Written by Colin Harmon, Irish coffee champion and owner of the world-renowned 3fe Coffee Roastery, “What I Know About Running Coffee Shops“ is a collection of personal experiences that can help those interested in opening a coffee shop.
BY TANYA NANETTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT
Featured photo courtesy of 3fe
What continues to surprise me about coffee books is the amount of different topics that authors manage to cover without being repetitive and boring readers. After reading about the history of coffee and what goes on behind the scenes in coffee production, and after learning about terroir and coffee brewing at home, I found a book about opening and running a coffee shop.
Meet Colin Harmon
Colin Harmon is a former trustee officer for professional investment funds turned four-time Irish Barista Champion and coffee shop/roastery owner. His 2017 book “What I Know About Running Coffee Shops“ seemed like the perfect read to deepen my understanding of this aspect of the coffee business.
The brief summary available online presented the book as a compendium that included lessons, stories, and guidelines Colin drew from his experience of creating 3fe, the world-renowned Irish specialty-coffee roaster, from simply starting with a one-man cart in a nightclub lobby.
It was an intriguing story. I was curious to see if the book could teach me something that would be useful when I finally decide to open and run my own place. Once the book was delivered I started reading it right away, and I was hooked from the beginning.
Where to Begin
The brief introduction defines the book not as a “how to“ but as a collection of personal experiences that can help those interested in opening a coffee shop. Colin begins by explaining the concept (and results) behind the four coffee shops he has opened. This is followed by a meaningful suggestion for anyone interested in the topic.
“When I get approached by people who are interested in opening their own coffee shop but have little to no experience working in hospitality,“ Colin shares, “the first thing I advise them to do is to go and get a job in a café or a restaurant before they take the plunge.“
This crucial action seems to be skipped by many prospective café owners, who justify this refusal with a fascinating array of explanations. After listing some interesting ways in which people react to his suggestion, it is time for Colin to share how to start laying the groundwork for having a healthy coffee business. And he does so through the first chapter, “The Building.“
From explaining how important it is to have a long-term sustainable business model (and not just a great business idea) to pointing out little things that often go unnoticed when renting a new space, there is a lot to learn.
Coffee Shop Basics
The second chapter, “The Café,“ opens with a list called “The Basics.“ This full page of points includes basic tips for running a business properly. It may seem like a random list, but it will make perfect sense to anyone who has worked in the coffee business for some time.
Then follows a series of topics that—following Colin’s long experience as a café owner—provides ideas and suggestions, showing everyday problems and how to try to solve them. It’s the food for thought you need to start thinking about before launching your business.
Once you’ve learned everything about the coffee shop, it’s time to dig deeper into the star of the show, “Coffee“ itself. Colin covers the effect of milk drinks (and the confusion over their specific names and sizes), workflow, and the importance of using the right water. He also discusses how to react to that customer who will place an order demanding that the drink needs to be “extra hot.“ There is much valuable intel here about the day-to-day work behind the counter.
Staff, Culture, and Numbers
In the next part, “Staff,“ Colin discusses his hiring process, emphasizing the critical importance of the entire team for a smoothly running business. At the same time, he adds something that is sometimes ignored by café owners: “Continuity is the cheapest staffing strategy.“
The fifth chapter, “Culture,“ covers a set of seemingly unrelated topics that, when put together, can be indispensable not only for the owner of a newly opened business, but also for someone running an old business in need of a refresh. There are tips on how to be respectful, polite, and assertive (not aggressive), how to handle email, maintain social media presence, and even how to handle family and friends coming to visit when you’re working.
Finally, a short section titled “Numbers“ concludes the book by highlighting the importance of keeping track of costs and revenues in any type of business. Personnel costs, profit margins, spreadsheets … they can be difficult to make sense of, but will show if your business is doing well and, if not, will clearly help you understand the main problems to try to solve them in time.
I finished reading the 224 pages of “What I Know About Running Coffee Shops“ in a few hours. I couldn’t have been happier with the reading experience.
Its ideas resonate with my years of personal experience in the coffee business, especially as a head barista. And it goes even further, showing me aspects of the coffee industry I had no idea about.
Thanks to the different topics analyzed and all the tips and suggestions it includes, the book can also be a perfect compendium for those who have different ideas, or are not yet in the coffee business. If someone wants to take their first step as an entrepreneur in this world, this is definitely a must-read.
Colin’s Advice for Café Starters
Before I put the book aside and think about what my dream café might look like, I turn to Colin for one last suggestion. I ask if there’s something he wished he’d known when he was younger. What would have helped at the beginning of his coffee journey?
“I think if I could give one piece of advice to myself when I was starting out, based on what went right, it’s not to panic, to make the right decisions in a timely manner, and not to be tempted to chase fads or change for the sake of it,“ Colin says. “Doing the day-to-day well is what makes things work, so don’t rush and you will get there much faster.“
That’s one last meaningful suggestion that will definitely help me start my own café.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tanya Nanetti (she/her) is a specialty-coffee barista, a traveler, and a dreamer. When she’s not behind the coffee machine (or visiting some hidden corner of the world), she’s busy writing for Coffee Insurrection, a website about specialty coffee that she’s creating along with her boyfriend.
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