The Successful Coffee House: 22-Day Action Plan to Create a Relevant and Profitable Business Hardcover – June 9, 2015

The Successful Coffee House has a simple cover with a title and subtitle that sums up this book well. Like the cover, the inside is full of easy to read advice with no room for fluff. It would be a good addition to any coffee house library.The foundation of the book is Holistic Branding and creating what they define as a Specific Brand Image (SBI).The idea with Holistic Branding is that you see every aspect of your business as part of your brand. For a coffee house this includes your environment, the interior colors and accents, your staff’s emotion, the music playing, your menu concept, and the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Basically everything your customer may experience, taste, see, hear, feel, and touch.Your SBI is what makes you stick out. It encompasses everything that differentiates you from the competition. It is specific to your coffee house and only your coffee house. And Dillanos goal is to help you create an unforgettable SBI that will resonate with those that matter most, your loyal customers.The book is organized into a plan of 22 Action Days. Most days are only 2-4 pages long and will only take about 10-15 minutes to read. However, most practical and inspiring days will take more than a day to truly develop and enhance your coffee shop.They suggest you first read the entire book, cover-to-cover. Write down anything that pops into your mind. Then go back and read each of the Today’s Actions jotting down any more ideas that come to mind. Finally, on your second full read through the book, stop and take action on each of the Today’s Actions before moving on to the next.Although all the days are important there are a few that stuck out to me.Day 4: Learn From Other Industries: The Specialty Coffee Industry is a young industry, especially in the US. This gives the opportunity to look at other, more mature industries for inspiration. Specifically the wine industry, which has a lot of similarities. The wine industry however has been doing brand differentiation for centuries. Many of the common practices in the wine industry could be completely new in specialty coffee.Day 14: Fewer, Better, and Unique Menu Options: They suggest that you simplify and minimize your menu, while at the same time improve the originality in a couple signature food selections. It should be simple enough that customers can make a choice in under 30 seconds. They also offer some more concrete advice like having 80% drinks and 20% food.Day 22: Owner’s Playbook: The owner’s playbook is a daily or weekly plan that gives the a direction. It includes things like a focus (like customer service), a special food or drink to suggest, goals (dollar per transaction, total daily sales, etc), staffing (who’s working and their shift duties), and a notes section (coming events, staff praise).

Great book. Concise and to the point. It is a book you are supposed to read several times to make it work so we will have to see how I enact the actions detailed in the book to make my coffee shop better and more productive.This is the second book I have read by David and Chris and so excited to share this with my employees.Pick up this book for sure if you are thinking about opening a coffee shop, already have one or in most aspects read it for just general business acumen. You will find things you are doing already sure. But I found that the things I am doing could be improved. If anything this book will inspire you to keep things fresh and just keep up in an ever expanding industry.Bam,Justin "The Bearded Barista"

A great introduction to the industry, most valuable perhaps for the specific "action steps" recommended at the end of each section. Great way to build perspective and start developing plans. Stoked my excitement to keep learning.

Good luck getting past just the first 10 pages without giving up.

Great book! Perfect for any coffee shop owner.

Great book.

This book is awesome, goes straight to whats important.