the differentiating factor
• Always step back and think of a couple of hooks that will establish a relationship with your brand versus another brand.