I'm Nick. I own coffee shops. That's the whole credential.
I own and run Tru Bru Organic Coffee. Four locations: Orange, Irvine, and Laguna Hills in Southern California, and Henderson, Nevada. Together they do a little over five million dollars a year. I opened the first one with a small budget in a center that had more vacancies than tenants, and I built the rest one at a time.
I'd worked in a coffee shop before I opened one. That helped behind the bar and did nothing for the business side, which I learned the expensive way. My first contractor had never built a restaurant; the project took twice as long and cost double. I insisted on being the manager for three years, until I admitted I wasn't good at it and promoted someone who was. That was the year revenue doubled. My first stores had full kitchens; my newer ones serve a simpler menu on purpose. Every one of those lessons is in the course, with the numbers.
Why there's a course
Almost every week somebody asks me how to open a coffee shop. Friends, friends of friends, customers, people who found me online. For years I answered one at a time. For a while I did consulting. I don't have the time anymore; I have four stores, a family, and a phone that doesn't stop. So I sat down and filmed the whole thing once: nineteen lessons, in the order I'd actually do it, the same way I'd walk a friend through it. I've given this material to people I know for free. For everyone else, it's here.
What I'm not
I'm not a coffee consultant and I'm not an information business. This course isn't my main income and I'm not going to chase you with it. If it's useful to you, it's here. If you'd rather figure it out yourself, I respect that too. Either way, I hope your shop works.
I live in Tustin, California with my family. I still work in the stores.