Monday, July 31, 2006
A Coffeehouse Update
It feels like years since I last posted about Cafe Evoke -- the coffee house. Well, things are still moving forward, although fairly slowly. We have found a place located one street off Main Street in Bozeman that we feel could be a possible location for Cafe Evoke. It is a house that was built in the 1920's with hard wood floors and a full finished basement and upstairs (3 levels total). It has some "charm" and could provide a great atmosphere for art, coffee, and conversation.
Although we are not sure if this location is the best, we feel it is worth exploring. We are meeting with our realtor today at 4:00 to take a walk through and basically find out a few things:
1. What is the parking situation?
2. Which walls of this old house are structural and which can be brought down?
3. How motivated are the sellers?
4. Is there a chance for us to live above?
5. Zoning?
We do know that it is zoned B-3 which -- from what we understand -- is ok for Cafe Evoke. This house is for sale, not lease, so we are not sure about how that will work. We need to keep an eye on the market, however, so we feel it is a good thing for us to be going for a look.
I will post pictures and a follow up tomorrow.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/31/2006 09:40:00 AM
Friday, July 28, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Beginners Guide to Coffee
I received an email yesterday from Matt, the editor of a fairly new coffee site called The Beginners Guide to Coffee. It has articles and links to topics ranging from machines, to espresso, to coffee reviews, and everything else coffee. Here is what he says about it: Our site is intended to be a jumping off point for someone looking to get started in our rewarding hobby. I have had several people contact me in the past months for advice on coffee and their dreams of owning a cafe or coffee business. This is a great place to take a look at if you want to get your feet wet.
I have not yet had a chance to really tour around this site but from what I have seen, the articles seem complete and they give a nice presentation into the world of coffee.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/25/2006 07:52:00 AM
Sunday, July 23, 2006
The Coffee and Tea Festival (#8)
 Hello and welcome to the 8th edition of the Coffee and Tea Festival. This festival will be a look into what I think are the best articles from around the coffee and tea trade journals and also feature a few other articles that were submitted. If you have anything you would like to have featured in the next edition of this festival, send them over! Let's begin...
Joe Kissell has another interesting post for us this week. He presents Mate: Interesting Thing of the Day posted at Interesting Thing of the Day. The national beverage of Argentina (and a few other South American countries) is vaguely reminiscent of tea, but you can't just drink it; you have to have the right equipment and understand the rituals. I have been exploring Mate myself in the past few months and am really enjoying it. I would say I have a lot to learn about the drink however.
Do you watch the labels when heading to your coffee house? Do you order the "skinny" mocha with extra whip? Elaine Magee presents Healthy Recipes - Find tasty and healthy recipes for the whole family posted at Healthy Recipes. While this post is highlighting drinks from the green mermaid, keep in mind that other independents can also created a masterpiece of a summer drink.
We all know the importance of a great menu at our favorite coffee or tea stop but what also is important for these places to thrive? Great barista are essential to coffee house success says Karen Wagner in this months edition of Specialty Coffee Retailer Magazine. I wrote about this about this a few weeks ago as well. If you are going into o a shop, take a look at the people that are serving you. These are the owners picks and it says a lot about the business they run. In Karen's article, she talks about to to train (or re-train) your staff, what qualities to look for, and how to find them.
Tea and Coffee Trade Journal has a nice article about the benefits of loose tea. The article is defending the point that loose leaf teas provide a premium quality, flavor, merchandising options, and a surprisingly lower priced product that can't simply be found in teabags alone. While most of the article is geared towards the business side of tea, it is good to know what you are drinking. I would love to see a shop that can expert in both fine coffees and teas. Know any?
That concludes this week's edition of the Coffee and Tea Festival. Thank you very much to all that sent in their posts. The next festival will be on August 7th, right here at A Thought Over Coffee. As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form.
Thanks for reading and sending in great posts! Keep them coming!
(a quick note about this festival -- articles came from new copies of the listed trade journals. No links are yet available to the post discussed.)
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/23/2006 04:29:00 PM
Friday, July 21, 2006
We Need A Referral Program
I have been thinking about a referral program for Cafe Evoke Catering for some time now. The idea is to create a customer network that talks about what we do and tells all of their friends not only about how fun their party was but to hire us. We always talk about the power of word of mouth marketing -- both positively and negatively. It is free and coming from a source people trust -- their friends and family.
This program has to have a reward that will catch the ears of our customers. It has to be something that will be useful to them. This reward cannot be the ice chest or pie dish that your local bank will give you for opening a free checking account or referral of a friend. What we are thinking is dinner for two to any restaurant in Bozeman.
Here are a few questions we have to answer:
1. How many referrals need to happen before a customer gets a gift card?
2. How much do we want to make the gift card worth -- $25? $50?
3. How will we manage this program?
We do have some of the details already together and I will post about the final program when the time comes. I really want this to be something that customers will actually get excited about. The more excited they are the more they will talk about our services. We are trying to think of creative marketing strategies. We are a new concept in Bozeman and we need to change the way we are trying to get our word out (more on this to come).
This could end up being a great way for us to have repeat customers -- which are always cheaper to keep and maintain than a new customer. We value our business practice on being flexible and treating the customer with the most respect so we think this will only add to that.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/21/2006 07:08:00 AM
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
What is it that we do -- really?
The Entrepreneurial Mind is on a mission to find a verb to describe what it is that entrepreneurs really do. He brings a great point to the table: What do farmers do? They farm. What do designers do? They design. What do managers do? They manage. What do entrepreneurs do? Well, they..... I think this is an interested journey as I agree that you should not be defined by your profession. Dr. Cornwall is encouraging a look into this description so that we, as entrepreneurs, are not defined by a noun.
I have been thinking about this today and here is what I came up with.
Entrepreneurs create. What do we create you ask? It does not matter what industry, field, level of business, or the position you hold in the firm. We create opportunity, jobs, community, need fulfillment, relationships, etc. The idea to becoming an entrepreneur is to fill a niche -- it is recognition that something needs to change. We are providing that change. We are bringing ideas to the table, dreams into fruition, and creating opportunity for something new.
We are creating small change that will hopefully have a large effect on our industry or community. Whether you think you are creating change or not, you are. Think of it this way -- if you go into a market and sit idle, not creating or bringing anything new, you fail. While I think the idea of failure is for another time and another post, that is why companies close the doors or begin to go backwards in their industries. They are not creating anymore. Maybe they are following the leader or waiting and watching. Whatever the reason, they are stagnate and stale.
entrepreneurs much always be on the cutting edge, creating a market and niche for themselves. Most of us do not have the ability to buy our way in and the only way to survive is to reorganize and re-create ourselves on a continuous basis. We cannot stand-by, we cannot wait to see what the next big thing is. We have a unique position in our industries to be flexible and be able to adapt to new things quicker than large companies. The only way to do this is to have the ability to create.
What are entrepreneurs? We are creators.
..be bold |
...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/18/2006 12:58:00 PM
Monday, July 17, 2006
Weekend Recap
This past weekend proved to be a very busy one. We were at the Grey Fox Gallery in downtown Bozeman for the Gallery Walk on Friday and had our normal weekend events. I was a bit anxious for the gallery event while unloading our trailer and was not really sure how it would be taken. It was our first event -- besides the Bogert Farmers Market -- that put Cafe Evoke Catering in the public eye. It is somewhat like the feeling I assume we will have who we open the cafe. Will people like our product? Our service? Our atmosphere?
While the Bogert Market was not a huge success for us in either our money sales or interested in our services, the gallery walk was great. The walk was from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and we were busy with a line until about 9:00 pm. There was a great sense of acceptance and excitement from people that came in and we had a chance to meet people and hand out 50-75 brochures with a handful of people asking for price sheets and more information.
I feel that we need to have some sort of way to keep tracking of customers that are interested -- a guestbook, drawing, comment box, etc -- so that we can follow up with them. I did get a few business cards but I know there were more people that were interested, at least for more information.
We are in the process of re-organizing our home office and building a new desk that will be done today. Once this is complete, I will begin getting things back in order. We have to get our books cleaned up and get a forecast for the next several months. I am going to need to "hire" someone as we begin to get a bit more busy and it will be important that we know what we can afford and how it will work into our budget.
Although we have not crested even the first mountain stage of this journey, I feel that we are getting close. I am shooting for 3-5 full service events for next month (hopefully more). The summer months are slow so I want to have a running start at September-October when it gets chilly in Montana.
...be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/17/2006 10:17:00 AM
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Marketing Continues
I did some more marketing yesterday. It feels like it is coming together a bit slow but I am still plugging away at it. I sent about 10 more letters out. This batch includes several to Bozeman area TV and Radio stations, the newspaper, and a few event planners. I will be sending some to caterers in town next week. So far, I have sent 262 letters with brochures and a business card. I have had 4 responses of interest. No gigs from the mailing.
I also sent in our application and check for the Bit of Bozeman. It sounds like we are in but I will make an official announcement when the time comes. That will be a great event for us I think. I am still working on the Parade of Homes and a few others so I hope to have some answers in the next several days.
I have "resorted" to hanging out our brochures on community bulletin boards around town. While I am not sure if this is really going to do much for us, I will not hurt. The worst thing that could happen is that our name gets out there and people might remember it when the cafe opens.
Here's to endurance in marketing.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/14/2006 07:36:00 AM
Thursday, July 13, 2006
WalMart Going Green
This from CNN.com:NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wal-Mart Stores hosted former Vice President Al Gore at a conference Wednesday evening that the company said is the next step in its efforts to improve the environment.
The company said the conference at its Bentonville, Ark., headquarters, dubbed the quarterly sustainability network meeting, included Gore's presentation on the dangers of global warming, as well as one from officials of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Evangelical Environmental Network.
The meeting also included discussions with Wal-Mart (Charts) suppliers on how sustainability can impact the supply chain and benefit the customer, according to the statement from the world's largest retailer. Suppliers who were at the meeting included Procter & Gamble (Charts), Sara Lee Apparel and Paramount Classics.
"We are all passionate about making real progress regarding the environment," said a statement from Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. "By working together, we can help each other save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pass the savings on to our customers. Sustainability is good for the environment, and it's also good for business."
In addition to his remarks to the conference, Gore screened his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," about the threat of global warming.
Earlier this year Wal-Mart announced that it would seek to eliminate 30 percent of the energy used by stores, with the corporate goal of eventually being fueled 100 percent by renewable energy .The retailer also plans to eliminate 25 percent of the solid waste from U.S. stores in the next three years, with the corporate goal of producing zero waste. (read the rest of the article here)
It is good to see that large corporations are jumping into a conservation strategy and I hope that they are consistent in their efforts and make a large commitment to this.
There are many people, it seems, that feel this is a ploy to detract people from their labor issues they have been having. One of these groups includes WakeUpWalmart.com who says:"While we are glad Wal-Mart is talking about environmental sustainability, Wal-Mart's long record of inaction and empty rhetoric leaves us deeply skeptical about Wal-Mart's true intentions," said the group's statement. Here is how I see it. Maybe Walmart does have a big problem with their business practices. Can we give them at least a bit of an applaud for at least trying? I understand that many people want to see these big companies do a lot but it also seems that when they make a step in that direction, the get ridiculed. Not much incentive to drive these companies that are being attached for not using more Fair Trade Certified products or being a green business into better practices because they get more heat for doing "just a little."
While I agree with many that it seems like a lot of words, I do hope that Walmart will follow through with their promises and help make a difference.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/13/2006 10:06:00 AM
Downtown Bozeman Gallery Walk -- Tomorrow Night!
The Downtown Bozeman Gallery Walk is tomorrow night and Cafe Evoke will be at the Grey Fox Gallery serving the finest in fairly traded and organic coffee and espresso drinks. If you are in the Bozeman area, come on out and have a FREE cup of coffee and participate in this great event.
GREY FOX GALLERY
23 WEST MAIN ST.
BOZEMAN, MT 59715
This event should be a good one and I do not think it is going to pour down rain this time! We look forward to seeing you there!
...be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/13/2006 07:33:00 AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Finding Our Niche
In an effort to get back to our business plan, I am working on a new marketing strategy for Cafe Evoke Catering. While planning for Cafe Evoke -- the coffee house -- I spent quite a bit of time working on the marketing plan, our target market, and how we were going to reach out to this group. For the catering business, I seem to have gone out without a solid plan. It is important to have these plans in place in order to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. It also helps you measure what tactics are working and which are wasting your time and money.
Who is our target market?
How will we advertise?
What community events should we be involved in?
There are many questions like the ones about that need to be answered. We are at the point where a major push needs to be made to spark some attention. We have to make sure that the community events that we are doing for free are helping us with our business. I think this is a great way to market and get your word out there but you cannot afford to do all of your events for free! We are a business and we have to remember that.
Dr. Cornwall's post today at The Entrepreneurial Mind about thinking like your customers goes along really well with what we are dealing with at Cafe Evoke Catering.One key aspect of effective marketing for entrepreneurs is to learn how their customers think. By learning how to "think like your customer" you have a better chance of developing accurate revenue forecasts and more effective marketing plans. Every good bootstrapper has mastered the art of getting into their customers' heads and using this knowledge to get the most bang for their precious marketing dollars. He makes a good point in this post. It is really about having a "green" business and the reasons why you have chosen to be green. While I have much to say about this, I will keep this more to the business side today. He finishes his post by reminding us that we have to remember what customers want which is value, convenience, service, quality, special features, and so forth.
In summary, who are our customers -- really -- and how do they think? How can Cafe Evoke Catering get in their minds, in their heads, and ultimately in their wallets? How will Cafe Evoke, the coffee house, fit into this picture?
This is what we have to work on.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/12/2006 07:36:00 AM
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Crunch Time?
Now that I have new schedule for my other job, I have more time to work on Cafe Evoke Catering. Over the past week, I have been trying to clean up my office, get things in order, work on our books, and try to get a handle on where we are now, where we need to go, and how we are going to get there.
We have an interesting marketing challenge here in Bozeman. We believe in serving Fair Trade Certified Products that are organic whenever possible. We try to use recycled materials for all of our printing needs and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies, etc. In other words, we try to be as green of a business as possible.
This type of service "caters" (sorry for that type of pun this early) to a certain crowd. But is this the crowd that will pay to have open coffee bar service as their party? We have had several people tell us our set up looks very "Bozeman Yuppie" (if you live in the Bozeman area, you know what I am talking about). I take that as a good thing, however, because I am excited with how our set-up turned out but how do we reach them? It has become clear that the people that will hang out at our coffeehouse -- when it opens -- are not the same people that will hire our catering services. So how do we reach them?
We do have an ad scheduled to be released in the 2007 edition of Montana Bride that comes out this November (ish) which will get our services in front of brides and event planners. I have sent information to several groups of people in town as well but it seems that I have missed that niche group that we need to reach out to. Right now I am working on the following groups of people:
1. HatchFEST
2. 2006 Parade of Homes
3. Bite of Bozeman
We feel that these three group -- and a few others -- will give us some exposure to the group of people that will hire us. I have found this to be the biggest challenge so far. I have not spent much time trying to figure out how to tailor our marketing efforts to this catering business and maybe I jumped in to quickly. At this point, we are in crunch time. I feel that we are in a good position but it is time to really go after it and get out of this comfort zone that I feel we have settled in.
I will post my plans in the next couple of days and report back on what we have done and where we are going.
...be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/11/2006 08:05:00 AM
Monday, July 10, 2006
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
Bogert Farmers Market Is On
From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle today:Vendors will be selling their farmers' market wares as usual Tuesday night at Bogert Park, despite a Sunday fire that burned much of the park pavilion.
Bozeman city officials also believe the pavilion might not be a total loss as they previously suspected.
The Bogert Farmers' Market, typically held under the pavilion, will move onto the grass in the park's southwest corner, behind the Ralph Challendar Band Shell.
"We really wanted to stay in Bogert Park," Salal Huber-McGee, director of the nonprofit organization that organizes the market, said Thursday.
"I think it's going to work really well," she said.
While the reports from the engineers are still not back, at least this great market will be going on. Will Cafe Evoke Catering be involved? We are working on it.
Hopefully we will see you at the next Bogert Farmers Market on Tuesday, July 11th at 5:00 pm.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/07/2006 10:50:00 AM
Thoughts on Communication
I wrote about my thoughts on leadership and management a few days ago. This post is part of that series and is about communication through the "ranks" of business.
You are in a new business with about 15 or so employees. At this point, everyone is doing everyone else's job just to get by. You are doing the work of about 30 people with only half the man power. How will all of these people work together to get the job done? They will need to communicate and form themselves in as flat of a structure as possible.
I was at a business meeting several months ago and a manager was asking to be informed before programs and specials launched to customers so that his department could manage it and help customers when problems arose. The person in charge responded with: "We are an entrepreneurial company. You might not know everything before it happens."
Here is the deal. For each person to do their job to the best of their ability, they have to know what everyone else is doing. Your business is a machine, a body, a living organism that needs all parts doing their job in the most precise, effective, and efficient way possible -- all at the same time. If one "leg" is going left and the other right, you're in trouble. You have to communicate.
This is not that hard! Weekly meetings between "managers" is a great way to keep track. Brainstorming sessions, departmental meetings, cross department teams, etc. Think of communication as the life blood of your business. If you do not talk, the machine will not move forward. Keep everyone up to speed on what you are working on, what you would like them to do, and how it is going to effect the business as a whole. For a manager, this is not just to help the bottom line, it is to keep moral high and to keep your customers coming back.
Being an "entrepreneurial company" has nothing to do with your ability to communicate. A small business should communicate more! Do not let yourself fall into this way of thinking. Just because you are an "entrepreneurial company", a small business, or start-up, does not mean you can be un-organized and keep to yourself. Communicate.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/07/2006 07:42:00 AM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
A New Schedule
Yesterday marked the beginning of my new work schedule. I now work from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm each day at my current job in order to free up some time in the afternoon for Cafe Evoke Catering. So far it has been both productive and lucrative. I booked an event for the end of this month which will be great and I hope to continue our marketing efforts.
I am still trying to get the hang of QuickBooks for MAC which will be nice to have as we begin to have invoice to send to people and also to help me organize our accounts payable. We are filing our first reports for our friends at the IRS but it should not be a problem since we have not paid anyone (including myself) in the past month since we "opened our doors."
It feels as though there is a desperate push to really get things off the ground when you make that plunge into part time employed by someone else and part time self employed. It is like taking the training wheels and making them higher off the ground for the first time. You know they are still there but it is a rush each time you have to use them. Until the catering business is supporting itself (and leaving a bit for me), I will stay at a part time job in order to pay bills. I hope it is not much longer.
I am excited about our progress this month so far. We have several events coming up that will be good for us and Cafe Evoke Catering. I will, like always, keep you informed.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/06/2006 10:40:00 PM
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Unpredictable Future
I hope everyone in Bozeman heard the news before heading out to the Bogert Farmers Market yesterday. Below is an article from Bozeman Daily Chronicle:The Bogert Park pavilion burned late Sunday night, the last in a series of weekend fires that city officials believe is the work of an arsonist.
"All these are very suspicious fires," Bozeman Fire Capt. Karl Rowe said Monday. "It's definitely not fireworks."
he fire tore a hole in the pavilion roof, and Monday the city was contracting with a structural engineer to determine the amount of damage.
"From our observations, so far, it looks like the pavilion could be torn down," Ron Dingman, Bozeman's parks and recreation superintendent, said. It is sad to hear that this market will not be meeting in the park for the rest of the season. They are trying to find a new home the article states and I really hope they do. In the meantime, any ads taken out in the next month will go to Bogert Park as a donation to help rebuild and continue to serve this community.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/05/2006 07:59:00 AM
Monday, July 03, 2006
The Next Two Days
I just wanted everyone to know that the next two days will be light (to none) blogging for me here at A Thought Over Coffee. We are taking a day trip tomorrow to celebrate our 2 year anniversary and then Tuesday is the 4th.
For those of you in Bozeman, Cafe Evoke Catering will be at the Bogert Farmers Market (on South Church) on Tuesday, July 4th from 5-8 pm. I would love to meet all of you!
Have a great 4th and there will be more to come on Wednesday.
..be bold |
...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/03/2006 12:09:00 AM
Saturday, July 01, 2006
The Coffee and Tea Festival -- Monday July 10th
This is just a reminder that the next Coffee and Tea Festival is scheduled to be here at A Thought Over Coffee on July 10th. This edition is all about coffee shops and tea houses. If you have a favorite shop, send in a review! You can use this handy form if you are a blogger and have a post about a great coffee or tea place or you can email them to me at blog [at] cafeevoke [dot] com.
Send a link to the website, review of the menu/atmosphere/etc, location, hours, etc.
This should be a good festival.
..be bold
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...a thought by Cafe Evoke Catering at 7/01/2006 09:10:00 AM
