How To Start A 7-Figure Coffee Business
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มิ.ย. 2024
- Find out how you can start a successful coffee shop from an industry expert!
This video is sponsored by 2DayBanners. Visit this link: bit.ly/3hZx3D5 to get 10% OFF any purchase.
Do you dream of starting a coffee shop business, but don’t know where to start? In this interview, latte art guru David Schomer shares how he launched a coffee business that can thrive even in the crowded Settle coffee market.
David is the founder of Espresso Vivace, which he started in 1988 as a single coffee cart. From these humble beginnings, David’s coffee shop business has grown to three locations and a roasting operation, with a reputation for serving some of the tastiest espresso in the Seattle area.
Today, we’ll find out how to start a coffee shop business with that kind of growth potential. From the must-have equipment to finding an ideal location (and how much all of that costs), we’ll dig into the details of opening a coffee shop.
David Schomer isn’t just a coffee shop owner. He’s also a coffee expert, credited with introducing latte art to the United States, and has written guides on espresso preparation and latte art that are used by baristas across the country. We’ll ask David how this expertise shaped the growth of Espresso Vivace, and get his expert tips on training baristas to provide, not just delicious drinks, but an exceptional customer experience.
Anyone who wants to open a coffee shop with staying power can learn a lot from Espresso Vivace’s story. You can find out more about their business (or order some of their beans for yourself) at espressovivace.com/.
Ready to take the leap? You can search for coffee shops for sale at our listings: www.upflip.com/businesses-for...
For more insights into opening a coffee shop, check out our other interviews:
Behind the Scenes of a $24,000 a Month Coffee Shop Business ►
• Behind The Scenes Of a...
How to Open a Coffee Shop (And Scale It To 19 Locations!) ►
• How to Open a Coffee S...
Resources:
www.upflip.com/academy - Launch and scale your business with our expert-led Academy
www.upflip.com/equipment-list... Premier Equipment List
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:57 Meeting David
3:00 David’s Background
4:43 Initial Budget
5:41 Advertising
6:54 Biggest Expense
7:48 How To Roast Coffee Tutorial Part 1
9:43 Profit Margins & Revenue
10:46 Shop Signs
11:51 How To Roast Coffee Tutorial Part 2
13:15 How David Got Started
15:08 Is Business Seasonal
15:59 Biggest Mistake David Made
17:30 Coffee Shop Must-Have Equipment
19:42 Social Media Use
21:23 Starting a Coffee Shop vs. a Coffee Cart
22:19 Where To Buy Coffee Beans
23:42 Employees
25:58 How Supply Chains Affect The Coffee Industry
27:32 Coffee Shop Location
28:26 What Makes Espresso Vivace Stand Out
30:14 Blitz
31:49 Location Challenges
33:21 Next For Espresso Vivace
35:02 Advice For Chain Supply
35:36 How Much Experience You Need
38:20 Business Challenges
#coffeeshop #coffeebusiness #openingacoffeeshop
Check out UpFlip programs taught by world-class entrepreneurs: www.upflip.com/academy
I don’t drink coffee and unfortunately if I’m not a consumer of my business or enjoy I won’t do it.
You guys make great content! I'd love to see many different business explain how they do it and their backstories! keep it up!
It is one of the dreams one day, to have one of my own as a barista!!
I roast my own coffee at home. ❤️
We have renovated our 1890s bakery & have just about to branch out on into coffee. Thanks for the heads up & defo encouragement.
My wife and I did this over a year ago. Huge hit in our small town. You don’t need a $40k cart. Start small work your way up
Hi..!!!
I want to see your coffee shop video or photo.
@@mohsinkhan-sq1xb He is so FULL OF SHIT.
@@jeffmattel7867 😓😓😓😓
Can you help me ?
@@GrabTheSnacks 😂 why would you
think they would help you?
Me and my friend are actually building our own espresso mobile carts from used discarded ice cream carts.
We will be up and running in the beginning of this year and will have them set up in front of university’s and college campuses, for those early bird students who are running a little late and couldn’t get their morning coffee ☕️
Wish us luck😁
Good luck! Keep us updated on how it goes :)
What's the name of your shop!???
Godo Lucky🍀🍀🍀
Link me brother. I have experience as a coffee maker (barista)🙏🙏🙏 it's had 😭
@@UpFlip hi
This guy knows coffee. He’s so passionate. I thought I loved coffee but I got nothing on this man. Good luck to him!
A legend no doubt. I used to read his articles about 14 years ago and he inspired me
That's amazing!
As a small coffee roastery starting out of my garage. This video is exactly the content I look forward to in learning from the pros!
Wonderful Just Cracked Coffee. This is the reason we make videos like this. 😀 We love the name by the way. Any more questions you have?
So we are debating to take it to the next level, either by opening a roastery / cafe or continue to hone our craft in roasting. We were thinking the latter, so saying that as a new roaster on the block, what steps do we take to say to verified we finally honed our craft to a particular level?
I will start exporting coffee from Ethiopia and if you are looking for roast or green coffee please let me know
I have had coffee/lattes made with Espresso VIvace roasted beans and I must say its super good! Also looks like Vivace is running some top notch espresso making equipment from the Simonelli Machine to the Niche Grinder. David has certainly done his homework on the process from start to finish. A really cool episode to see and thank you to David and UpFlip for the video.
Thanks! We're glad you enjoyed :)
You guys are really killing it man!! Great questions and information provided. There are many people like me who are tired of corporate world and 9-5 jobs and are trying to start something on their own. These videos are very helpful.
One thing people don't realize in owning a business is that it's not a 9-5 job. More like 12hr shifts if you're lucky. It's your baby and always on your mind even if your very successful.🍻✌🏽
Business is like an 18 hour job.
Notice how he smoothly he answered the question "do you have health benefits for your employees and training?"
Answer:"Oh yes, we have lots of training for our employees, training is very important"
SMH
So no
Great catch 👍🏼
Also, he had people that have been there 20 years and he mentions them having a side hustle
David, you earned my full respect what you have been doing and who you are. So much inspiration to coffee freaks
Naturally hes gonna guard margins and other trade secrets... But kudos for asking direct hard questions with great contents!
We try our best to provide intriguing interviews with the business owners :)
I love this channel. very transparent, informative and educational. Peace from Malaysia.
What a find of a video! David Schomer the wizard of espresso! 20+ years ago I read his book on espresso techniques and transported me into the beautiful world of coffee making/knowledge and latte art, thank you David for sharing your wisdom with the world!
Glad you enjoyed it! Hope to see you again soon
This video just dropped in my feed but for those that don't know David is a legend in the coffee world ☺️ loved watching this really interesting
He really is!
I love how upfront David is. Thank you for good content.
We're glad you enjoyed! What was your favorite part of the video?
That Part where they talk about coffee business 😂
Summermoon coffee started small and now they are huge with over 40 stores. Best coffee I ever had. Wood fired coffee
Just started a coffee E-commerce store - what an inspiration! Notes taken for sure.
David knows his business and by his approach it looks easy. I would not start a business like that as it looks like out of my league. He is a pro handling all aspects and being very considerate of the people's well being he works with. Very inspiring though and the data he shares is great! Wish I could visit his shop even though I am not a coffee drinker, but his craft made me interested. Maybe coffee could not just smell great, but taste good with an expert. :)
Damn he literally gave away years of knowledge for free if you got no job buy a cart set up anywhere and they will come wow amazing man 🙏🙏🙏
Exactly! We try to give deep and get the real answers. We appreciate you and thanks for watching!
DOG BUSINESS
Thanks so much!! U always ask the best questions!!! Keep up the excellent work with this channel! hopefully one day, i can launch a biz and have you interview me?!! lol And Thx for planting the seed of what is possible in life and business!! ;D
Great video, great questions. Very insightful.
Such a cool interview! I was lucky to meet David a few years ago at my favorite shop in Edmonds, WA (Walnut Street Coffee) while he was doing a group training with their baristas.
I’m lucky to say that I’ve been using Espresso Vivace in my Chocolate Chunk Rye cookies since I first started my bakery in Perrinville, WA! Nothing beats the combination of espresso and chocolate, especially Espresso Vivace!
I’ll be opening my brick & mortar bread bakery in one month!
That is an amazing story! Thanks for sharing :)
Great video, I can't wait to see a video on rental properties from you guys.
More to come!
Great insight to running a business overall. He has a well balanced operation that’s aimed at delivering excellence. Thanks for the tutorial.
Our pleasure!
Great video as always ,I learn so much from David
Glad to hear it! Are you looking to start a coffee company too? :)
I’m in NJ and grind my beans. I’ve subscribed to their subscription service. Very excited to taste their product. Excellent interview!!!
That's awesome!
Wow. A Coffee in Starbucks own backyard that is 30 years strong? Wow. I really liked how David explains and knows his numbers. Totally agree with Payroll + CapEx and Equipment Maintenance being biggest expenses. But to manage it, you have to know it. And he absolutely does.
He's quite amazing!
From someone who has been roasting his own coffee for years and is a coffee snob, Starbucks coffee has just not been very good for a number of years (though it has been a year or two at least since I've bought an espresso or latte from Starbucks, so their quality may be different). I'd guess it has to do with a multitude of factors: the quality of beans they source, the training (pouring and brewing a good cup of coffee or espresso, steaming milk, and latte art), store and equipment cleanliness, and standards. That's why they market all of these flavored drinks, because the quality of their coffee sucks, and the mass coffee market isn't into niche high quality coffee. Their customers want coffee caffeinated drinks that hide most of the natural flavor with sugar and other flavored additives. Most retail coffee shops aren't really very different either, they try to mimic the behemoth instead of identifying their best market opportunity for selling coffee, and adjusting their brand and product to attract customers in that market.
Yeah as a fellow coffee snob I would never ever buy a coffee in Starbucks and there are plenty of customers who want proper 3rd wave coffee
@@UncleSkiBum its hard to get good coffee in the US. Anyone in Europe makes better coffee than Starbucks
@@brahmaistrash.indiaisatoil5292 yeah I can imagine outside of big coffee places like San Fran only option is a Starbucks.
What a priceless vid. Respect to his legacy and sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Almost didnt click on video because I thought the title was clickbaity. Glad I did as David is a legend of the coffee game who has had an enormous influence on the industry. Thanks for the detailed look.
Indeed! We're glad you clicked and found value in the video :)
His comments about SCA hahaha 😂 great video! I’ve never thought he would share this much information on his business.
These are very well done videos and interviews. Excellent job and such great info.
Glad you love this video! Your appreciation means a lot to us and motivates us to continue producing content like this. Do you have a business topic you want to see next on the channel? 🤔
I like the way he explains everything in such detail
We do too, it was a great interview!
he didn’t say how much he makes
This interview was so informative! I’m experimenting with roasting thinking of getting very serious with it. Gotta get to Seattle to visit!
Definitely visit, his shop is amazing!
This was awesome! Thanks for the interview! Amazing info! David rules! 🤘🏼🤘🏼
Glad you enjoyed it! Did you learn a lot from this video? ☺️
I'm so lucky that i found your channel thank you so much for the information and thank you for motivating us. 👍💞
Lv from india🇮🇳
You are so welcome! We're glad to hear it!
Great video from someone in Jamaica looking to revolutionize the industry in Jamaica. Got a lot of understanding from this and a few other coffee related videos on the channel.
We love hearing things like this Jordan.😀 We think you'll do wonderful in the coffee industry and we appreciate you tuning in from Jamaica. So glad the video was beneficial to you. Are there any coffee shops in your area?
40mins video I watched it from beginning to end without stopping! Very good interview. Good questions Excellent answers and I like the edit and speed perfect 👍
We really appreciate your attention to detail Zka. It shows our hard work is paying off. We love doing videos in this industry. 😀What type of company would you like to see featured on the channel next?
@@UpFlip Any industry actually! Your specialty is always can find the right questions to ask. Like this one, very smart to target the audience who wants to run a coffee shop from the beginning like him. David is successful and generous. That’s made this video fascinating. I guess you can just find one like him in any industry and you will find another group of people or I think video like this quality anyone would love to watch over again!
stumbled upon this video and happens to be about my favorite coffee shop of all times, outside of Italy. went there for first time in 2001 and it's very special. I met the owner in 2001 at coffee fest at the convention center in seattle. small world!
So cool Kristie! Glad you've had a change to meet the owner. He a nice guy. Have you seen any of our other videos?
@@UpFlip after seeing this one I popped on your channel to look around
Man… thank you guys both for giving us this video
We're glad you enjoyed Sam!
I can confirm he walks everywhere. I used to live in an apartment between two of his cafes and he walked by nearly every day for months
Very healthy looking dude! Respects for success
Best one yet! David is great.
Amazing insights for someone in the UK looking at starting a coffee business. The art of it is amazing alongside the roastery, the equipment, the challenges. Learnt loads!
David was one of the first in the world to do amazing coffee. 25 years ago he was the genius of first wave coffee.
A legend and he is an artist. A touch outdated.
The equipment is holding his business back, like the Niche grinders. Its is basically a kony mazzer without the retention, definitely not a grinder to use for a commercial environment.
His hate for specialty coffee (scaa) is funny. I hate the politics of coffee organisations but specialty coffee is always going to taste better than Monsoon Malabar. Monsoon Malabar..... so old school.. Preaching the same philosophy 25 years ago. Nothing wrong with old school, but there is so much more to learn.
When I first visited his cafe in early 1990s I thought he was pretty old school then. Its like he is stuck in a time warp. If I ever go to Seattle again, definitely taking a visit..
He's a legend!
Dunno about the coffees that he showed, but for quality... specialty is definetely the way to go... and having Niche grinders on the cafe he own seems pretty weird, it prob manages fine if ur on a really small business... not his case thou.
So does he hate the flavour of specialty coffee or does he not prefer using it in his business due to higher cost?
I get that outdated/old school feel looking at the decor of his coffee shop. I feel like it looks like something from the 90s with the color tones and overall feel.
Thanks for covering small business in our city and town. Seattle doesn't always get a lot of coverage and I think this is putting businesses on the map. Please cover Boon Boona Coffee next! 😌💛
It's our pleasure The Dangerous Beauty. We're happy to have the ability to feature local businesses. 😀💖Do you have any more detail on Boon Boona Coffee?
What a video!! Tons of information, good job
Glad you enjoyed Imrane!
Another great and informative video on entrepreneurship. Thanks David for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it Da Masky. Thanks for tuning in. What business do you think we'll have up next?😀
This was golden. I hit the thumbs up so hard, I think I broke my mouse button. Please, more videos like this! :-)
More are coming! Thanks for watching :)
Thank you for this video 🙂
Great Video I love this guy and I feel the same about coffee as he does gourmet done right is a beautiful thing.
We love him too!
“Word of mouth is the best quality growth.” - David 🙏🏾🙏🏾 I totally agree with this statement and I needed this reminder today! Thank you 🙏🏾
Yes the Debt Demolisher. Many businesses have made millions off word of mouth alone. We appreciate your feedback once again. Would you ever get into this industry?
@@UpFlip I’m not a coffee person so I don’t foresee it (lol) but you never know! 😆 I’m binge watching a lot of your videos since discovering your channel. Regardless of the industry that person you’re interviewing is in, I know I’ll be able to pick up a nugget or two that I can apply in my business. David said quiet a few that truly spoke to my spirit. So thank you for this content. Keep them coming 🙏🏾
Great interview. Thank you so much. Did he ever mention his profit margins on roasted beans?
Am really amazed on how the big coffee brands (Starbucks, Costa, Nestle, etc) have introduced coffee and have made headways into tea drinking countries in Asia and UK. This is a trillion dollar opportunity
I work at coffee shop that’s looking to expand this is golden
Glad it was helpful!
This man is awesome, love the humor😂
Extremely inspiring to see how deep & far one will go for the love of what he does. From the beans all the way to the coffee served, comes with so much effort! It's beautiful to see how passionate David is! Thanks for this:)
It's always so inspiring to see someone do what they love. Love your comments! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for explain about Ethiopia coffee .
Great Channel and Video. Thank You!
Thanks so much for watching! We appreciate you!
Fabulous interview and major kudos to his ability to keep employees for that length of time!
Thanks! Hope you enjoyed and learned a lot from this episode!
@@UpFlip yes, I’m definitely ordering his beans and going to take his class. This week we’re passing Seattle and deciding if we want to take a 40min detour to experience a fresh pour. ☺️☕️
Awesome video. I own a roasting business ( Shiba Coffee and Tea Co.) it is fun and I am working to open a cafe as well. This guy has obviously worked hard and has fun while working
That is awesome!
Mostly great video. The part where he says you must roast to be successful is completely misleading and not even a little true. We have two coffee shops, working on our third as we speak. We employ 40 baristas and are growing very quickly. We started in 2013 with one barista, to give you an idea. Roasting is a lot of work and it takes a lot capital to get started. For those who are looking to start your own coffee shop, you easily can get your coffee beans from a local roaster. I would not recommend paying less than $8 per pound, which still leaves PLENTY of good margins! We have helped so many people start their own coffee shops and they are all doing so well!
Yeah I guess David is out of touch with local roasters as when his business started there were less sources. I see a lot of really good local coffee shops that use beans from a good local roaster. Having said that the shops that did start roasting there own have grown more and now you find them on hotels and restaurants and they have opened more locations. So I guess it's a bit of a catch 22. For reference I live in Brighton, UK which is widely regarded as one of the best places for coffee in UK.
Great point 👍🏼 Do you mind if we get in touch ... thx
May be it is to increase those profit margins by reducing cost on inventory in long runs and plus he is aiming to become the roaster everyone gets their beans from because he can do 3 times the volume he is doing now. Hence with no extra cost for the equipment he would be increasing his profits may folds on roasting. Also his plan is to supply his roasted beans in whole America which is achievable and quality could be maintained too but opening stores all over and managing them with the consistent quality and taste across all the stores is a bigger challenge. Thats why may be he is so focused and advisory on roasting yourself.
I want to start a coffee shop in Charlotte NC. On top of that , my wife makes great French pastries. The coffee in Algeria is good quality and tastes like carte noire and is much cheaper. They sell it for $1.5 a pound retail price, so maybe import it from there and I would not even purchase it from here. How can you help me ?
Just a matter of opinion. I think he mentioned he wanted to control the taste and what goes in it. I'm guessing his experience wasn't the best when he started off with the other roasters. 😕?
This guy is an absolute legend in the biz!
Thanks for watching!😀
Very good. Thank you very much for sharing
Our pleasure!
Thanks for considering the farmers 👍
One of the most interesting ones
Extremely fascinating and if I was younger would try to make it a go. I definitely plan to order some beans. I'm very excited to experience the beans offered.
One question I never hear answered. You are or become a great business person and espresso expert in all aspects from roasting to brewing. There is still one big glaring item. The pastry. Do you bring in expert people who cook great pastries? Or is this such a large overhead, expense and distraction that all food is outsourced?
Best of luck!
This guy keeps it real
He really does!
The multi-award winning premium roastery here in Germany im using (is already quite expensive for Germany) but charging only $12 instead of his $20 per 12oz.
This video is awesome 👏 I love it!
Thank you! 😃
Wow ! thats a very well detailed infos about Coffee. Ask David whether he could be intersted in buying green Arabicca beans Coffee from Kenya.
As a specialty coffee farmer/ processer in Hawaii. Anytime you find rocks or stones,sticks or other objects in your bags of green beans your buying mass produced coffee. Usually machine picked in all shades of color. 4-5 bucks a lb for green beans? We sold green beans to Starbucks for the past few years ( Kau Coffee) they sold it $80 for a pound of roasted.
Great insight, thank you for your comment!
This business owner is very smart. Great interview
Glad you enjoyed!
this is SO awesome as a small time coffee business owner. i'm purely online + pop-ups at the moment.
Congrats on starting your own business! Are you planning to have a coffee shop one day?
@@UpFlip Yes & soon. Our thesis is: Come for the theme of the café because you want to post photos / videos of it on your social. Stay for the surprisingly + insanely good food & bev.
Great way to really deep dive into the business side of coffee roasters and shops. It took him some time but glad to see that he pulled through and scaled to that extent
Just notes from what he said: diligence and Art
It's amazing!
@@UpFlip hey, it would be amazing if you guys could add questions on how long it took for them to cover back their capital, it would give us more realistic expectations. Either way, it's great effort what you guys are doing
@Upflip you are a great journalist/ TV reporter 👍😊
Thanks!
At first, I thought this guy had a little too much caffeine in his system, but as I realize this man is very passionate about what he does, and is extremely knowledgeable in his expertise. This is by far one of my favorite UpFlip videos. I watched from the beginning to the end and I saved it. Gracias.
Thanks for watching, GM! Really great that this has become your favorite video of ours. Would love to hear what other videos made your top 3! 😀
Thanks for information.. 👍☕ success for video..
We're glad you found value :)
The beverageair undercounter fridge will run you $2k. Grinders will cost you $2k each. Espresso machine will cost you $20k+ Ice machine is another $2k. Large commercial fridge is $6k.
My great granddad ran a coffee mill from the 1950s to the 1980s, one day I want to do this myself
Go for it!
Coffee is light and good for alertness
just FYI, when he said "Josuma" for his Indian broker, you put up the Suma coffee company icon. They're different companies I'm pretty sure.
Really enjoyed this
Glad you enjoyed it!
I opened Kashmir Coffee, not for profit but just somewhere where I can sit and relax myself
very very inspiring thanks guys
Glad you enjoyed it
Ignoring SCAA and getting people to say “Oh my God” with your coffee has been the key takeaway for me😂 grazie mille signore.
Haha that's awesome! Grazie mille! 👊
I am wondering if he offers international franchise I would love to have one served in my community!!
The coffee market is a lot more saturated today than 1988. These dates there's costa, Starbucks and independent on every street corner , it wasn't like that back in the day.. you'll probably make a profit but you won't get anywhere near the same success as he did in this sector . Great general tips for starting a business though although potentially this is survivor bias so you have to be a bit careful.
Wow this is def a dream of mine!
Very enlightening on how to actually turn a profit.
We're glad you enjoyed The Cash Flow. Is your dream to start a coffee business?
Yes long term when I have money to burn. I am trying to get at least 10 rentals first
Great video and really fun to see behind the scenes processes of having a coffee business. However, I really think there is better way to mention your sponsors. Its just too random and weird to see David make a great point and then immediately we hear about past videos or to drop a like. Just my opinion tbh, rest is impeccable content!
That sponsor point is spot on !
Upflip please rethink your thumbnail strategy. If the thumbnail had “David Schomer” or “Espresso Vivace” it would have over a million views already. I was ignoring the video on my feed for days because I didn’t recognize David but when I clicked on it and found out it was David I was hooked. I visited his shop in 2018 and have read his book about Espresso
Thank you for your feedback, we really appreciate it and will implement it going forward
Ditto
Great content.
One of the most difficult things is real estate. Also making friends with others in the industry by being part of events and what’s happening in your city. I’ve been doing this for 14 years myself. Roasting myself and even building a roaster that I started on my back porch. Years and years later my biggest struggle is finding a good location that allows me to roast and that I know I can stay at for years. I fear all the time I will have to move and luckily I have lots of friends now in the industry that I could use their roasting equipment if something happens
Why you guys need a roaster machine? Its not better just buy coffe somewhere?
Vivace has the third best coffee I’ve ever had.
1. Father Michael’s cold brew from St. John’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, Goldendale WA
2. Hopf Coffee, Chiangmai Mai Thailand
3. Vivace on Capitol Hill, Seattle.
Amazing!
Cool 😎
@23:13 the Suma coffee logo you have provided is wrong. David talks about a Josuma coffee company. I think they're a different entity. Please check & correct if possible. Otherwise very helpful video. Thanks for that.
I might have missed it. Did he start pouring espressos first then move into roasting, or did he do it all at the same time?
I agree on advertisements I have coffee shop bakery and never it worked to pay just word of mouth
Yes! Where is your shop located? :)
We have a very good Mocha green Coffee beans in Yemen. If they would like to try it, we can send them a sample for test. But it is more expensive then Ethiopian and Indian unfortunately
If you're going to brand (after making some money), shell out the money for a PROPER (not a fly by night) graphic designer / logo creator...its well worth the money because they will also design across the platforms (signage, cards, online logos, etc.).
Thank you
thanks 4 this vid
Thanks! What was your favorite part?
Wow, this guy is amazing
He really is! ☕ What was your favorite part of the video?
@@UpFlip I am an engineer so I love all the science behind the roasting process