Pura Vida Coffee, A For Profit Not for Profit..

The Entrepreneurial Mind posts, today, about Pura Vida Coffee. Pura Vida is 100% charitably owned. All of our resources go to help at-risk children in coffee-growing countries who suffer from the damaging effects of poverty. Very cool business model in which they give back all profits to coffee communities. I only wish I could have been at Belmont University still so I could have been a part of this seminar! This is a great place to go if you want to know what is going on in the Fair Trade world. If you want to help these communities and buy coffee at the same time, check out their site. ~~be bold

Musical Lawyers

No, it is not what it seems but it feels like the childhood game of Musical Chairs so I adapted. Between lawyers that my banker suggested, I have come across 2 other names. This means that I have a total of 5 lawyers who I have been told could help me. I talked with one a few times and really liked how he handled my questions and comments. We set a meeting and as I was getting off the phone, he asked where we were going to be leasing. I told him and he says: "I cannot be your lawyer for leasing problems because I am representing the company that owns the building." He said he could organize the S-Corp but that anything else would be a conflict of interest--obviously. So, I called another guy that I was told would be great to help me and found out that he, too, was working for the owners of the building. So, I called another guy and found that he charges about $400.00 more for this service as the others. My last contact will be out of town until next week which is going to be tight for my schedule. What it comes down to is this: I need to get this S-Corp organized. The first lawyer says he can do it. I think I am going to have him do the organization as we can meet on Friday. Our guarantor's lawyers will want to look at the lease so they can catch anything crazy that goes on. I will then find a lawyer that I like and that will treat our small business (Cafe Evoke) in a good way and let them do the rest of the legal things. We are going to name our corporation something different than Cafe Evoke and do business as Cafe Evoke just in case my entrepreneurial mind has another idea, I don't know, maybe a Shoe Room, small theater/art venue, wine bar, who knows. I think this corporation will be called Conversations, Inc. ~~be bold

The lease, and the Bank..

I signed and faxed the agreed upon proposal to the landlords in AZ and CA. This document is what the lease will be drawn up around and I think we will see the first copy of this lease by Friday, Monday at the latest. This is great news! I have been on the phone with the leasing agent in AZ the past couple of days and we hammered out a lot of the issues we have been having. We are only days (or maybe a week or so) away from what I think will be a lease we can sign. We talked with the banker at the SBA bank yesterday as well who said that our expense reports and financial projections are as good as he has seen and he felt very good about taking the information to the SBA Board. He said he would get back to us by Friday. That is also great news as it will allow the backer that has agreed to fund Cafe Evoke until opening day to get out of this deal. The thing I have to really work on now is getting the S-Corp organized. I have left a message with the lawyer on Monday and should hear back from him today. I have another name and number that I have also talked with before if the first does not call back today or tomorrow at the latest. Things are really looking good at this point with Cafe Evoke and I hope to have final news and maybe even a picture or two of our new home next week! ~~be bold

Word Verification for Comments

Thank you to everyone that has taken a second and commented on this blog! I really appreciate your input, questions, and advise. As blog begin to be more and more popular, people are finding more and more ways to use them for spam content. As I have been receiving an increased number of "spam comments," I have turned word verification on. This just means that you will have to type the word from the box before leaving any comments. I hope this does not drive you away from leaving comments on this page. The goal of this is to increase the number of real comments and keep the dialogue alive! Thank you again to all that read and support Cafe Evoke! ~~be bold

Quote of the Day

"A cup of coffee - real coffee - home-browned, home ground, home made, that comes to you dark as a hazel-eye, but changes to a golden bronze as you temper it with cream that never cheated, but was real cream from its birth, thick, tenderly yellow, perfectly sweet, neither lumpy nor frothing on the Java: such a cup of coffee is a match for twenty blue devils and will exorcise them all." ~~~ Henry Ward Beecher

On Tap for this Week

This week could prove to be very exciting! Our meeting last Friday with the lone SBA banking in Bozeman went great and we will hear something by Wednesday. The local leasing agent called to say that the landlords are writing up a lease based on the proposals that have been going back and forth and should have it back to us the beginning of this week to look over and sign. These are both huge steps in our progress with Cafe Evoke! What does this mean for the "to-do" list for the week? (not in any particular order) 1. Tie down loan info with SBA banker. 2. Get with the lawyer I previously made contact with and have the S-Corp organized and legal. 3. Review lease received by landlord with lawyer and have it signed. 4. Get enrolled at the American Barista and Coffee School. 5. Get stationary and more business cards printed. 6. Get bank account opened at SBA lending bank when loan goes through. This is a fairly long list but one that should begin to tick off as the information from the bank and the landlord get back to us. The stationary and business cards are obviously the last few things we will need to do but I do feel they need to be done. We also have various meetings with people who have offered to give us advice and answer any questions we have about the coffee business and owning a business in general here in Bozeman. I hope to schedule those for later this week. I will keep this list updated as the week goes on! ~~be bold

It's a Waiting Game

"Coffee in New York soared 7 percent, the most since November, as the second hurricane in less than a month threatened to damage inventories in New Orleans. The price fluctuation was the biggest of any commodity today." This came from an article at KHOU News, Houstonon Tuesday. The problem with things like this is that no one really knows what is going to happen. It is like chess with an opponent that, in know why, will show his cards before you. They also say in this article that the Board of Trade officials plan to visit New Orleans this week if they can get in. This will be a big step as they have yet to see the damaged caused by the first storm. We will to keep waiting to see just what will happen to coffee prices in the future. ~~be bold

Update...

We met with the leasing agent last night to discuss the counter offer made by the owners of the building we have been working on. As he wanted to meet in person, I was planning some real problems with my counter to them that I sent in on Monday. That was not the case. All of the things they came back with this time were manageable and I think we are as close as ever to calling this space home for Cafe Evoke. The wording was all that really needed to be changed. The did come back lower on our build-out costs but our leasing agent here said to hold firm with the amount that we asked for. I hope to have the final letter back to them by Friday accompanied by the "lease applications" (basically financial reports from the guarantors). I hope to begin the lease talk by the beginning of next week. Where does that leave us? Here is a list of things that needs to be completed on or very close to the signing of the lease. 1. Need to get with the lawyer and have the S-corp organized 2. Need to enroll at the American Barista and Coffee School 3. Need to tie down our loan with one of the two banks..or both Not a terribly long list but one that has important steps to the opening of Cafe Evoke. Could be quick now! ~~be bold

This could be big...

I had an email from the local leasing agent when I got home from all of the meetings yesterday that said he received the counter offer back and that we should meet today to discuss. Now, this makes me a bit nervous as the last time they countered, he just emailed me the differences and we went from there. I bet I know what is making them hold up a bit. There are going to be two spaces left in this building if we move in. One of them is a mirror of ours and one is an end space with a drive through. This is the space that our big Green Friends (Starbucks) was once looking at. I put in my first letter of intent that I wanted them to sign a non-compete clause stating that no other business in this building can serve coffee as their main source of revenue as I do not want to compete side by side with another coffee shop. They said no. My second offer still had that in there as I feel that I need it to feel secure in this lease. I hope that is what the problem is. I will be a step closer after tonight, however, as we will know the final word on where we stand with this lease and our chances of signing something in the near future. We meet with the light people yesterday who will have the electrical plan/lighting layout to us by the end of this week, early next week. We meet with the sign company that we hope to use and he created an amazing sign for us that I can not wait to show. Our meeting with the banker went well and we meet with another bank on Friday to see what our options are with the good old SBA. Over all I think we are in a great position to move forward and I still believe we can be serving coffee by January. ~~be bold

Venture Capital / Angel Investors: Why Banks Say No

I was reading a post over at Venture Capital / Angel Investors about Why Banks Say No. I thought this fit in nicely as I have been hearing versions of "no" for the past several hours while meeting wiht one of our banks. This post talks about a survey taken by the CFIB that gives reason entrepreneurs gave on why banks told them know. � 26.6%: Too much outstanding debt � 26.6%: Lack of owner equity � 24.8%: Insufficient cash flow � 17.2%: Too new in business � 13.7%: Poor industry conditions � 11.6%: No reasons were given � 7.8%: Products not considered profitable � 4.1%: Inadequate business plan � 4.0%: Environmental risk factors If I would have been in this study, I would have said it is because there is not enough collateral to put against the loan. My banker said we had one of the most in depth plans he has seen in a long time and he things our model is great. We just need someone to sign this loan with us. I thought this was an interesting study. ~~be bold

Another Step Closer!

I heard back from the leasing agent late yesterday and found that we have made it to the "application" stage of this process, a step closer than we have ever been! I found this stage to mainly be a personal financial summary and also a summary of our backer--simply put, do we have enough money to make them feel safe. With our backer, we should be fine on this point. I meet with our banker today and we are going to sit down and really go through the options with SBA, etc. I have filled out the "Application for Business Loan" that I pulled from SBA.com a few days ago. I have also gone through and found all (actually only 1) the banks in Bozeman that have done SBA deals in the past and am going to set up a meeting with the SBA lender at that bank for sometime later this week--I hope. Right now, I a working on the financing stuff as that seems to be the most important at this time. The other things on my "list" are things that are important but that will be easy to complete once we have the space. We are entering to an exciting, scary, fun, and stressful time with Cafe Evoke. As Dr. C told me today..."The path to start-up is never a straight line. Keep your eye on your vision and be diligent with the details." ~~be bold

A Great Find

I had a comment by a reader yesterday, Siel, that keeps up a blog called green LA girl in which she talks Fair Trade coffee, local politics, and ethical consumerism in Los Angeles. As I was reading through this blog and found a few other great resources that all should take a look at: Make Trade Fair "Maketradefair.com gives a voice to the farmers, labourers, and factory workers who are being cheated by the blatantly unfair rules of world trade. And it gives a voice to you, the consumer, if you want to join them in the call to end exploitation and make trade fair." Oxfam American "Oxfam America is committed to creating lasting solutions to global poverty, hunger, and social injustice." You can see their banners on side bar of this page by the end of the day today. Go take a look and see how you can get invovled. ~~be bold

For this week..

It appears this could be a very busy week---which is a good thing. Tomorrow I meet with our banker to try and work through some of the murky SBA stuff so today will be a day filled with numbers, budgets, the balance sheet, etc. I really hope to have a great jump on the financing by Friday. I have researched the banks in Montana and their SBA activity in the past year and found only 1 branch in Bozeman that has even participated and with only 5 loans. If the bank I am working with now decides they do not want to get involved in this market with SBA, I will head over to Wells Fargo who has done the rest of the SBA deals in town. I also submitted the counter offer for the space we are hoping to call home for Cafe Evoke. I have requested a response by the end of business Friday. If this goes through, I will then need to set up a time to meet with the lawyer I have contacted in town to get the S-corp organized and also have them look over the lease agreement before signing anything. That being done, we will be in great shape to begin build-out. We also have a meeting set for sometime this week with the light company who will outline what electrical we will need and wear and also tell us how much lighting we will need. We have picked out the styles of lighting and know what will be installed we just don't know how much of each kind we really need. This meeting should take place by Tuesday. Things are looking good for Cafe Evoke at this time and we have meet many people that really like our model and want to help out anyway they can. We have been in touch with two different realtors in town, 1 that has been in the restaurant business for 20 years and the other has owned 3 coffeeshops in CA that love our model and think we will do great in Bozeman. As I have learned, you cannot take peoples word for things or even know what they truly believe but with them offering their time and energy to help us, I think they are being sincere. A busy week will show progress and I hope to be a few steps closer to opening day when this week is over. ~~be bold

Update

Well, things are still moving forward. We are currently working on two different buildings in which we would like to call home for Cafe Evoke. I hope to have my counter offer back to the leasing agent on one of the buildings today. This is big news as we thought this place was out due to very expensive build-out costs. We found out that the builders were indeed putting in the HVAC stuff and also the bathroom (to code) and the ceiling and drywall. I am still not sure if they will accept my counter offer but we are going to try! Everything else is at a bit of a standstill. We are working on budgets and finding more money but the planning stages are pretty much complete until we find a space. The kitchen layout is finished and we know where the equipment will be coming from. I really feel that we are in great shape and will be ready to go full speed the second we find a place to call home. We will start the marketing campaign and it will not take long from the time we move in until the time we are ready to open. We are very excited about our progress and are optimistic about our chances here in Bozeman, Montana. More to come... ~~be bold

Quote of the Day

"A cup of coffee - real coffee - home-browned, home ground, home made, that comes to you dark as a hazel-eye, but changes to a golden bronze as you temper it with cream that never cheated, but was real cream from its birth, thick, tenderly yellow, perfectly sweet, neither lumpy nor frothing on the Java: such a cup of coffee is a match for twenty blue devils and will exorcise them all." Henry Ward Beecher, 'Eyes and Ears'

Tips for Finding Money (with a bank)

BusinessKnowHow writes today and gives some tips for start-ups looking for funding. As I have come to find out, bankers do not like to give their money to start-ups, in the restaurant business, just out of college that have never had a restaurant before. That would be me. Based on these tips, here is what I should do. 1. Be a homeowner 2. Include all of your assists in your application 3. Have a good income record 4. Account exactly where your business loan will be allocated. How do I stack up to these tips? Well, I am not a homeowner--yet. (we are currently in the market to get into a town home here in Bozeman however). I am just out of college and my income record isn't great but it is decent. I did include all of my assets into my application for the loan and I made it pretty clear where the money would go. I created costs sheets for each category and sent that in with my application. I also had another backer on my loan which helps a lot as well I might add. This is great advice for anyone that is looking for a business loan. It is not easy. This post also suggests finding a bank that does start-up lending as this will make your life a lot easier. I agree. ~~be bold (via Dane at Business-Opportunities)

Featured Program: Without Thought Coffee Program

Another program we hope to create at Cave Evoke is called "Without thought Coffee Program." Customer will be able to sign up for this program with a credit card or pre-dated checks. We will then deliver coffee to the customer's door weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. We all know how bad it feels to wake up in the morning and find that you are out of coffee. This program will allow people to enjoy Cafe Evoke at home and never miss a morning! We will be able to tailor this delivery based on the normal usage cycle. I really feel that this will be a good thing for Cafe Evoke. Especially in the cold of winter when people want to make coffee at home, we will be able to be in the front of their thoughts so that when they are out, they will stop by our place. This will also help us get to know our customers better. We will know the type of blend they prefer and also how much the really drink. All of this will go back to what I have talked about many times about which is being a personal cafe, a place where people feel like home. ~~be bold

"Top 6 Mistakes of Committed Young Entrepreneurs"

This post comes from Michael at Young Entrepreneur Journey. He has been on the road talking with many young entrepreneurs and has complied the following list. He goes into some great details on his site so if you have a second, hope over there and check it out. The first two mistakes he outlines are two that I feel I have been close to over the past several weeks. Theses mistakes are: 1. Not getting started 2. Not keeping with it The other mistakes he defines are: 3. Don't mistake early growth spurts with ability 4. Don't depend on word-of-mouth 5. Don't pretend to be in business 6. Get Real 7. Put branding behind sales 8, Don't spread yourself to thin I believe these are all great guidelines to check yourself with as I am probably going through some of these right now. Go have a look. ~~be bold

Lessons I have Learned

There are many things I have learned over the past several months in trying to get Cafe Evoke up and running. These are things I was told in many classes along the way and by mentors and advisors but never really got it I don't think until I began venturing out on my own to try and make Cafe Evoke happen. I have summed up these things the following ways: 1. Get over yourself and ask for help. 2. Follow up on ALL contacts and referrals 3. It will be hard some days and it will be not-so-hard some days. Now, these three things seem easy enough to understand but it took me awhile. I heard these things time and time again but I always thought it would be different for me. Right. Get over yourself and ask for help It is your idea, it is your plan, it is your model. I have been working on Evoke's plan and model for the past 2 years. That is a long time to get selfish and not let anyone in. Through my days at Belmont University I was always nervous about getting my idea into other people's hands. (that is except Dr. Cornwall!). What I have learned since being here in Montana is to ASK FOR HELP! I do not know everything and people love to give advice. TAKE IT AND RUN! (although be weary of bad advice and uninformed advisors) Not only does this mean ask when you have problems but it means when you have someone offer to sit down and tell you what they know about hiring, firing, running a business, etc, take them up on it. It is ok to get advice and it does not mean you do not know what you are doing and should not be opening a business. Follow up on ALL contacts and referrals This might be a more personal goal than anything else but since being here, I have been given many referrals and contacts. It used to be that I would take the person's name and number and just put it on my desk, never to look at it again. Bad idea! I have made it a goal to always follow up on the contacts I am given either by phone or email. I have found a cateror that is very excited about Cafe Evoke, I have found a realtor that has been in the restaurant business for 20 years that really wants to help with Evoke, I have found a sign company that lead me to a guy that owns some very cool buildings in the area in which we want to be located, my banker, 3 lawyers, the list goes on! All because I followed up with every number, name, or email address I have been given by friends, family, etc. Some days will be hard, others will not This is the main thing that every start-up business owner needs to remember. The hard days do not mean that your plan is done, your ideas expired, your dreams crushed. It means you are in business now and some days are not easy! We have had many days that seem endless and hopeless in the past week and a half as leases fall through and our plans seem impossible. Then you talk with someone and they really love what you are doing and want to help. That is the circus of a start-up. Hang in there. Your business will begin if you plan right and keep at it. I have had many days in the past several weeks when I thought it would be easier to just hang up this idea and move on. I have finally learned that this is part of business and you push on. The thing to remember and really go for are the lessons that come out of every failed attempt. I can tell you that we have not made the same mistake twice and the more we go through different leasing agents and companies, the more we know what we really need and how to write letters of intent, contracts, etc. All of these things are simple yet hard to get, at least for me. The closer I come to understanding these areas, the better off this business will be and the closer I can get to my goal of serving this community of artists and friends and supporting my family as we grow. ~~be bold

Quote of the Day

"Ten years ago we were a golf resort for retirees at $90 a night, and we didn't have any money. But that's the best place to be at, having to be creative. All great ideas come on a shoestring." ~~Thad Hyland, manager of the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. (this quote was taken from an article from INC.com. Great story of leadership and management.)

In Search of Funding / Update...

Although we do have a backer to get us through until opening day, we are still in search of money to carry us from opening day on. We have been working with our banker, exploring several options, but still have not come up with anything that will suit myself or our bank. I have turned my focus a bit to the avenues mentions in this post from Business Opportunities. Dane links to an NFIB article that gives seven sources of start-up funding that entrepreneurs have available. Many entrepreneurs opening small businesses need money, but most of them are notÂ’t sure where to get it. While many sources of money for small businesses exist, some avenues are more accessible than others. Here are seven suggestions to consider when you find yourself in this position: 1. Personal Savings 2. Equity in Your Home 3. Credit Cards 4. Buying on Credit 5. Friends and Relatives 6. Leasing 7. Banks I am now gathering information from the SBA and figuring out how best to gain this money. I am meeting with our banker again this week and hopefully will be able to get some help in filling out paperwork and be able to work with this bank through an SBA backing. We have not yet nailed down a location and the going has been tough. I am jumping on a few newpossibilitiess that I think will work for us. I have sent initial emails to the leasing agents of the new places and I hope this week to meet with a few of them to get more information. We have to keep pushing on. This business will work and there is a place for Cafe Evoke somewhere. We just have to find it! You never know what will come available. There are always pros and cons with each space we find and each time I have to go back to our plans and ask myself the following questions: 1. Can we make money here? 2. Does this place fit our model? 3. Can we afford it? I am also figuring out marketing plans for each space so I know what it will take to get people in the door. There isa lott on our plate right now as we are nearing our deadline to find and sign a lease. We still would love to be opening by January of 2006 but we also know that setting a firm date this far in advance is crazy talk. So on we go! ~~be bold

OU Football: Game Day

VS Time: 11:00 am Central Time Channel: FoxSports Place: Norman, Oklahoma Date: September 10th OU's Current Rank: #18 OU's Season Record: 0-1

Starbucks Helps Out

In this article from Business Wire, it is reported that Starbucks will be helping out the victims of Katrina for the next 5 years. As part of its long-term commitment to aid the relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina, Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX) today announced an initial commitment of $5 million over five years to impacted U.S. Gulf Coast communities. The Company has designated the American Red Cross as the recipient of Starbucks initial $1 million contribution. Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, also announced that the Schultz Family Foundation is contributing $1 million for immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts, with $500,000 designated to the American Red Cross and $500,000 to Mercy Corps. Starbucks is taking a comprehensive approach to support both the immediate relief and long-term rebuilding efforts in the affected areas. In addition to its financial commitment, Starbucks is working closely with the American Red Cross relief effort, as well as Emergency Operations Centers and Federal Emergency Management Agency in the impacted areas. To date, the Company has donated more than 30,000 pounds of ground coffee; 235,000 bottles of Ethos(TM) Water; and 9,600 bottled Tazo(R) drinks to support them in their endeavors. It is great to see many of the American businesses helping out where they can. It is also a relief to see a coffee company at Starbucks giving so much in a time of unrest in prices of coffee. Many business, including the two I talked about here, that are doing what they can to give back to their community on a national scale. Great job guys! ~~be bold

Where we are...

Over the past several days, we have been collecting information for the build-out phase of Cafe Evoke. This process has not only been very time consuming but also a bit frustrating. We got a bid back from the heating contractor, the same on that did the rest of the building, who told us that to finish our space off with ducts and vents would cost us $3,200. I was blown away by that price. Seems a bit high. The bad thing about this is that with $3.00 per foot of build out money coming from the landlords, if we accept, would not even cover that price and that is only the heating! Basically, in honest terms, our options are dwindling. We are still going to counter offer but found out that there are two national chains looking at the same two spaces. They are not coffee places but would have the money to pay a bit more than we do. It will be a stretch to get into one of those spaces but we are still going to try. My wife talked with the developer of one of the new sites coming into Bozeman a few days ago who told her that he thinks they already have a coffee shop planned to move in when they get things going. The bad thing here is that this was one of two long term options we had for Cafe Evoke. I'm really not sure where the future is going to be for Evoke at this point but will continue to push forward. The good thing is that we have literally everything completed. We have quotes for most of the buildout, we have a kitchen design and equipment list (and we actually own some of the kitchen equipment already), we have logos and letterhead complete, we know what terms we need in a lease, we have our vendors, and we have the money (mostly). WE NEED A HOME! It might be back to the drawing board, again, for this weekend as the leasing agent in charge of the space is out of town until Monday or so. I'm not really sure why they have a "local" agent as he really has no information to give us and he basically just faxes/emails all of my questions to the lady in AZ. Ok... I will keep you updated as I take another weekend away from the computer to try and gather my thoughts and figure out what to do from here. Thanks for your support thus far! ~~be bold

It was Great!

Last night I watched Andre Agassi beat James Blake in the US Open in one of the better matches I have watched in awhile. I was a bit frustrated and disappointed when, at the end of the 5th set, the USA Network cuts out and begin showing an Law and Order that has been on many times in the past. Now, you lucky enough to be on the East Coast had no problems with this but on this side of the world, there was no way to finish watching it. We were told that CBS late night would have the match right after they cut out so I headed over to CBS only to find good ole Dave talking about who knows what. All the while, the set goes into a tie break and Agassi pulls away with the match, coming from 2 sets down! Andre Agassi had this to say after the match... "I don't know if I can put in context how this compares with some of my greatest experience on the tennis court, but I know it's right up there because this is what you work so hard for, you know," Agassi said. "To be honest, with the way a mentality like mine sort of works, is this means as much to me as doing it in the finals. This is what it's about. It's about just authentic competition, just getting out there and having respect for each other's game and respect for each other's person and letting it fly and letting it be just about tennis." Andre Agassi(7) def. James Blake 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) ~~be bold (photo take from ESPN.com)

Quote of the Day

"...like a jazz musician. Improvisation is my guiding philosophy. Dancing back and forth between public and private, arts and jobs, right brain and left brain. Corporate executives love this place, but sculptors and singers dig it too." ~Bill Strickland Bidwell Training Center Manchester Craftsmen's Guild MCG Jazz I read the article from Inc. Magazine, from where I got this quote, last night about Bill Strickland and it gives me something to hope for in the furture with Cafe Evoke-a community coffee and art house for everyone form executives to students. It also sparked some ideas about allowing the arts community here in Bozeman to not only interact with those that are not as 'artsy" but maybe even have programs where kids can come and learn the same skills that allowed the artists to get on the walls of galleries across the world. Great article in the September issue. ~~be bold

...because I'm not an expert!

I have had many emails and comments regarding my recent post Coffee vs Katrina. I wanted to make one thing clear before we go on. Information rendered in this post came directly from news articles that are cited in the post. I am not an expert in pricing coffee nor work for any trading board. I have now included what looks to be current and accurate information from MarketWatch.com. If this information still seems incorrect, please let me know by commenting on this blog and/or taking it up with reporters and writers from their respective companies. As the extent of hurricane damage becomes clear, coffee prices have been on the rise, fueled by fears of a supply crunch. On Thursday, September coffee rose 4.2 cents to close at $1.0195 a pound on the New York Board of Trade.... I do love to have people comment with correct info and appreciate the feedback. Thank you again! ~be bold

It Depends on the Spin

I was reading through some articles today and found this one at Newsday.com. Hurricane Katrina may have destroyed about 1.5 million sacks of coffee stored at warehouses in New Orleans, raising the global price of coffee and benefiting coffee growers across the world, officials said Friday. The destruction caused to the coffee storage in New Orleans could send prices soaring but it will help exports in other coffee producing countries as futures are up and the US will need to replace the large amount of surplus that was warehoused in New Orleans. ...lower global coffee production combined with the flooding means that Colombia's coffee exports this year will likely bring in between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion compared with $1.056 billion in 2004. ~~be bold

Update...

It is hard to believe that Labor Day has come and gone. We have been in Montana now for close to 4 months and have been working non-stop sense we got here. Things with Evoke are looking fairly positive. I am thinking by the end of this week, we will have completed everything that you can without an actually space and location to call home. We have calls into heating contractors, general contractors, concrete companies, electrical contractors, and we have a meeting set for this week to meet with a guy to create a lighting plan (lights for over the bar, art lights, and general lighting needs). I am very excited to see that we have taken our "plans" this far and have done so much leg work before opening. Hopefully this will lead to a smaller amount of "surprises." We are still working on our second attempt at this lease. I am waiting to hear back from all of the people listed above so I will know how much buildout will really cost us and try and come back with a counter offer that the landlords will agree to. If the terms they provided back for us last week are final, we will have to look elsewhere as it will make it so expensive for Evoke. We have to push on. I feel like we are in the final 5 miles of a century (100 mile ride) on the bike in the summer months in Nashville when you body does not want to pedal another round. I think we are almost there. We do still have the options that will be ready to go next summer but I am not sure really where we will turn next if this does not work out. We will also be watching the industry as a whole for the next several weeks as the prices could run sky high. We will see! ~~be bold

Coffee vs Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina ripped through the New Orleans area, it tore through one of the biggest waterfront warehousing areas in the United States, disrupting the delivery and importation of an American staple - coffee. Yahoo! News has an article about the threat to the US coffee industry in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is host to the second largest port for coffee behind New York City and supplies almost 30% of coffee to the US coffee industry. "So far it looks as if there isn't a lot of damage to the warehouses," said Joe DeRupo, spokesman for the National Coffee Association in New York, which represents importers and roasters of coffee beans. "We still don't know whether water has gotten into the warehouses or not." Because New Orleans accounts for about a sixth of the nation's coffee storage, any damage could affect U.S. coffee prices. "If there is significant damage to coffee stocks, it could impact supply. If not, it will just delay shipments," DeRupo said. I feel a bit nervous worry about this type of thing while people are losing family memebers and homes. However, with the opening of Cafe Evoke in the near future (hopefully), I need to be on the look out for sky rocketing prices. This will be very important to keep tabs on. As of now, it does not appear that this will be the wrecking ball for this industry but only time will really tell. Coffee is trading globally at about 94 cents for a 132-pound bag, after selling last year for as much as $1.40. Because of the slump in prices, many people think this will keep prices at a nice level but many are preparing and keeping a close eye on the happens around the New Orleans area. This might tie nicely with the below post about the cost of doing business as Montana is around 20 percent under the national average. We will be watching this! ~~be bold

Cost of Doing Business

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship reports today where each state ranks according to the cost of doing business. This list gives previous ranks along with current ranks. Here are some highlights: Top 5 States (1. being the most expensive) 1. Hawaii 2. New York 3. Massachusetts 4. California 5. Connecticut Bottom 5 States (1. being the least expensive) 1. South Dakota 2. North Dakota 3. Iowa 4. Montana 5. Idaho Based on this list, Montana is 20% below the national average in Cost of Doing Business (80.6). The most expensive state, Hawaii is 43.1% above the national average in Cost of Doing Business (143.1). This is an interesting list to go through. For those that have not had a look at this before, each state is broken up into 5 catagories. Wage, Tax Burden, Electricity Costs, Industrial Rent Cost, and Office Rent Cost are all taken and averaged to determine which states are the most expensive to do business. Good stuff here and I'm glad to see Montana taking 47th from the top! ~~be bold

It's a Holiday

I hope all business owners out there have a chance to relax and enjoy Labor Day tomorrow with their family and friends. Have a burger, a beer (or a cup of coffee if you prefer), watch some college football, and have a great one! ~~be bold

OU Football: Game Day

VS Time: 11:00 am Central Time Channel: ABC Place: Norman, Oklahoma Date: September 3rd OU's Current Rank: #7 OU's Season Record: 0-0

"Coffee to the Rescue"

"Barefoot Coffee Roasters and MoonBeans Coffee work together to pour relief back into the lives of Hurricane Katrina victims." eMediaWire.com has a story today about two coffee companies that have come together with the Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, "the worst U.S. natural disaster in recent history." Barefoot Coffee Roasters and Jennie Reynolds of MoonBeans Coffee, two coffee roasters in the San Francisco Bay Area have partnered together to pour some relief into the areas hardest hit by hurricane Katrina. Partnering with the American Red Cross these two businesses are offering a free half pound of coffee to anyone who donates $10 or more to the Red Cross Hurricane 2005 relief fund. Between today and September 15th, come in to either coffee roaster and drop off your donation and pick up your choice of any half pound of artisan roasted coffee beans. The pair hope to raise $8,000 to spread relief to the people of the New Orleans/Mississippi area. I'm glad to see these small business doing what they can to help. I decided that anything Cafe Evoke can do to help when the time comes we will do. I want to help other small businesses get through this as they are going through times that I can only dream will not happen here in Bozeman to Evoke. Great little story about these two companies. Check out their websites and read the article. ~~be bold

Doing what we can...

I have been watching the news like most people around me and am disgusted with what I see. In the midst of such disaster, there are people bold enough to take lives, break hearts, steal, and further destroy... I was going to compile a list of places to give and found that Instapundit.com has done this quite well. Please have a look at his list of places to give and lets do what we can to help. Every little bit counts and nothing really seems as important these days in the shadow of what is going on to our friends in LA, MS, and TX. I will continue to push on with Cafe Evoke but will refrain from citing my minute problems until they seem relevant. ~~be bold

National Geographic

I was searching around today and found a great site operated by National Geographic. This site has information on the history of coffee, roasts, maps of coffee producing countries, etc. Very nice little site with great information. ~~be bold

Featured Program: Free Coffee Cards

Another program will be Free Coffee Cards. These will be index cards with the customerÂ’s personal information on them. The cards will be kept at the cash register and will be stamped or hole punched whenever a customer buys a drink. Buy 10 drinks gets the 11th free. These cards will not only be an added incentive to the customer but because they will stay in the cafe it will also give us a chance to keep tabs on our customers and get to know them better. Our hopes are to be able to order for the customer as we see them walk in. So many of us always have the same thing when we enter a coffeeshop that we feel like by the 3rd or 4th time, we should know their name and also what they drink. This program should give us that ability to look back at what theordereded and be able to "get to know them" better.

Reflections

In the past several days, things with Cafe Evoke have begun to storm. I have been back and forth with what to do next and were to go from here and things have just been a bit rocky. We are not currently at a stalemate but we could be soon if we cannot construct a counter offer in the next several days that will make the landlords happy. As I sit in a fedup mood watching CNN and MSNBC, the stores and images from Katrina seem to wash all of my problems away. It is amazing how we can go on worrying about small things when, across the country, the movies have become a reality. Our thoughts and prayers are with each person that was affected by this storm and especially the small business owners who will have to figure out where to go next. ~~be bold