At Cafe Evoke Catering, we are about more than just coffee. We are about the journey, about life, and about pursuing a vivid impression of reality. We are about community, we are about freedom to choose, we are about artistry and imagination.
When Cafe Evoke Catering comes to your event, our goal is to serve you and your guests the finest Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee and espresso drinks that you have ever enjoyed. While we understand that the Fair Trade movement may have holes, it is what we have and we strive to begin to help make it a program that is more than a trend.
Please contact us today for booking and package information. You can email us through our website or call 405-517-0517.
Thank you for choosing a Fair Trade coffee catering company. We look forward to a long friendship.
We got quite a few sales leads last January from the two bridal events that Café Evoke was a part of. Since that time, I have been sending letters, media kits, leaving messages, and sending emails trying to convert a few of them. I have been spacing these things in about 3 week intervals with really not much luck.
So, we were talking about when to call it quits on these sales leads. If people have received our media kit, two follow up letters, an email and a phone call and still have not gotten back with us, do we continue on with them?
Selling is all about timing. If you put yourself in front of a person – they may or may not be interested right at that moment so it is good to keep after them. While we have not been yelled at by anyone for following up, we do not want to be the company in Bozeman that keeps going after the dead horse.
Right now, I am doing everything I can to get more leads but they have been few and far between over the past several weeks. We may need to invest in a print ad or radio underwriting to try and get to more people. As of now, we are using the following:
Google AdWords (without a website to back these, they are pretty useless)
Montana Bride (has not converted. I think our ad was too small)
The Yellow Pages (Will not be out until November, 2007)
Media Kits (we send these to everyone)
I think we are doing a good job with our positioning but we need business. That is the bottom line. These sales leads are now on a thin rope and we do not want to create a bad taste in their mouths about Café Evoke Catering.
We need to get our word out there. That is one reason I am working on the website again. That will allow us to advertise in more places because we will have that backing. CaféEvoke.com will be a sales rep for us, it will tell our story, and give information about our products and services.
I will also be revisiting other ad venues and trying to figure out how to take Café Evoke Catering to the next level. We will make many of our decisions at the end of May so until then, it will be plan, plan, plan.
Yesterday I met with Ryan of Future Farm. My first impression was probably not the best. For one, I was about 5 minutes late (which is very late for me) which put me feeling a bit out of sorts. Their building is fantastic. It is the old Gallatin Valley Seed Building on South Wallace in Bozeman and has more character than I have seen in any building in a long time. I actually enjoyed walking the old halls on the second floor past the music lesion studios and other unique businesses.
I knocked on the door a few minutes late to this meeting and the two guys inside looked at me with a look of wonderment on their faces. I said that we were supposed to meet today and he said “oh, ok.” He did not have the meeting on his schedule but after reading his email when I got home, at least I had the correct day and time.
Despite the crazy introductions, the meeting went well. Future Farm does some very cool, modern, edgy and unique sites. They are a flash design firm so I was not sure how things would go. Normally, full flash sites get a bit obnoxious but I really liked the feel and layout of most of their projects.
As a business goes, these guys seem to fit in with Café Evoke Catering and hopefully the future Café Evoke art and coffee house. I am waiting for a quote which “should” happen by the end of next week.
The things I like:
Artistic design
Color
Flash forms
Shopping Cart (for the future)
HTML Indexing behind Flash
My Concerns:
Content Management (we will have to have them update our site)
I had a meeting with Brian of I Spy Design on Monday to talk about the all new CafeEvoke.com. We are at a point where a website makes since so we need to get out there and find a company that can build what we are looking for - something that can do the job now and in the future.
I Spy Design is a local company that does everything from web design to identity and advertising. I have seen several different websites that they have done and like the style they present. Their motto - Keep it Simple. Make it thoughtful. Have some fun. - is also interesting.
While they do not seem to have the modern, "big city" edge that I am looking for, it does seem that they have the ability to create that. I was impressed with the media kit Brian provided for me and all of the brochure samples and marketing ideas he has.
At this point, Brian is putting a quote together for me that will include some sort of splash page, a booking/contact form, package list, client/product list, photos, and an about us section.
I think I Spy Design would do a great job with CafeEvoke.com and some of the ideas that were presented would be nice. They also would design the site so that someone with Cafe Evoke could make changes when needed.
My wife and I, along with Cafe Evoke, do what we can to be a part of One.org. We feel the group is chasing after something important and that we all need to do what we can to help. I received the below email this morning and I wanted to pass it along:
Tonight and tomorrow, one in ten Americans will sit down in their living rooms and tune-in to American Idol for a special episode called "Idol Gives Back."
We are excited to announce that Bono will be making an appearance Wednesday night on behalf of ONE urging the millions of Americans watching the show to join us in the fight against extreme poverty. Bono will meet with the Idol contestants to talk with them about ONE and the difference your advocacy is making in the lives of the world's poorest people. The Idol contestants will also perform "American Prayer," a song written by Bono and Dave Stewart about the AIDS emergency in Africa.
Wednesday night's show will be a two-hour special hosted by Ellen and featuring appearances by Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Earth, Wind & Fire, Il Divo, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Josh Groban with the African Children's Choir, Jack Black, Helen Mirren, Rascal Flatts, Quincy Jones, Carrie Underwood, Annie Lennox and many more.
We are excited about what the next two days could mean for the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Because of your continued support and involvement, extreme poverty is getting the national attention it so badly needs. When millions of people come together as ONE voice, anything is possible.
I'm sure many of you will be watching anyway but this is just another reason why. In fact, call your friends, order some pizzas or light up the grill, and make a party out of it! Why not get together and watch it together since you everyone will be watching it anyway. You can then head on over to One.org and get more information about the group and how to get invovled. You can sign up for the newsletter and for other great stuff.
Good Monday to you. I just have a few random things that I thought I would mention - non of which really deserved their own posts which is why I am grouping them all together. Here we go..
1. I finally did it - I created a MySpace page for myself and Cafe Evoke Catering. I would love you to join me and "be my friend" by adding one of the pages. My personal page is here and Cafe Evoke Catering's page is here. Add us!
2. Did I mention that this blog is best viewd with something other than Internet Explorer? Try FireFox as I think it is your best bet. I finally got the blog to at least be left justified in IE but it still does not have hard breaks which makes it look like one giant paragraph -- no good.
3. If you are getting married in Montana, or planning to get married in Montana, contact me for your free copy of Montana Bride. You can have as many copies as you need.
4. Do you want to host the Coffee and Tea Festival? I would love to get this festival (or carnival if that is more familiar) to other blogs. Let me know!
5. If you want a Cafe Evoke travel mug, I have some! $15.00 will get it to you. Again let me know.
6. I have added a few new sidebar links to the right hand side of the blog - Check out two new magazines, Dwell and Imbibe. These are two of my favorites and my only current subscriptions.
Ok, that is enough for a Monday. Have a great week and - well - see ya.
Here is this week's edition of the Coffee and Tea Festival. This is a blog carnival all about coffee, tea, and their respective industries. You can find posts reviewing coffee shops and tea houses, coffee and espresso equipment, coffee and tea blends, and news from origins. We had 5 submissions this week so let's begin..
In our first post, I wanted to presents Dr Lux posted at Arizona Coffee. This is a drink that I have never tried before. What are your thoughts?
Our second post is somewhat of a review. Lakshmi presents Mmmmm?coffee ! posted at Alchemy.
I am glad to see that we are beginning to get some reviews at the festival. What better way to pick out what cafes you are going to try when you are traveling than a hands on review from another customer. Keep those coming!
Ok, so I have found myself almost always included a non coffee or tea related post and this last one is our weekly pick. Joe Caterisano presents "The Best" Hershey's cocoa brownies posted at Mom's Favorites.
I am going to leave you with some caffeine states I read last night in this month issue of Barista Magazine. Enjoy..
90% of Americans consume caffeine on a daily basis
Drip coffee (115-175mg) typically contains more caffeine than espresso (100-110mg)
Darker roasted coffees tend to have less caffeine than lighter ones
Caffeine intoxication can occur when a person ingests more than 250mg of caffeine
Caffeine fading is the process of reducing one's caffeine intake by a half-cup of coffee or tea a day
Caffeine, theobromine and theophylline are alkaloids that occur naturally (and often together) in products like coffee, tea, cocoa beans, and mate
A lethal dose of caffeine is 10g, or in the neighborhood of 80 cups of coffee
Caffeine is an alkaloid, and is present in more than 60 types of plants. It acts as a natural pesticide
Well, that will do it for this weeks edition. Thanks to everyone who submitted and please keep the posts coming. The more we get, the more we can all get to know each other and these great industries. If you find anything that should be included, please pass them along! As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form or click on the ad on the left side-bar of this blog. I apologize for the tardiness of this festival. I have no excuse.
We are in the middle of creating a new vision for Cafe Evoke Catering. This new vision is not only redefining who we are, it is also getting all of our plans in order and processes down. There is quite a bit to do and we need to have it all complete by the end of May. Here is what I have started and completed so far:
Redesign Media Kit (complete)
Rewrite Catering Contract (will be complete today)
Make plan for advertising in 2007
Update Catering Business Plan
Update package list (completed)
Finalize pricing plan (will be completed this week)
Set benchmark for "events per month" (will be completed this week)
Design content for CafeEvoke.com
These are all things that have been started and/or finished since the first of April. There are a few more things that need to be started but I feel pretty good about where we are. I will lose some time, however, the first week in May as I am having surgery to fix my nose that I broke on two occasions back in my soccer days. I have been putting it off for more than 5 years now and it is time that I fix it and start breathing normally again (my wife will be happy as well).
I will be taking a week off of my other job in order to get back into the swing of things after the surgery but I hope to work on Cafe Evoke from bed or couch in the mean time. I really have no idea what to expect so I hope it is not too painful. The long term will be nice.
This is all "back end" work for us and Cafe Evoke Catering. I am still trying to convert the sales leads we got in January by following up with each customer at least once a month. We are also working on Cafe Evoke (the coffee house) and trying to make something happen.
So, we are pretty busy with the Conversations, Inc. family of businesses right now (Cafe Evoke Catering and Cafe Evoke) and we like it. We are ready to see things begin to really take off for us now and are expecting it to.
I have been trying to avoid thinking about when the best time is for Cafe Evoke Catering to begin accepting credit cards. I have had several people request to pay via credit card so I have begun looking into it more. I found that I can get credit card processing service from QuickBooks which may be a nice option for us.
I looked into this more when I was on the verge of opening Cafe Evoke (the coffee house) a year or so ago and found that the monthly rentals and processing fees would be tough for our catering company to handle. With QuickBooks Processing, here is how it would break down:
$17.95 per month
1.76%/2.44% processing fee
$59.00 set up fee
$0.23 preauthorization set up fee
$0.00-$20.00 montly minimum fee
I do have questions, however. Why do I get charged $17.95 per month and then have to pay another fee up to $20.00? This second fee is a fee that says if you do not get to $20.00 per month is processing fees, you must pay the difference. That is crazy - I am alreayd paying that each month anyway!
So, here are some calcuations:
Our average party price is $400.00. Our fee for processing is 2.44% plus a $0.23 authorization fee. So, here is what it would look like per event.
400.00 - 2.44% = $390.24 - $.23 = 390.01
The rest of the fees would be taken out as well but that would change depending on how many events we had each month. We would get a lower rate if we swiped the card (not sure why) but then we would have to have a "swiper" which would cost us some money.
I was then looking around at QuickBooks' other products and saw their kit. The kit is $39.00 upfront, $14.95 per month (you get two months free), the processing fee is 2.69%, there are no montly minimums.
At quick glance, this seems to be a better deal than the other which is crazy to me because you would think a customer using QuickBooks Pro would get a discount on processing.
I am still not sure if it is worth us having another month fixed cost. I will continue to explore this option.
Bozeman Film Festival | Who Killed the Electric Car?
The Bozeman Film Festival is featuring Who Killed The Electric Car? tomorrow night at their monthly film viewing. The film will be taking place at the Emerson in Downtown Bozeman at 7:00pm. Here is a bit about this film from their website..
In the 1990's, American automotive giant, General Motors, offered the highly efficient, all-electric EV-1 coupe as lease vehicles through its Saturn dealerships. The cars created a loyal following of customers who, at lease's end, were shocked to discover that GM would not allow anyone to purchase the car. Instead, customers were forced to return the vehicles, and GM then destroyed all EV-1s.
Was it that consumers just were not interested in an all-electric car even though it was super-efficient? Was it that Big Oil companies felt threatened by the loss of revenue should electric cars become popular? Did the government kill the electric car under pressure from Detroit auto and Exxon-Mobil lobbyists? These and more questions are raised and answered in this compelling documentary that has sparked heated debate among all who see it. Featuring Martin Sheen, Ed Begley, Jr., Ralph Nader, and Alexandra Paul.
I have been looking forward to this film for the past few weeks. I am excited to hear about this industry and what the panal has to say after the viewing. This is an area that I really no nothing about. We have an electric car dealer (they also sell SmartCar) - EcoAuto - that will be there to show us a car and tell us all about it. Check out their website for cool information about all of their cars and scooters. They have an inventory list, pictures, and news from the industry.
Maybe someone should make one that would pull our Cafe Evoke trailer. So far, I am not able to even think about driving a smart car or any other brand as I must have a car that can pull our trailer through the mountains. Any suggestions? I guess I could try to find something with FlexFuel but then I am stuck because Montana does not have any FlexFuel gas stations (that I know of yet).
Come out and see the film if you are in Bozeman or rent it today!
I found an interesting poem today from a blog called Factory Town. He calls it How To Drink Espresso. Here it is...
To drink espresso you have to have espresso. First you go to a place that serves it. You walk in and if they have a counter you ask for a double espresso. You can do this thing.
Espresso is finely ground dark roasted coffee that very hot water is forced thru into a little porcelain cup. There are little brown bubbles on top called crema.
If the kid there asks you if you know what an espresso is say yes. Some of these places want you to buy something else. They want to sell you something with milk in it. This milk could be from a cow or maybe from a bean but do not fall for this. Espresso does not want the milk in it. Forget it. Promise me this. Be firm. If the kid says expresso politely tell him that there is no "x" in espresso. Now if they serve your espresso in a plastic or paper cup, give it back and tell them that you want it in a little porcelain cup like it wants to be. Otherwise it will not taste right.
If there is no crema give it back and ask them where the crema is.
No go sit down and drink. Sip it. Take some time. Savor the moment. Think about the possibilites. Listen to the other guys. Put your two cents in. Get out of there. Go back on the street. Get something done.
...all work is property of author at above link...
Hello everyone. There will be no Coffee and Tea Festival this week. We did not have any submissions. Please stay tuned for next week's edition.
If you see a blog post that you think is great and needs to be featured, send it in. You do not have to be the writer of the post or the blog keeper. If you write a post that should be included, we take those too.
This week has felt good for us and Cafe Evoke. I think that is how the saying goes -- ..we're on the road again -- or something. I don't feel that I ever really doubted that things would take an upward turn for us again (we all know how many times we have gone up and down in this process) but it had just been so long since anything good came our way with the cafe. I'm pretty excited.
We had a great meeting yesterday with Sage owner Justin and had a chance to talk about a new option for our cafe that we have never even thought about before. I am not going to talk much about that opportunity right now as it is so new and unexplored. Once a have a chance to set up the game pieces and take a look, I will be talking about it.
I began what what was to be a three part series on the history of Cafe Evoke. It seems as though I never finished that. So, I am going to finish that in the next couple of days and get everyone caught up on what we are about, what we have done and will be doing, and what to look forward to. I will repost the past two editions so that it will be a real series - as intended.
There are new things that are part of our vision for Cafe Evoke that never were in the past, we believe more fully our vision for a modern, edgy Certified cafe in Bozeman, and we believe more now than before that Cafe Evoke can be a leader in the specialty coffee industry and in social coffees.
Jenni and I are meeting with Justin, the owner of Sage to talk about how we can align ourselves in the Bozeman market and also find out what he thinks about other markets in Montana. Sage Spa is a great place with locations all over Montana. Here is a little bit about them from their site:
sage spa living was founded in october 2003 with $1000 and the simple vision of changing the world, one guest at a time. today, the company owns and operates sage spa locations across montana, employs over 100 spa professionals and has donated thousands of dollars and countless hours to community organizations.
We like the way this company operates and think we will gain quite a bit from this meeting. The way this company keeps the environment in mind with it's business practices and keeps it's modern big city feel is interesting to me and something I hope to do with Cafe Evoke.
I talked a few days ago about the new center that is in the works for Bozeman, Montana. The new place will be called the Story Mill Center and will be located in the northeast part of Bozeman. At this point, the area is under developed - commercially. There are neighborhoods and a few industrial businesses that exist currently in the place that this entire project will be located. I talked about our chances of opening Cafe Evoke (the coffee house) in the Story Mill Center. Well, things are still moving forward for that project and looking like we may have a nice chance of calling it home for Cafe Evoke.
My wife has been working hard on communicating with the project and has been on the phone with the person that is in charge of the entire thing. We normally have a hard time getting Realtors and developers in Bozeman to call us back but she not only got the person in charge to call her back directly, another person called her a few hours later just to follow up and to let her know that they are excited about giving us more information.
I learned yesterday that we are going to have a meeting late next week or early the next to talk about the project and to learn more about what they have planned, who has expressed interested in opening their business there, and how it will all fit together to be the greatest center in Bozeman.
I found out a few new things about the center that make me even more excited - the same people designing the Story Mill Center are the ones behind the popular Portland Pearl District. Jenni and I had a chance (while way to short of one) to spend some time in this area of Portland while hanging out with our friends from Bellissimo Coffee and we fell in love with it. The atmosphere, the businesses, the community, the design - it felt right. Since that time, we have both felt like a place similar would fit Cafe Evoke best. We even use that description to talk about Cafe Evoke to others and that is how we found out that the same people where helping with Store Mill in Bozeman.
Another thing I like about this opportunity is that the group is getting interested businesses together to find out what their space needs are, who should be next to who and how it will all work together to make the Center a success. That is the best approach I have heard of since I got to Bozeman.
There are still a few things up in the air. This project did get approval to change zoning and begin the process of getting actually plans approved. This will take some time but I am confident they will get what they need from the City of Bozeman.
I will continue to update you on the happenings of this possible location for Cafe Evoke. Thanks to my wife for keeping at this!
Here is this week's edition of the Coffee and Tea Festival. This is a blog carnival all about coffee, tea, and their respective industries. You can find posts reviewing coffee shops and tea houses, coffee and espresso equipment, coffee and tea blends, and news from origin. We had 3 submissions this week so let's begin..
Jason Duncan presents Part 2: Finding Good Spots For Coffee Shops posted at Arizona Coffee. I submitted this next one. This is part 2 of a multi part series that has been running on the Arizona Coffee blog. I like business and coffee and tea so these are fun for me to read. This is all about business planning and getting ready to open your specialty coffee retailer. While this is pretty much about coffee, those of you who are looking to open a tea room could get a lot out of this as well.
Well, that will do it for this weeks edition. Thanks to everyone who submitted and please keep the posts coming. The more we get, the more we can all get to know each other and these great industries. If you find anything that should be included, please pass them along! As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form or click on the ad on the left side-bar of this blog.
If you were featured in this festival, please link back to it so that we can make this a weekly habit for readers.
A friend of mine reminded me yesterday that Black Gold will be airing on PBS Tuesday, April 10th. You can check your local listings to be sure of the time it will be airing in your area. It looks like AZ and MT get to see it on the same day at the same time so it may be by region. Below is a trailer for the film in case you have been curious.
Please go to their website (above) and get involved with this film. If it has not been to your area, contact the film and any local film society and get them hooked up.
It is great to see things coming together with Black Gold.
Spend a few hours (or an entire day) learning about sustainable living. Come taste, touch, smell and feel all the ways you can protect our region's environmental and economic health through your everyday choices.
CNR's 8th annual Sustainability Fair is the place to meet the local food producers, small businesses and multinational corporations committed to preserving our natural heritage and reducing our impact on the planet. This year's line-up has something for everyone.
This is the 8th annual Sustainability Fair that has been held in downtown Livingston Montana. I have only been to Livingston once and remember it being a great place.
Some of the fair highlights include: Fair Highlights:
* Large interactive display about hybrids & alternative fuels: "Toyota Highway to the Future Mobile Hybrid Experience." * Toyota's new electric-hybrid Camry * All-day kids' activities, taught by Montana Outdoor Science School * Great natural & local food * Many returning exhibitors * Many new exhibitors * Indoor speakers & workshops * Green Transportation Show * Green building demonstrations * Solar / wind demonstrations * All-day entertainment
I am excited to know about this fair. No matter if Cafe Evoke is going to be setting up our Certified Organic and Fair Trade coffee booth, we will for sure be around to check out the sights and learn more about the highlights above.
This is a great group dedicated to sustaining the legacy of Montana and the northern Rocky Mountains. It is crazy that I have lived in Bozeman for nearly 2 years now and have not heard about this group.
For more information about this great event, contact the Corporation for the Northern Rockies at (406) 222-0730 or email them at info@northrock.org.
I finally heard from my contact at the Bozeman Film Festival that they are bringing the film Black Gold to Bozeman. While I cannot take full credit for making this happen, I am excited Cafe Evoke Catering can be a part of this.
I first began trying to bring this film to Bozeman last October. I was not getting anywhere and knew I needed some others to help. I talked with some friends in town and we tried again to no avail. Then, I contacted the Film Festival. I got Rick - the marketing guy - together with them and found that the Bozeman Community Food Co-op was interested and was planning on sponsoring. Now it is set.
Cafe Evoke will probably be a sponsor in some shape or form for this event but no details have been set. I will keep you updated. If you are in Bozeman or near by, plan to be there. I will update you as I get more information.
The festival is featuring Who Killed The Electric Car? this month and I plan to go. I will let you know what I think. That will allow me to see it with others from our community and not have to take up a spot in my NetFlix queue. Here is what they say about the film:
In the 1990's, American automotive giant, General Motors, offered the highly efficient, all-electric EV-1 coupe as lease vehicles through its Saturn dealerships. The cars created a loyal following of customers who, at lease's end, were shocked to discover that GM would not allow anyone to purchase the car. Instead, customers were forced to return the vehicles, and GM then destroyed all EV-1s.
Was it that consumers just were not interested in an all-electric car even though it was super-efficient? Was it that Big Oil companies felt threatened by the potential loss of revenue should an all-electric car become poplar? These and similar questions are raised in this unique documentary that has sparked heated debate among all who see it. Featuring Martin Sheen, Ed Begley, Jr., Ralph Nader, and Alexandra Paul.
Here is this week's edition of the Coffee and Tea Festival. This is a blog carnival all about coffee, tea, and their respective industries. You can find posts reviewing coffee shops and tea houses, coffee and espresso equipment, coffee and tea blends, and news from origins. We had 4 submissions this week so let's begin..
In our first post, Niki Anders presents Lavender Bread posted at The-A-TEAM. I guess you could eat this while drinking coffee or tea. This really has nothing to do with coffee or tea but it sounded good so I decided to allow it - just this once.
This next one is another about the health benifits of tea. Maybe I should go back adn compile all of these posts in one festival. Hum... Money Online presents Green Tea's Protection Against Diabetes posted at OhCash.com.
In our last post, we get a nice treat - a video interview. Chris Tingom presents Chestnut Hill Coffee Co. Interview posted at Arizona Coffee. In remarks.. Robert Sandie writes: In the coffee community he is a very well known barista and former co-owner of Hines Public Market Coffee in Seattle, who now runs coffee and espresso operations for Chestnut Hill Co. This is probably my favorite coffee shop I have ever been to. Not only do they have great drinks and make coffee experience feel like you were drinking a a $30 glass of wine but they have free wi-fi! If you live in the Philadelphia area, it’s a must see! This is cool. I hope we can get more posts like this in coming festivals.
Well, that will do it for this weeks edition. Thanks to everyone who submitted and please keep the posts coming. The more we get, the more we can all get to know each other and these great industries. If you find anything that should be included, please pass them along! As always, you can submit your posts with this fantastic little form or click on the ad on the left side-bar of this blog. I apologize for the tardiness of this festival. I have no excuse.
