An Online Community

So, I wrote about Cafe Evoke Catering on MySpace the other day. I have been taking the time to keep that "blog" updated and ready. While I am not sure what merit it really has for a business, I like the idea and what it could represent. At Cafe Evoke, we are about community - local, global, etc. MySpace acts as an online community and I would love to see it as a place for businesses and individuals in Montana and across the country come talk - just like they would do if there was an actual cafe. Here are a few problems I am finding: 1. There are not many Montana businesses (that I have found yet) that keep nice, updated MySpace pages. That makes it hard to form an online community. I would say this is also true with websites in general. 2. I get all sorts of spam friend requests. 3. Most comments are advertising I am getting more and more people from Montana to join us and that is what I like. I think is it valuable for us. It may just take some time to really build it up. There are many companies that only use MySpace and not an actually website. I am not sure if we will get to that point but for the time being, it seems to be working ok. Are you on MySpace? Join our community and add us! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Pictures...

Here are a few pictures from after our Hawthorne School event.. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

We've GOT to create buzz!

So, I finally realized that our best bet for marketing is word-of-mouth. The fact that we are a new concept to Bozeman, Montana is one of the main reasons. We have a few major issues to address with our marketing and advertising including: Educate people on what a coffee caterer does Educate people on how pricing work and be able to defend our prices Educate people about the flexibility hiring us brings to their event (as far as creative, unique, and original catering ideas) While print ads, radio spots, and press releases are important for many businesses including, for the most part, ours - our main problem has been that people have no idea what we do, period. The great thing about word of mouth marketing is that it FREE, expirence driving marketing. What do I mean by that? Well, people come to an event where Cafe Evoke is set up to serve the best in Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee, tea, and espresso drinks and see our set up in action. You can't get better visibility than that. They then understand that we can do that same thing at their next event. They find out that our service is the best around and that we care about each event as if it was our own. We have to be perfect everytime we are at an event. Why? Because we have to create and plant in people's minds that we are here and are available. We want them to go and talk about us as the best service in Bozeman. Now, we must figure out how to create that buzz and learn all we can about it. A friend of mine bought me this book, The Anatomy of Buzz, which I began reading last night. My hope is that once I am finished, I will be able to create a plan of attack - or a roadmap for how Cafe Evoke Coffee Catering can create buzz. I can send out infomration to potential clients all day long that tells about how great our service, product, preperation, and value is to them but I don't want to. I want our customers and their guests to do that for me. We need to create a referral program that really drives this. We need to build a reference sheet that is flawless. We need to drive others to refer us to their friends and to talk about Cafe Evoke Catering. That is my mission. I want to make people excited. I have learned from expirence that when you are very excited about something, you tell everyone you know. That is what I want to create. The more we talk we get, the better. On the flip side, everyone knows that when you had a bad expirence, you also tell everyone. That is why we need to be perfect at each event. So far, I think we are standing on our good foot. We have gone the extra mile to be sure that each customer we have is happy and satified. Well, I am now making this "extra mile" the norm. It is time to go beyond that. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

We Have To Slow Down

As you have probably (hopefully maybe) notice, content on this blog has been a bit slow in coming. I have quite a bit of stuff going on currently - life, business, etc - that may prevent regular content. We are not shutting down, just trying to get through a few things. Thanks for reading A Thought Over Coffee over the years and content will come soon! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Cafe Evoke Catering on MySpace

Cafe Evoke Catering is now on MySpace! By visiting our MySpace page, you can catch all the information you need about Cafe Evoke Catering including upcoming events, news about packages and new products, and other information about what we are up to. Our MySpace page is designed to be business specific. This blog does talk about our catering business but focuses more on the business side of things and the development of Evoke (a coffee house), etc. Skip that stuff and get to the good stuff. Add us as your MySpace Friend and join our network! We are excited for you to join us! Oh, and tell your friends! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Cafe Evoke Catering | An Update

Over the past few weeks, I have been plugging away and getting ready for a series of meetings that will be taking place at the end of this month. I have been trying to answer some big questions about our business and how will we break out of this shell we have been in and really take over the Bozeman catering market. The main things I was working include: 1. Where are we headed? 2. What type of growth can we expect? 3. What types of marketing do we need to explore? 4. What market is best for us? 5. What are our goals and benchmarks? 6. How will Cafe Evoke Catering help us reach personal goals in life? 7. What is our true target market? 8. What is our exit strategy? 9. What legacy do we want to leave behind? 10. How to we give back to the communities that have given to us? Much of this will be answered in our updated business plan. This will be version two of the Cafe Evoke Catering Plan and I am happy with our ability to keep re-visiting the plan as we grow and mature in our market. I have been reviewing our last year of marketing and industry placement and feel that we have done everything correctly. The thing we need to do now is follow our plan which should take us through the next year and a half or so which will then put us at a position to begin another rewrite. I am banking on several word of mouth referrals from June's weddings. We have 5 or 6 booked already and will need those to at least get us a few more sales leads as our current leads are becoming thin. So, it is more "paperwork" and future planning for me until June 1st. We are fine tuning our systems to try and come up with a flawless booking policy and procedure. All of this should lead to a much better ability to find a lead, create a relationship, and convert a new client. On a side note, Evoke (the coffee house), is still rumbling in our heads as well. I will have much more on that as we move forward. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

The Coffee and Tea Festival

Hello everyone. There will be no Coffee and Tea Festival this week as we only had one really great submission. Actually, we only had one submission, period. So, in order to bring you a more full edition, I will move it back until next Friday. 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. Have a great weekend. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. ..be bold Tagged: coffee and tea festival, blog carnival, espresso, coffee, tea The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

World Fair Trade Day 2007

This Saturday is World Fair Trade Day. Since 2002, the second Friday in May has been set aside for Fair Trade - everything from information meetings to big sales on Certified Fair Trade products at local businesses. World Fair Trade Day is celebrated every second Saturday of May, and is endorsed by the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), the global association of Fair Trade Organisations, comprised of 300 organisations from 70 countries around the world.　This year's theme is "Kids and Fair Trade". This World Fair Trade Day calls on all of us to celebrate Fair Trade Organisations, buy more Fair Trade goods through Fair Trade stores, Fair Trade catalogues and campaign groups and encourage conventional companies to sell more Fair Trade products. You are invited to join this year’s World Fair Trade Day by holding your own event to celebrate Fair Trade, join events in your area, sending messages of support. This is a great time to get together with you local communities to make a difference in global ones. Cafe Evoke Catering will be giving half off drinks this weekend at our normal catering event and also will be offering 10% discounts for any events booked before next Saturday (May 18th). What are your plans? Contact your local Fair Trade coffee or tea place and ask what they are doing to be a part of this day. You can find out more about this event at the Offical World Fair Trade Day website. Here is a list of events going on in the United States - one of the 70 countries that particpates in this day. Enjoy it and have a great weekend! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

My Daily Picks

Have you seen the new link on the right side bar? This is a new thing I have been trying out over the past week or so. This comes directly from my Google Reader and is my favorite posts for the day. I update it as real time as the blogs on my reader. So, keep those in mind for your surfing needs as your day goes on. If you have not set up your own free Google Reader account, do it today. It took me a little while to get used to going there for my reading but it is well worth the break in period. Enjoy.. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Cafe Evoke Catering @ Hawthorne School Celebration of the Arts

Are you in the Bozeman area? If so, plan to attend Hawthorne School's annual Celebration of the Arts auction and dinner. Cafe Evoke will be there serving the best in Certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee and espresso drinks. We will also be serving from our all new Italian Soda Bar. All profits go directly to Hawthorne School. We are excited to be a part of this event as Hawthorne is doing great things for the arts in Bozeman - sparking interest early and helping students understand their abilities and fuel their creativity minds. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle has a nice article about the event (including interviews with a few young students). Hawthorne School "Celebration of the Arts" 114 N. Rouse Ave. May 18 5-8:30 p.m. The event includes refreshments and musical and dance performances by students. The live auction begins at 6:30 p.m. The silent auction begins May 14, so patrons can go to the school to put in bids throughout the days leading up to the event. That auction closes at the end of the live auction. Call 522-6700 for more information. Please make plans to attend and come say hi to us and Cafe Evoke. You will not be dissapointed in this event! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

New Training DVD from Bellissimo

I ordered my copy of Bellissimo's new training DVD a few days ago. The film is called Training with Champions and should be shipping in June. If you buy today, you cave $20.00! This has some of the world's best - 2006 World Barista Champion (WBC) Klaus Thomsen and three former United States Barista Champions (USBC): Matt Riddle, Bronwen Serna and Phuong Tran. Northwest USBC champions Kyle Larson and Billy Wilson are also included, along with Cup of Excellence judge Stephen Vick. No matter if you are a beginning barista or a seasoned lead barista, this film is for you. You never can learn enough about coffee, prep, etc and if nothing else, this film is eye candy for every barista out there. Are you a shop owner? Buy it for your shop and have a viewing party! If you are in Bozeman and into coffee and espresso, leave a comment and Evoke may host a viewing when we receive our copy. Here is the trailer... Bellissimo's blog has a bit about it as well.. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana, bellissimo The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

The Coffee and Tea Festival

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. To explain why we did not have an issue of the festival last week - well, we did not have any submissions! This week we had a few so let's go.. Kicking this week off is a post presented by Martin: Slamboard » Blog Archive » Is McCafé a Sign of The Apocalypse? posted at Slamboard. Have you heard of these? I know McD's is on a mission to better their coffee but I did not know about McCafes. Hum... Our next post, well, read it and tell me what you think. Yehuda Berlinger presents Yehuda: Confession of a Coffee-Totaller posted at Yehuda. I'm pretty sure I am the grunt of this joke but - hey - well written. Jason Duncan presents Caribou Coffee - Rainforest Blend posted at Brotherhood of the Bean. Here is a nice little review for you (we should really try to get more of these!) The gossip is now that Google should by Starbucks. You can read about the 6 reasons why Google should make the deal over at Starbucks Gossip (oh, and by the way, their stock rose 20% last quarter). 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. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Do you want to host this festival? Comment below and let me know. I would love to get this passed around the 'sphere. ..be bold Tagged: coffee and tea festival, blog carnival, espresso, coffee, tea The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

La Marzocco GS3 and Me

Ok, so not me (yet) - But I REALLY want one! I have been reading all sorts of reviews from the lucky folks that got to demo the prototype. The actually machine is still getting approval and does not even have a firm release date as of yet. I talked with a sales manager at Visions Espresso a few days ago and he said they are taken reservations at $4,500.00 per unit. He also said that they have already pre-sold their entire first shipment (when they make it). Here are some links to some rave reviews of the machine: CoffeeGeek God Shot CoffeeKid Alt.Coffee I have had a pretty good time on my Simonelli MAC 2000 and my Oscar but I want more. Call it greed, call it a passion. I know it is something. I am also interested in the Marzocco Linea that CoffeeKid Mark Prince got to enjoy. That, too, is not available to US consumers yet and who knows when it will be. I did write a letter to Marzocco about it but have not heard any reply. At any rate, those are both on my wish list for now. When I will get them? You got me. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Cafe Evoke and Credit Card Payments

I have been working on a policy and system so that Cafe Evoke Catering can accept major credits cards and debit cards from our customers. I have signed us up with both PayPal and the all new GoogleCheckout. While I think it will be important, at some point, to be able to process our own credit card payments through QuickBooks or some other processing company, this may just work well enough to start us out. The problem I am having is that both of these companies need the button on a website and a "shopping cart" to check out of. I did find in both that I can request payment (PayPal) or send an invoice (GoogleCheckout) which I think will allow me to accept payments without having to have shopping cart set up on our site. I found what I need to do in PayPal but had to email Google for more information. As always, they replied very quickly letting me know that there was no problem in me just sending "invoices" through Google Checkout requesting a certain amount of money. Each "invoice" contains a "pay through Google Checkout" link that our customers can use to pay with a credit card. A cart is something we are working towards but are not yet ready to go as far as that. It would require an in depth calculate (to accommodate set up fees, party size, package options, etc) but until we really get a handle on our prices and get a bit busier, it is not worth the set up time. This is just one more thing we are doing to help make the experience with Cafe Evoke Catering one of the best our clients have been through. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Did I Mention?

..well, it does not hurt to do it again. This blog is best read using FireFox or something else besides Internet Explorer. Ok, goodnight. ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts

Can I Get Enough?

So, for the past few days, I have had this hunger to learn more about espresso, coffee, the industry, etc. It is as if I cannot get enough - that my trade magazines (Barista, Specialty Coffee, etc) are not long enough. There are so many books out there that I feel I should be reading and learning from. A quick search at Amazon.com comes up with over 200,000 results with books having to do with something about coffee. The bookstore at CoffeeKid.com has a more precise list and probably the one I am going to start with. Do you have any suggestions for me? I am not sure if I have enough money to really dive into all the books I want to so it would be nice to start a "Top 10" list using your referrals. I'm all ears! ...be bold Tagged: cafe evoke, coffee catering, coffee, espresso, tea, bozeman, montana The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts