Maxwell Mooney opened his first Narrative Coffee cart in 2015 with just $1,800. Now they’ve just opened their second brick-and-mortar coffee shop, and are bringing in an average revenue of more than $80,000 a month. Wondering how he grew his coffee business? Watch this video to find out!
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Maxwell was a coffee geek well before opening a coffee shop. As a world-class barista, he’s competed and placed at a number of barista championships, so when he decided to become a business owner, a café was a logical choice. After starting with a coffee cart in 2015, they opened their first full café in Everett in 2017, expanding to a second location in Bellingham earlier this year.
In this interview, we’ll get Maxwell’s insider insight into starting a coffee shop business. We’ll find out how he made the most of his initial coffee cart investment, and how much it cost to expand that into a brick-and-mortar. That expansion also meant growing the team, and we’ll learn how he attracts and retains skilled baristas, along with his advice on the best marketing approaches to bring in new customers.
One major ingredient in Narrative Coffee’s success are their foundational systems that help them maintain quality across their coffee shop business. We’ll learn how Maxwell developed these systems, as well as the tools and software he uses to manage workflow across multiple locations. Anyone interested in the coffee industry will learn a lot from this interview! A
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👉 Check out Maxwell’s business – https://narrative.coffee/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:53 How Maxwell Got Into Coffee
1:38 How To Overcome Business Struggles
2:05 Systems and Processes
4:06 Key Things Maxwell Has Learned
5:06 Tips on Starting with a Coffee Cart
6:38 Tricks to Exceptional Customer Experience
7:26 How To Get More Retail Sales
8:41 How To Keep Customers Coming Back
9:41 the Benefits of Your Community
11:31 Let’s Talk Numbers
12:22 The Key To FREE Advertising
13:46 Tips for Beginners on a Budget
14:47 Reaching the Breakeven Point
16:12 The Importance of Systems
16:51 Blitz Time with Maxwell!
19:21 Choosing The Right Merchandise
20:25 How To Keep Employees Happy
21:35 How To Not Lose Efficiency
22:29 Where To Find Quality Suppliers
23:02 Maxwell’s Best Sellers
24:07 The Must-Have SOPs
25:22 Key Software and Tools
26:38 How To Deal with Inflation
27:33 The Benefits of a Tip Pool
28:41 The MUST-HAVE Equipment
29:37 Advice Maxwell Wants You To Know
30:54 What You Can Expect with Profit Margins
31:46 How To Fill The Need
32:55 The Trick to Scaling Smoothly
34:06 Business Owner Struggles
34:43 The Importance of Review
35:54 Time Management Tips
36:41 Advice to Entrepreneurs
#coffeeshop #coffeebusiness #openingacoffeeshop
20 Comments
Big thanks to @tailorbrands for sponsoring this video!
Use code “upflip40” for 40% off at check out! Click here http://tailorbrands.com/upflip to get your business started today!
Is it possible to start out making a cappuccino, latte and an americano and a few bakery items????
Coffee Business os really the most popular in our planet
I believe one of the most important ingredients in a business is greeting the customer, AND saying goodbye! it works just as good as the food!
La Marocco is a scam, they are no better than any other machine, just 3 times the price. They claim that the boiler head stays the same temperature after half an hour of none use, while other machines have a 1% fluctuation… But the group handle needs to be brought back up to temperature by running a shot through the group handle. Competitor machines need 1 shot to stabilize the group head… so it just another scam the milk is more important than the coffee shot, I don't know what the USA markets are like, but in Australia 80 – 90 % of people drink milk-based coffee.
So if he was LOSING money at the start, he didn't start with just $1800. He had a lot of backup.
It would be great if their spreadsheet was connected to their suppliers pricing, oppose to having to change the master document every time the price is changed, as you could easily forget there’s been a price increase.
Pour over ? With pour over I’m sure u have fresh beans
Great video – thanks Maxwell for being so generous with your insights. Love the real talk of ‘careful quarterly costs reassessment’, understanding mobile carts are mostly promotions ‘vehicles’, and rotating roasters to offer a consistent brand of ‘service’ at Narrative, not just a storefront for another roaster. A true coffee house. Love it.
You can improve by showing the viewers behind the scenes of the business owners/staff doing the work itself. Improvement: revisit the business you've interviewed and how they've done since your last interview 🌸
This video helped me understand that ignoring small details make or break a cafe business.
And then a equity firm acquired his business and run it to the ground.
Dude, why is he not mentioning the cost of the that espresso machine he got on that cart. 3k for a cart for new, who cares about the cart. That machine new will run you 5 G's easily lol. NO WAY that was in the churches basement in that quality.
3m emails coming in hahah
COGS meaning for new ones is " Cost of Goods Sold "
This video is gold
Really inspiring to see how someone turned an $1,800 coffee cart into a successful business and the practical lessons you can apply to your own idea
Your title is misleading. Obviously just a ‘trick’ to attract people to watch your videos
Я так и не понял что привлекает клиентов в эту кофейню. Таких же полно? Или там не было нормальных кофеин? Поясните кто понял пожалуйста
These hyper efficient places never have any soul and always come off as profiteering and contrived.