CoffeeFEST Recap

We made it back to Bozeman late last night after a long drive from Seattle. The weekend could not have gone better. Not only did we meet many new friends but (hopefully) future business partners as well. The trade show proved to be a learning expirence for us and we came back with more information than we could possible fully take in. We bought our espresso machine, two grinders, and pannini grill while we were there and I am very excited. We went with a Nuavo Simonelle 3 group machine (I will post why at a later date) and I cannot wait to install it. We are still a bit of time away from that however. We also made contacts with many other vendors while at CoffeeFEST and made many of the decisions about what we will serve and sell at Cafe Evoke. The good thing about this is that once we are ready to set up accounts with these vendors, we will know what we need and how much of it and it will make for a fairly painless first order. I think it set us on the right foot for when that time comes. We are shooting for a mid to late January opening which is not to much later than our first hopeful date. With the lease signed and the work about to begin, things are going to get very hectic around here. I will keep everyone updated and hopefully be able to post pictures as we go. I also hope to get our website up with more detail than it has now. Thank you again for all of your support along the way. ~~be bold

It keeps going and going

CoffeeFest has been very helpful and informative. We have met many people so far and have made some great connections. We ended up buying our espresso machine, two espresso grinders, and a pannini grill. We might end up buying a dishwasher as well. We have also met many vendors that we hope to use for Cafe Evoke. We have talked with bakers, candy makers, mug and travel mug companies, and many others. We are now trying to decide what type of POS system we want to use -- a computerized, touch screen style that will produce very impressive reports, etc or a standard register with tape that will allow the cashier to simply touch the prices and maybe learn the machine quicker. These are all things we are talking with the POS companies about and I hope we can make a decision this weekend. ~~be bold

For Today...

Today we will be heading over to the Convention Center in a few minutes to begin our first day at the 2005 CoffeeFEST. From 8:00 am - 12:00 noon, we will participate in many different classes and seminars. From 12:00 noon until about 5:00 pm, the booths are opened and we will begin our journey buying and making deals with vendors and companies that Cafe Evoke will be using. This is going to be a great day. We are going to attending a class in Marketing your specialty coffee business, taught by Bruce Milletto of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup and also one about opening a new cafe taught by Tom Palm. Details to come tonight. We stopped by one of the furniture stores at which we will purchase our couches for Evoke and they are going to look great. We will be ordering them in a few weeks. Big day ahead, I will post on the details in a bit. ~~be bold

...from Seattle.

Hello from Seattle. We finally made it after many rounds trying to navigate our way around the one way infested city. We are very excited to go to the show tomorrow and I hope we really have a chance to get to know some people in the industry. I will blog each day and keep everyone posted on what we find -- maybe even pictures to go along with the story. Have a great weekend. ~~be bold

Quote of the Day...

"Life is short and greatly improved by a good cup of coffee" ~~The Passionate Harvest (an award winning film produced by Bellissimo Coffee infoGroup.)

Take the Challenge

Haven't taken the Starbucks Challenge yet? Head on over and make your voice heard. They are collecting information from as many Starbucks locations nation wide (I would venture to say world wide as well) about your ability to drink Fair Trade coffee when you order. This movement has caused even Starbucks to respond and it can only get better. Click here and read through how this challenge works. It is a painless processes and will help the farmers in all the coffee growing countries. Thank you for your participation. ~~be bold

Guide to Creating Pinnacle Staff

My buddy at Viva Barista posted a few weeks ago about creating the pinnacle coffee bar staff. He goes through the interviwing, hiring, and training of your employees. This is about to be in the fore front of my mind as we begin to look for employees. As I sit sipping a latte in the cafe that I managed years ago I think back to the first opening day, and the months of hard work prior to it’s opening. It has been great to see this place come to fruition. I still see many familiar menu items, the Italian theme still very prominent, the panini are still as delicious as ever, the wine selection looks great, and the baristas are still here, the same ones I hired and worked along side, with an additional face or two. Many of them have been working here for 3 years now. If you can really pay attention to who you hire and why, you can achieve this low turnover rate. Although low turnover is good for business (you do not have to keep re-hiring and you save a good amount of money in training and time) but your customers will feel more at home if they come in a see the same people behind the counter. It creates consistency in your espresso and also other drinks. These employees are the glue that holds this successful operation together. The owner has put together a beautiful cafe, bought all the best equipment, we put together a great menu, and kept quality in mind in every aspect of the operation, but as an owner or manager you can’t be there every second and it is so important to have faith in your employees Take a minute to read this article. He outlines many good points and areas to focus on while interviewing and hiring. ~~be bold

On the dotted line...

I just got finished signing the lease! I have sealed it in the UPS Next Day Priority envolope and it will be sent in tomorrow. Things are moving forward and I am more excited than ever at the progress we have made and our ability to serve the Bozeman community and also our global community. We have met a lot of great people here in Portland and I have learned the power of networking since arriving here. I am excited for CoffeeFEST this weekend at which I hope to meet even more people. Thank you for all of your support over the past several weeks and I hope you stay tuned for more from Cafe Evoke. We will be posting the floor plan and pictures of the space so you can really put a face with the name. ~~be bold

...from the lab.

Today and yesterday we were in the lab learning about the different machines and techniques that are required to operate them properly and pull a great cup of espresso. We got to work on 3 brand new machines and grinders which was great because it helped us learn the differences and also find out which machine we like and want to buy for Cafe Evoke. Today we will be talking about blender drinks and iced drinks. Although there is alot to take in 5 days, this school has been worth every penny we paid to attend. I have learned how and when to adjust the grind in the espresso grinder, how to change the burrs in the grinders, how to perform daily maintance and cleaning of the machines and more. I have also learned what to listen for while steaming milk and, although I need to build on this technique, will be able to steam milk almost silently, created a smooth and silky milk for the espresso drinks we serve at Cafe Evoke. We are learning alot and we will continue to learn more today and tomorrow. More to come later... ~~be bold

It's an Understanding

As I have talked at times about the relationship I would like to have with the employees of Cafe Evoke, I really liked what Ed had to say yesterday. He was talking about understanding why employees do not succeed. He outlined the following: 1. They don't know 2. They don't care 3. They can't do I was sitting there thinking about this and realized that I am sure to have employees with one of these situations. I can fix the first but the other two should be identified and discussed before it gets out of hand. You cannot make people do anything but you can teach them and train them so they understand what they are doing. This will be important while staffing Cafe Evoke and hopefully, with this in mind, we can create the best work environment possible. ~~be bold

Quote of the Day...

"...coffee is a love affair." ~~Dr. Illy (of Illy Espresso.)

An Update...from Portland

As I figured, I am a bit stressed after our final business day at the American Barista and Coffee School. My wife Jenni and I have spent the past 2 days (8:00 am to 5:00 pm) talking about everything from buying equipment to dealing with the government offices. Although I was very excited to hear that many of the preparations we have made are right inline with what our instructor explained to us, there were a few things that made me a bit nervous. I was not at all surprised at feeling this way as I sit here thinking about what we have learned. It is the feeling that you have forgotten to do something very important that will totally change your plans. This feeling is similar to that you get when you are about to go out of town for a week or so and you check your house 5 times and then get on the plane only to worry about what you forgot for the entire ride. I have learned many things that will help Cafe Evoke be more profitable, we have also learned that our budgets probably a bit to low. Lucky, we have not signed anything yet on the lease and still have time to make some calls and crunch some more numbers before getting into anything that we will regret. I think we will be fine, however. Tomorrow we begin an in depth looking at 4-5 different machines and grinders. We will learn the proper tools to pulling the perfect cup of espresso, making unique blender drinks, steaming and pouring milk, cleaning and maintenance, and other tools to help us run our business properly. I am very excited for this part as it will not only get my mind off of things I have missed in the past few months while planning Cafe Evoke but will also make this feel real as we will get to make drinks and work on the machines. I wish I had enrolled in this school before. Better late than never I guess. At this point, I am tired and feel that I have learned about a year's worth of material in only 16 hours. Portland is a great city and I hope to have some pictures to post tomorrow. ~~be bold

Quote of the Day...

We're a caffine dispensory -- we are a drug store, really." ~~Ed with Belissimo Coffee Info Group

Off on a Good Foot

We are heading out early tomorrow morning for Portland. We heard back on the lease today and everything agreed upon and re-written making both sides happy. We are waiting for the lease to be passed to our backer to sign and then to us. It will be overnighted to us at our hotel and we will sign it and send it to the landlord. We are very excited! My next posts will be from the Coffee School and Coffee Fest. I hope to have pictures to post and updates through out the week. Wish us luck... ~~be bold

One Final Day

Today is our last day in Bozeman for the next 2 weeks(ish) and we are going to be busy. Last night we worked on picking out seating and cups/plates/etc for Cafe Evoke and also had a meeting with out kitchen designer. This has been an ongoing task and today we should be done -- another check on the list! I have still not heard back about the lease. I was told that they would get it all cleaned up and ready for us two days ago so we will either see it tonight or we will get it when we return to Bozeman. I'm a bit discouraged we have not heard anything before now but that is the life when dealing with out of state building owners. I will be blogging (connection willing) from Portland and Seattle while I am there to let you in on the school and CoffeeFEST. We are very excited and this time will also act as a way for us to be away for a bit and enjoy ourselves. ~~be bold

Counting your Cups

For all of the coffee drinking readers out there, here is something that might interest you: Lloyd's The Year of Coffee Blog. "Lloyd was a boring rural health policy wonk who went through an early mid-life crisis. He already had the cool convertible, so the crisis manifested itself with him taking pictures of each cup of coffee he consumed and posting it on his website. He soon found that life, when unfiltered and fully caffeinated, can be quite compelling. Something interesting is about to happen." This is an enjoyable, light hearted (at times) read for any afternoon. I wonder how many cups I have had in the past year or if I coudl stand it to write about each one? ~~be bold

Loose Ends

I have been trying to tie up all of the loose ends with Cafe Evoke before heading to Seattle and Portland for a just over a week. My goals were as follows: 1. Open business bank account. 2. Have, in hand, the finalized floor plan. 3. Get management profile to interested people. 4. Get sign design back to sign company for new quote 5. Get the lease signed I have completed most of what I wanted to. The bad thing is that the most important task may not be completed as they only have two more days (today and tomorrow) to get the least back to me. We were assured that the problems had been fixed and that there should be no more problems. (..its the waiting game that is hard!) Our capital budget sheets are basically in order to the model number and price. I am very excited to have those drawn up in this way. The only things that have not been accounted for are serving pieces (cups, mugs, plates, etc) and inventory (coffee, t-shirts, etc). I hope to get a handle on these two things while at CoffeeFest next week. We are getting closer... ~~be bold

Raising the Wages

I heard on the news last night that "A group formed by two Helena men is campaigning for a statewide ballot measure to raise the minimum wage." They are trying to raise this rate from $5.15 per hours to $6.15 per hour and also want cost of living inflation to be in this raise. Montana is a state that is currently equal to the federal minimum wage but the problem with cost of living has been lingering in the state for some time. (at least it seems that way from the view of someone only living here for 5 months) There are a few states in the country that are currently sitting above the federal minimum wage line and Montana would be joining them if these guys can get 22,340 signatures. They also say this will cost them about $300,000 to campaign for. Interesting stuff to be on the looking out for. ~~be bold (story can be found here)

Update...

I am hoping this week is filled with small (ok, some big) gains for Cafe Evoke. We got our bank account set up which also will help us set up merchant services (credit card checkout, verified checks, etc) for the cafe. This week will be a busy one as we leave for Portland then Seattle, then Nashville on Friday. Here is what I want to get completed by the time we leave. 1. Have lease back in our hands and have it signed (more on this tomorrow) 2. See if we can get a business credit card to make some of the bigger purchases (money back or air miles would be nice) 3. Make final touches to master floor plan (which we have and it looks great) 4. Get build out costs organized (materials list, timeline, plan) These are the things I will be focusing on this week. I think it is possible to get all of those done. I have begun new office hours at my current job and will not be working 7:00 am-4:00 pm. This will be nice I think. I hope this busy week will be a leap for Cafe Evoke. ~~be bold

Competition -- Any Thoughts?

Ok, the word is out. There are a lot of coffee shops here in Bozeman. I have heard the stories and believe that they are right. Here is my take. Is this competition bad? Can we all work together for the good of Fair Trade and the global coffee market? How much is to much? I have been thinking about this quite a bit as you probably have thought and I have come up with some answers to these questions--I think. While I do not believe that competition is stagnate and cannot change and react to the market, I do know that many of the shops in this town carry the same hours which makes people feel like the board has been covered. I have found that people latch on to certain stores and make it their own. It is a sense of comfort to know that you have a place to go each morning and evening (and if you are me, about 3 times in between!) where they feel they know the routine. Lets look at the bar example. There can be 12 bars right next to each other and many will not think twice. Not so with coffee. Yes, I understand that drinking coffee is different than beer and that people will "bar hop" more than "coffee house hop" but you see my point. There are many stores in this town but what makes this market great is that each serves a different person, or smaller community I like to call it. We are all on different sides of town -- minus 1 or 2 shops that are across the street -- and I think that is what opens the doors for more. I have talked with one local coffee shop owner (she owns The Daily Coffee Bar and Bakery near MSU) whom I asked about doing Fair Trade seminars and art walks. She was in for it. We will be having drastically different hours, at least at the start, but we will be working together at times. She also thinks there are other coffee shops in town that would love to be a part of something like that. I think there are answer to the question of competition. I think it is healthy. It keeps us on our toes and makes us be unique and different. Yes, we all want to make money and stay opened but I think there is room for that in this market in Bozeman. ~~be bold

Update...

I was told by our local leasing agent that we should hear back about the revisions we submitted today. He felt confident that we could get the issues resolved and be on our way. I am hoping ot have a meeting with him tonight after work but it will depend on whether or not her received the revised lease or not. We are shooting to have this all nailed out and signed before my wife and I head to Portland and then Seattle in about 2 weeks. We secured our source of funding and we are very excited to have that checked off the list. The master floor plan should be completed this week and I hope to post it here when we have it to give a face with a name. Things are slowing starting to shape up here and we are pushing on harder than ever. By the end of next week, I hope to have received the following: 1. Electric plan (ready to send to contractor for bids) 2. Plumbing plan (ready to send to contractor for bids) 3. Build-out plan (materials, estimated cost) 4. Meet with accountant 5. Meet with Insurance agent 6. Open bank account. I am also signing the articles of corporation today at 11:30 which is exciting. Conversations, Inc will be a real thing. That is what is on my plate from now until we leave for Coffee Fest and I hope to have all of these started if not completed by then. ~~be bold

Double Fisting

For the past 5 months, I have been working a full time job 8-5 each day and also working on Cafe Evoke before work, during lunch, and after work. I have been using the money from my current job to help pay for things with Evoke and get my wife and I settled in Bozeman, etc. This has been a challenge both with my energy but also with meetings and phone calls that have to be done during business hours. Starting on Monday, my hours at my "real" job move to 7-4 each day. This will leave me with 1 hour every day that is in normal business hours that I can have meetings and make phone calls. I feel that I have learned a lot having this job and also the job of planning Cafe Evoke. You learn time management. While Cafe Evoke has been on the ice a few time (maybe even know) I have been able to continue to work hard with the business but still bring in money to be able to pay the bills and support my wife. I think it is important for every small business owner to have something to help them get through the start-up (planning) stages of their venture. Free Money Finance offers 7 tips for going solo while employed. I do not think I would have gotten this far with Evoke had I not had another job. I have learned how to deal with customers, things that must be accomplished to manage a small work force (25 people), and more general business skills (and all of this came with money attached and with time for Cafe Evoke, too!). I will not be at my other job much longer if all goes well. But I will have left there with a good experience. ~~be bold

Nestle talks Fair Trade

I was reading around the coffee world and found this information from Sudan Tribune. Ethiopia's biggest coffee cooperative union said on Tuesday it expects to start discussions in December with Nestle for higher prices for its beans under a Fairtrade system. I am very excited to see the giant, Nestle, begin to talk a Fair Trade deal with the Ethiopian coffee union. This is one of myfavoritey coffee regions and the fact that they are going to be in a Fair Trade Deal, at least moving that direction, with a company as big as Nestle, is great to hear and see. Officials said on Friday Fairtrade coffee, which up to now has mostly been marketed by small groups trying to give impoverished farmers a bigger cut of the pie than food giants like Nestle, would land in British supermarkets with the Nestle brand in two week’s time. It is great to see these big companies beginning to care more for the coffee farmers themselves. Here is the importance of having a Fair Trade deal in place: Coffee farmers are just emerging from a crisis caused by oversupply and a slump in prices to a 30-year low in 2001. With Fairtrade they are protected from the fluctuations in the world market by a minimum price of 121 cents a pound plus a 5-cent premium. Arabica currently trades. I look forward to seeing the details of this partnership in the near future. ~~be bold

Featured Program: Art of the Tables

In an effort to gain community support and involvement, we are going to have a contest of local artists in Bozeman and surrounding areas. This will be a contest in which these artists will submit a sample piece to us. The winners (about 15) will have that piece on one of our tables. I have not decided, yet, the best way to affix these works on the tables. We are thinking we might have an artist day where they come in and paint them directly. We might have them put it on some other medium so we can attach and seal them to the tables. The whole idea here is to get people into Cafe Evoke and have them take ownership of it. I want it to be "their" coffeeshop. This "table art" will allow them to have something to bring their friends in to see. They can sit at their own table each day and it will be the only art work in the cafe that will be permanent. ~~be bold

Turbulence

I have been in contact with our leasing agent and backer for the second lease we have been working on and it is on thin ice it seems. There are a few terms that MUST be changed if this is going to go on and with the history of this leasing company, I am a bit nervous about them changing to help us. I hope to know something more tomorrow but for those starting a business and trying to find space, keep this type of thing in mind. Big leasing companies do not care about your size or history, they want what they want and will not give in to any of your request..at least it seems. You have to keep pushing on. It will be important, here, to make sure that we do not give in to something that will hurt us in the future. Patience is key in this type of situation. ~~be bold

In House or Not

I have been wrestling with the idea of out-sourcing our payroll or keeping it in house. I will be doing the books everyday with the help of our accountant, whom I should be getting in contact with before leaving for Portland, but with the importance of doing payroll taxes correctly, have not been able to come up with a solution yet. We will have only a handful of employees and services like ADP are really not to expensive. I need to figure out how much time that will take to complete each pay day and go from there. I know that in the small business at which I am currently employed, the payroll is done by our in house accounting department each week. She only gives herself 2 days to complete it and we have about 25 employees. Payroll tax will be a killer if not done correctly which is what is leaning me towards ADP or the like. The will also help keep the wages confidential between employees and be very easy to manage. Just thinking ahead, I have a lot to do before we get to this point. ~~be bold

Update..

It feels good to be crossing things off of this list as it means we are getting even closer to opening Cafe Evoke. As I mentioned before, we are now Conversations, Inc doing business as Cafe Evoke. We are very excited for this progress. I am going to have to add a few thing to this list however but they will not be completed this week I do not think. We are meeting with the local leasing agent today to sign this lease! (assuming the lawyers do not come back with problems. We do not think they will). I will post as soon as we do to let you know. I'm very exciting for this time and have been looking forward to this for some time. 1. Tie down loan info with SBA banker. (not using SBA for this loan right now) 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. (TODAY!!) 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. (the reason for this deletion is that the SBA option is out as the interest rate they wanted was above what I could get through a bank without using SBA) 7. Get master floor plan finalized with designer 8. Make contact with insurance agent and accounting (referred by lawyer) We are making our way to opening the doors. We are gathering our information for plumbing and electrical and should be ready to send them for bids as soon as we have keys to our space. ~~be bold

American Barista and Coffee School

I have been talking about enrolling in the American Barista and Coffee School for some time now and I finally did. My wife and I will be heading to Portland (about a 9 hours drive from Bozeman) for a 5 day start up class that will not only teach us basic business but also how to make drinks, perform basic repairs, etc. This five-day intensive seminar will include two days of classroom business training, two days in the espresso lab using the best equipment and the latest products the industry has to offer, and one day touring successful area cafe'sés and roasteries, hands on practice with instructors, and caffe latte art demo and practice. This school was founded by Bellissimo Coffee Info Group and should be a great experiencee. One thing I do want to add here, however, is that nothing can replace trainging received while actually working in a cafe. As the owner of Cafe Evoke, it will be important for me to get as much training as possible going into opening day but I do understand that most of what I learn in Portland will prepare me for learning even more at Cafe Evoke in Bozeman, Montana. I expect to hire one manager to run the coffee bar at Evoke and to help hire, train, and teach employees how to serve coffee properly. This process has already started and I hope to bring this person on by mid-late November. This will be the only manager that is hired initially. My wife and I will act as the other managers. This class should allow us to gain some knowledge before getting our feet wet. We will then head down to Seattle for CoffeeFest, Seattle and take classes about menu planning, managing, book keeping, barista skills (yes, more), vendor relations, etc. This is a 3 day event and I am very much looking forward to it. This will also give us a chance to mingle with others in thisbusinesss and pickbrainss and learn even more. Things are moving here in Bozeman for Cafe Evoke. ~~be bold

So, about SBA

I won't say that I have lost faith in our good old government lending division, the Small Business Administration, but the deal I just went though with them was a bit frustrating. They came back, as I mentioned in my last post, about needing experience. The said everything else looked great but that they really needed someone to sign on with the to help back it and that we should be good to go. Well, that is not exactly what happened in the end. We got our backer to send in his information today. When I got the call back, the local banker says that the SBA now wants to raise the rate almost 2 percent and also needs collateral to be put up by our backer. None of this was mentioned in the first place which is a bit disappointing. They had said the rate would be we were asking for it to be if our backer was worth enough which both banks we have worked with thus far have said was the case. We were offered a loan from a bank without SBA for 2 percent lease in interest rates. Anyway, to make my rambling short, SBA is out and we are moving on to the next option.

It's not that easy...

We talked with our banker (the SBA banker that is) yesterday and found out that everything looked great: Our business plan was in order, our numbers were reasonable, SBA could really tell we have put many hours into this, and no problems with collateral. The thing they were "concerned" about was experience in a "like business venture." They want management experience. We fixed some of the local guy's concerns by tell him that my wife has been in the restaurant business for 8 years and that we were attending the American Barista and Coffee School where we would get valuable experience. He thought that sounded good and turned it back in to the SBA. They came backing saying they must have 4 years of like business management experience to give us this loan. Wow. Securing a loan is not an easy process and it is a bit frustrating as well. One bank says all they need is for us to put up more collateral, another says the collateral is not a big deal but they want 4 years of management experience. It seems that what they really want is for me already have enough money to start this business before they loan it. I think we have it sorted out however and should know by the end of business today what the terms will be. On we go. ~~be bold

Believe the Hype?

I have been writing at A Thought Over Coffee going on 10 full months. I began this blog in hopes that I could gain some help and support for my first business start-up and get off and running on two feet. I have gained more than that! As this has been a dream of mine for sometime and I have spent the past 1-2 years working on the plans for Cafe Evoke, as it comes close to signing the lease and getting started, you begin to think about other things. I talk about Cafe Evoke a lot. Everyone I meet comes away with a knowledge (and a business card) of our vision and goals for the Cafe and people seem excited. We were contacted by the local rep for One.org to host meetings for the campaign here in Bozeman. We have had people from coffee related businesses get excited enough about what we are doing to look into employment. Word of mouth-evangelistic-marketing has been a priority for my wife and I since we have moved here but I never really expected the excitement of people I have met in town that don't even know me. I have realized that you cannot base your projections on the hype. You have to continue to pursue your goals and not "sit up" as we would say in the cycling world. This is a mountain top finish and people are on the sidelines cheering me on as I climb. They like what we are doing, they will probably even come in a few times, but they do not have the same commitment to Evoke that I do. We have to learn to serve our customers, listen to what they want, and no matter how much verbal praise we get, we have to continue to market Evoke and be proactive with our intentions. I believe people are sincere but I feel that you have to take this type of support and expect people to back off a bit when the time comes to really step up. We are a community coffee and art house and no matter how much peopel support it, my wife and I will be the biggest fans and expect the most out of it. No one will like Evoke as much as Jenni and me. We are excited to have the lease signed and anxious to hear back from our bank regarding our loan. Thank you for your continued support as we push ahead and please keep your comments coming as I learn from them every day. ~~be bold

The Lease...and other things.

We have the lease! I will be taken the rest of the night tonight and tomorrow to go through the 30 page document. I think we are looking pretty good and should be able to send it in on Friday. This will give us a chance to look through it, make some changes, and have our backer have his attorney look through it. We are getting very close! The bank is a bit behind and we were told today that he will get back with us tomorrow. He remains confident that we have the numbers to secure this loan so we are still very excited. We got the paper work filled out with our lawyer for the S-Corp. We are now Conversations, Inc.! This feels like a major step as it is giving life to this vision we have had for so long. This has been an exciting week for us so far and there are still a few big things that should happen during what is left. Other things that I will really have to work on after this week are finding an accountant and insurance agent here in town. I got a few names from our lawyer that should work out so my goal for next week, or after the lease has been sent back and the loan secured, will be to call and set up meetings with these contacts. Another step closer... ~~be bold

The Starbucks Challenge

Green LA Girl along with City Hippy (sorry, I do not have a link) are hosting the Starbuck's Challenge. Click here for details. This is a great idea. I really wanted to be a part of this but we do not have a Starbucks here in Bozeman--yet. They were going into the space we are now about to lease. We should be getting our Starbucks in the next year or so as I know they found a place and are waiting for it to be built. Please help these guys with their study and if you are interested in anything green, check out her site. ~~be bold

"They Just Don't Get It"

I am reading a new book, They Just Don't Get It by Leslie Yerkes and Randy Martin that talks about changing resistance into understanding in your busines. For those of you that have read Beans are familiar with her style of writing. She is great at making business seem like something we can all understand. She used parable style stories with illustrations that are fun while at the same time educating the reader about how to make people get it. Great book for any leader in any type of business as I know, from expirence, that people sometimes do not understand the great ideas that you have. Take a read, it will only take a few minutes to get through this book. ~~be bold

Quote of the Day...

"Because, in the end, being an entrepreneur is more than ever the way you can choose your path and find the deep satisfaction of walking it. You can earn your days without being beholden. You can make something, affect the world, leave something behind where once nothing stood. You can turn work into meaning for yourself and for others. You can be proud. You can leave a wake. Come good or ill, you can assume responsibility for yourself, and be whole, and be who you were meant to be." (~Michael S. Hopkins, 75 Reasons to be Glad You're an American Entrepreneur Right Now, INC. Magazine, Oct. 2005. This article is not yet online.)

Update...

This week should be both exciting and challenging. Many more things should be out of the dark by Friday of this week and we should be clearly on the road to opening day for Cafe Evoke. We were told by our banker that we would hear back from him on Friday, Monday at the latest. We did not hear back from him on Friday so today should be the day. This is a major milestone in our journey thus far and I am anxious to see what happens. This money will set us up to begin construction phases of Cafe Evoke and will allow us to really see, in person, what this dream really looks like. We are meeting with the lawyer tomorrow to go through the information for our S-Corp, another big step for Cafe Evoke. This will mean that we actually own a business! The paper work should not be a big deal and I suspect that the filing will not take but a few days to complete. Conversations, Inc. is what we are going for and when we have this name secured, I will explain why we choose this. We should also hear from the landlords today or tomorrow with the actually lease document. I do not need to explain what this means for Cafe Evoke but I am optimistic that we can have something together by the end of the week. Everything seems to be in order with the proposals I have made and the counter proposals they have made. Things are moving with Cafe Evoke and I hope to have great news to bring on Friday. ~~be bold