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.
What is our future here? We hope bright and successful. As I have been talking about over the past few weeks, we are in the process of figuring out what the future of Cafe Evoke Catering is. We have had a great time in Bozeman but things are not picking up very quickly.
What makes this a hard decision is that we have only been in business for a year and a half - much shorter than we really need to break even or really get our roots set in Bozeman. The problem is that we are way behind projections as far as profitability and with no change visible in the immediate future, we are forced to begin looking for other options - basically putting one of our exit strategies to use.
Did I think we would have to do that this early in the life of Cafe Evoke Catering? Not at all. I think I am a visionary. I like to think about the impact of our business, how success it will be, how it will be a way to serve people and get the word out about quality coffee and how so many hands are in the process.
I also need to be flexible and smart with our money, time, and investment with Cafe Evoke Catering. Moving markets to one that could prove to be successful (we are not moving there blind - I promise) is not failing. It is knowing your industry, your business, and when to make these types of changes. That is how I am looking at this situation.
Bozeman has been great to us and we have done everything we can do to get to this marketing - personal selling, print ads, bridal shows, referral programs, mailers, etc. Is it over, not yet. We have until March to really make a decision but if Oklahoma looks good after our time there (which I will talk about tomorrow in detail) we will make the move.
It is going to be hard to leave, however, but something that we have to be willing to do if we want to make Cafe Evoke Catering work. There is a lot we can do with this company and we think it is one that can and will make an impact for coffee and the regions in which is it is grown.
Our future in Bozeman in unknown at this point. Very soon, though, we will have more "answers" for Cafe Evoke Catering.
Coffee Fest is back in Seattle November 9th-11th. This is a great time of year as it seems to always feel like Christmas - catching up with old friends, seeing all the new "toys", and spending money. Ok, you are right, we do not need to spend much money right now as a company but there are a few things that we will be looking for including a new roaster, a new syrup distribution channel, travel mugs, and new stuff that may add to our catering services.
As for classes, there are a few I will probably go to depending on time. Here are some of my highlights:
Black Gold: They are featuring the film the first evening of the show. It is nice to see that it will be at an industry show like Coffee Fest for everyone to view and talk about. Yes, the film is just tip toeing in the problems and areas of Fair Trade but it is a good stepping stone to more involvement.
Coffee; either the first or last experience most guests will have at your restaurant - Make it a memorable one: The title says it all on this one. I have been wanting to talk more about this at this blog. I am really glad to see that Coffee Fest is reaching to the restaurants this year. I have been ranting to myself over the past few months about this very subject and will be talking more about it in the days to come. While I am not in the restaurant business, I think I will attend this class.
Understanding Coffee: Seed to Cup: I love classes like this. Yes, I have read many books on this subject but I can never seem to learn enough. I love the crazy facts that these types of classes give. You know, the stuff you should know but feel crazy knowing? This one should be good.
Maté 101: I just love the stuff. I tried the Mate Latte and was not totally convinced but, then again, I am not a huge fan of Chai Tea Lattes (no matter the brand!). I love drinking Yerba Mate in the winter months (I know, I am a tea freshman) and the guys doing the class, Pixie Mate are great. It would be nice to learn more about this type of tea. Oh, and samples will be given at this class!
Free Press: How to Land Articles in Local & National Publications: Ok, this one could help us right away. That is what we need for Cafe Evoke - press. The lady doing the class is with Roast Magazine and should prove to be helpful for us. I hope this class time works into our schedule as it would be nice to have a press release and other mentions in our local publications. I am not sure the value, yet, of having national publication (we were in US News at one time if you remember).
That wraps up my list of classes that I see as interesting this year. There are many others that will be great for people in that point of their business but we are just not there or even close to it so I am not going to attend.
I am excited for Coffee Fest. It is one of Jenni and my favorite times of the year. It is also a time for us to hang with some of our friends from the Bozeman coffee world. It is one of those deals, when in the same place, we rarely have the chance to hang out, we have to go 9 hours away to do that. Whatever it takes, it is a great time.
Will I be live blogging from the convention? Of course. I hope to bring you the latest from the floor and also any cool information I get from the above class list (if I make it to the classes).
I'm not that old - really - but I have found myself being swiftly taken back to the good old days very often. I'm not crazy I promise just let me explain!
I was driving in my car last night and a great tune by Dave Matthews Band came on and I was immediately taken back to days in high school at Edmond Memorial High School in Oklahoma - driving in the summer with the windows down, freshly printed drivers license in my back pocket, ready to take on the world.
I was sitting in my favorite cafe a few mornings ago reading the latest addition of Barista Magazine and I was returned to my first days at the great places in Nashville - FiDo and Bongo Java.
I was driving home from work and the crisp air and leaves falling that we get this time of year took my back to Nashville and the drive to mountain bike after classes at Lock-4.
You eat certain foods that make you remember. A certain smell take you back to "that one time". There are so many different things that go on each day that take us back.
You know what I mean. There are sensory things, tastes, sounds, and others that are comfortable and remind you of good times before. What I like about this is that I am never reminded of bad times. Never once has one of these things taken me back to a time that was bad or that I was suffering (in a bad way anyway - I guess some take me back to my soccer days, that's another story).
So, why do I take the time to tell you all of this? Well, I want Cafe Evoke to create those times for others so that when they fire up their home espresso machine years down the road, the are taken back to the time they hired Cafe Evoke Catering to come and serve the best in coffee and espresso to their guests. We want to make their event one their friends will always talk about as well. I think that is important because this same feeling should go home with their guests, too. When their guests are at their own events and are taken back to that time, hopefully they will remember Evoke and have us at their event.
Think about it for a bit. There are so many things that happen everyday that put you in a moment of the past. I think my new goal as we go forward with Cafe Evoke Catering is to figure out how to really create that. The thing we are going to have to try to do is create an impression. Great espresso, great preparation, great service, and great interaction are all going to be important in trying to gain this type of "filing" into our guests memories.
Last year, about this time, we were sitting down for coffee with a rep for one of the local yellow pages rep to talk about putting an ad in the book. I have always been a bit skeptical about using the yellow pages for advertising but the book looked great and the company actually puts the images and book by page on the Internet for searching. The great thing about that is when people go to the site to look up your information, they will see your ad, just like in the book.
They also put out a small version of the book to put in your car so that you are not stuck with the huge copy. Well, we got our new book today and the ad is out!
They have not updated the web yet but you can (at some point) go to their site and check out our ad. I am optimistic for this ad. I think it is much better than the one we put in Montana Bride last year and I think you will agree once you see it. I hope they get the site updated soon. I will let you know.
This ad is part of the "make it or break it" time we are in right now in Bozeman. The point in time for us to decide whether to move the business or not is coming (quickly) and this ad is something we have been waiting for for a very long time. In a perfect world, we would need about 5 events to pay the ad off. People in Bozeman do you the yellow pages still and this is the book with the most ads from caterers and others in our industry (this is what helped us make the decision).
If you are in the Bozeman area, check out our ad in the 2007-2008 Bozeman Yellowstone Country book (with the leopard on it - at least I think that is what it is!).
I like this blog. Why? Because it takes two of my favorite things in life and makes them one - coffee and road racing. Ok, so I may only be able to ride 30 miles at a time (if it is flat) but not many things make me happier than watching cycling with coffee (live or on TV).
I always thought it would be cool to have a nice work station at a coffee shop. I could work on my bikes, pull espresso, and be around art all at the same time. We could showcase cycling races everyday and really rally behind our favorite teams. I guess this will probably have to wait until I sell Evoke and Evoke Catering off as franchise and am ready to retire. Maybe that is my calling for my later years. Or, maybe I will just be able to go to all the races and catch local coffee at each destination.
Or, maybe I can just start my own team. I mean, Progress Coffee did it and it is obvious that the guys at Jittery Joes are hanging with the best of them so it is not out of the question - although it would take some extra cash that we don't have.
At any rate, maybe one day you will see Evoke Cycling in the peloton with Jittery Joes and Progress Cycling. Dream on...
..but is it effective? I know I have written several times about Cafe Evoke's attempts to create free marketing through word of mouth from our customers. But what can we really expect from these types of campaigns? Do they really work? Are we wasting time trying to create these networks of people that will talk about our coffee and espresso catering service?
My professor and chair of entrepreneurship (wow, I have not typed that word in a long time) at Belmont University, Dr. Jeffrey Cornwall, has a nice post that talks about this very thing. He gives us a few things to remember when trying to create word of mouth for your business and something I will be taking into account as I begin to, again, rewrite our marketing plan.
What I think is the most important point he makes is the part about creating a "thank you" program. He says..
Create incentives to spread the word through a referral “thank you” program. Offer customers a future discount or send them a small thank you gift, such as a gift card, for each new customer they send your way.
I am actually in the process of creating an official referral program that Cafe Evoke Catering will use to say thank you to our customers who pass along information about our services to their friends and family.
I will talk more about this in a few days but it is something we should have done a long time ago. I keep thinking back to the story I once heard about a contractor in Nashville who would send his past clients to one of the best eating nightspots in the city for passing his information to others. It sounds expensive but once people start talking more and more, it is worth every penny (or dollar in this case!).
It is a great article. Cornwall also links to a study recently published by the NFIB Research Foundation - worth the read. ...be bold
So, I do not normally write about these types of sites but since we are a catering company in one of the best places to have your wedding, I look for as many sites like this as I can. The one I most recently found is a site called BridalHood.com. Here is a bit about this company from their website:
Bridalhood is the quick and easy way for brides to find, review, and talk about wedding professionals in their area. Choosing the right vendor can be the difference between a relaxing experience and a stressful ordeal. We strive to make the vendor search process a little simpler by providing:
Powerful Search Brides can specify not only location and price, but also other vendor type specific attributes like profession associations, languages spoken, capacity, etc.
Real Reviews We allow users to provide reviews for wedding vendors they have used in their weddings. Brides can use these reviews to help them differentiate the true professionals from the amateurs.
Bridal Discussions The message forum offers a lively forum for brides to connect and chat about local vendors, the vendor search process, and any other wedding related topics.
There are a lot of sites out there for vendors to come and post their information by creating profiles of their business and service. Then, people planning these events can come to search for all of their wedding planning needs. We are members of Gathering Guide, All Wedding Planning and more but there is something about Bridalhood that is different. Here is what I like..
Images: The profile section allows you to post an image for free (most sites make you pay a membership fee to do that) which allows people to see your logo or what you do. This makes the site look more official and also lets it stand out in the "crowd" of these types of web communities.
Calender: Bridalhood created a calender page for each vendor profile which allows the vendor to select the dates they are available. These dates then get posted to the profile telling brides and planners quickly if they are available or not. The one thing I would suggest is to switch the calender and show dates that the vendor is booked - it is much less clicking and would be much easier to keep track of for the vendor.
Reviews: This sites not only allows customers to write reviews of each vendor, it allows vendors to endorse other vendors. That is important to any serve business. I have always said that word of mouth is the most valuable advertising for Cafe Evoke Catering and this is just another avenue to help us get to that point.
At this point, we have just claimed our listing and are going to try and build this profile. I do not normally keep these sites updated but I like the potential this site has. It is still in the "beta" stages but I hope that it only gets better from here. Go take a look at our profile and if you are a service business in the wedding industry, sign up or claim your listing. Let me know about your business, too, and we can work out endorsements.
One of my favorite days of the month is when the new Barista Magazine shows up in the mail. I actually get two copies which works out great because one stays in my office and one goes in my messenger bag and is always at hand when I need to do some reading. Literally I can read the entire magazine from cover to cover within a short amount of time and find myself waiting again.
In the foam section of the October/November issue of Barista (oh, did you know they now have a blog?) I saw that my friends at Arizona Coffee got a mention from one of their good friends in TX - Jason Heager.
I have been talking about Cafe Evoke and Oklahoma City a few times over the past posts and there is a reason - the lack of quality coffee in the area. I should mention here, however, that Tulsa is not in the same boat as the Oklahoma City area (I will trackback some of my reviews from Tulsa a bit later). Jason is going through the same process in Texas - educating the people and providing a quality product worthy of the NorthWest.
Yesterday, Cafe Evoke Catering got to be a part of Bozeman's first Safe Walk to School Day. We teamed up with Emily Dickinson School, the pilot school for the program in Bozeman, and served coffee and espresso drinks to volunteers, teachers, staff, and parents of the students.
Here is a story that gives more information about the International Walk to School Day and what Bozeman is doing to be a part of it all.
I really like the idea of getting kids used to walking and riding to school. Of course there are many people that go upset about this day because of safety but that is what the day is all about - teaching kids to walk to school safely with a friend or parent. I would say that kids will do it correctly - utilizing all crosswalks and sidewalks on their way to school each day.
Or, better yet, maybe this will get parents out of the house in the mornings and afternoons as well to pick their kids up. While there are obvious things like keeping cars off the roads and helping with traffic around local schools, there are other benifits to a program like this. It will get parents and kids talking. It will bring families closer as they have the time twice a day to walk home and talk without distraction of driving.
I hope this program takes off here in our community.
HATCHFest is back in Bozeman this weekend. While this may be a bit shorter of a festival this year compared with the past few, it is going to be a great one. There are several aspects to this year's festival that I am excited for which I will get to in a minute. Here is a bit about the festival from the website:
HATCH is a year round program, designed to develop and foster the growth of creative minds through mentorship. Since inception in 2004, Hatch has successfully developed an environment, from Hatch Fest to Hatch Labs that strikes the enthusiasm and stimulation of young artist’s creativity throughout the world, by connecting new filmmakers, musicians, photographers, designers, architects, writers and fine artists with the movers and shakers in the entertainment industry.
HATCH creates a world of opportunities and invaluable lessons to the up and coming in the business through a series of intimate workshops, panels, one on one collaborations and networking occasions. The unique partnerships with student talent and industry professionals make stars into ‘superstars’ and benefit both mentor and student. Students sponge the years of experience and wealth of knowledge that mentors provide; and mentors benefit from transfers of new energy and new ideas from young budding talents.
The strength and success of the festival are underpinned by the weight of support given by students, associations and celebrities worldwide. It is a star-studded event that awards and encourages the exchange and development of innovative thinking. Reeling in competitive films, music and projects from schools across the globe, giving young student talent the push and confidence to fulfill their dreams.
Entertain. Educate. Excite. Evolve are the core principals of the Hatch Audiovisual Arts Festival, and are brought to fruition by the unwavering support and dedication of it’s founders and team, whose union represents the most talented and unstoppable resource pool in their respective fields.
A few of the things from the schedule that I will not be missing:
The Olivea Watson concert that is taking place on Friday at 8:00pm @ The Emerson
While I wish I could get to every event on this years calenders, a job makes it a bit tough. If you are around the Bozeman area, you should try and stop by when you can.
...the weather is beginning to change. Colors are changing, the crisp air brings a different kind of sweet to my morning cup of coffee. I like this time of year. It reminds me of so many things - my first year in Bozeman, my first CoffeeFest, College football, and Cafe Evoke.
It seems like this time of year always brings "crunch time" for us and Cafe Evoke. It is both a time to plan for the future and also recover from the past. I think these two things go hand in hand, really. This year is no different. We are working hard to really reach out to the Bozeman community, to educate them on what we do and how we can work with them at their event. We have changed our prices to try and really get into homes and business in the valley and are following up on any lead that we get.
Unfortunately, things are not going as well as we need them to. We did have a few break even months but we are not close to where our financial projections have us. What we have been shooting for are break even months. We do have projections about when Cafe Evoke Catering will break even as a business but that is years away. So, what more can we do?
October is both a final push and an introduction. October is one final push here in Bozeman for Cafe Evoke Catering and an introduction to Oklahoma City. You read correctly. We are heading to Oklahoma for some market research - something I probably did not do very well here in Bozeman (for catering anyway) and would probably get an ear full because of it. Here is what we are doing in OKC:
Setting Meetings: We want to enter this market running. So, we are contact as many event planners/wedding planners as possible and trying to set up meetings while we are there. These meetings would be a time for us to get to know their businesses and also to introduce Cafe Evoke Catering and what we can provide for their clients. This will be a time to educate the planners so that when events come up, we will be the first thing they think of when it comes to unique and original catering ideas.
Events: We are going to book events. We will be in the Oklahoma City area from Thanksgiving to the middle of December. We are going to haul our trailer and set up Evoke at events in the city. So far, we have 4 events booked, 2 pending, and about 30 people to contact. This will not only help us pay for our trip to Oklahoma City, it will help us show people what we can do. That is something we have learned over the past two years - people need to see us to really know us.
These things are our big focus right now. Are we giving up to the Bozeman community? No. We have some ideas for this community that I will write about in a few days. We have to begin making some hard decisions. I have always been told about exit planning and this is just part of business. We will give Bozeman all we have for the next month and see where we are and then be smart with our next move. It will be important for us to remember that Oklahoma City may not be the best place and that we may need to look to other cities. It is becoming clear, however, that for a business like ours we need a city not a community with only 30.000 people.
What is our future here? We hope bright and successful. As I have been talking about over the past few weeks, we are in the process of figuring out what the future of Cafe Evoke Catering is. We have had a great time in Bozeman but things are not picking up very quickly.
