This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Side hustle school friends, listeners, community, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to today's edition, at least new episode every single day, seven days a week since January 1, 2017. And this is our segment known as Failure Friday. I'm excited about this. This one's a good one. Chicago Coffee
Roaster grinds to halt. That's right. We're going to hear a story of a business that didn't go so well. You normally hear about business ideas and projects that are up and running, or something that seems to be going in the right direction. In this case, not so much. It is in fact, a
collection of short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course, failure. Well, that's the description for Failure Friday. Today, you're going to hear one of those stories, specifically a Chicago Coffee Roaster who tries to cash in on a caffeinated side hustle, but was it a poor over decision? Like a poor decision, you know, but like poor over. Okay, I had some fun with that, but you're probably ready for the story. I understand. Let's hear
from Bill. His name is Bill about this particular struggle. I'll come back at the end with a quick wrap up. Hey there, I'm Bill, a passionate coffee lover from the heart of Chicago. It was this very passion that percolated the idea of starting my very own coffee roasting business. I envisioned
turning the windy city into the coffee city. As it turns out, I might have been too late. Coffee is everywhere here, but let's start from the beginning. To kick things off, I invested in some prime quality beans from Ethiopia and Colombia, a roaster that seemed to have more buttons and knobs than an aircraft cockpit and an aromatic chicory wood. I promised a unique Chicago style roast. After countless hours of taste testing, I finally developed a blend I was proud of. I was
confident with the product, plus having a business in a city that consumes caffeine like it's going out of fashion, it seemed foolproof. My eyes were on the big prize, the bustling coffee shops and cafes lining Michigan Avenue. Ah, but here's where the grind got rough. I quickly discovered that whilst I was brewing up grand plans, Chicago's coffee scene was already saturated with strong established roasters. Making cold calls led to cold responses, and my pitch meetings felt more like pour over missteps than freshly brewed successes. Most people simply wouldn't take my
meetings or even accept a free sample. Don't get me wrong, I did land a few small contracts, mainly from friends and a couple of the neighborhood cafes. But the revenue wasn't enough to cover the overhead. As weeks turned into months, the realization dawned that while I loved coffee, I didn't quite know the business grind as well as I thought. My dreams of becoming the next big roaster started to drip away, one cold brew drop at a time. But here's the thing, I'm not bitter,
even if my first batch of beans was. This whole escapade taught me that passion, though an essential ingredient isn't the only one. I'd overlooked the essence of market research, understanding my competitors, and truly distinguishing my blend in a market brimming with options. If I could do it all again, you can bet I do things differently. I'd spend more time building relationships, perhaps starting with pop-up stands at local events to build a loyal clientele. I'd
collaborate with other local businesses from the beginning. Most importantly, I'd immerse myself more in the Chicago coffee community, learning and iterating based on feedback. For now, I pressed pause on my roasting dreams, but who knows? Maybe one day, with a refreshed strategy and the lessons I've learned, I'll give it another shot. After all, in coffee and in life, it's all about finding that perfect blend. Thanks for letting me share my story, and thanks for all you do.
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. That's the theme of Failure Friday. Bill, I really appreciate you sharing that story. You know, I love coffee. I'm drinking several cups of coffee a day, just in case you can't tell, listeners. But I have to say, of all the businesses,
being a coffee roaster is not one I would want to jump into. Many years ago, I sold coffee as a reseller. This is like more than 20 years ago. But there's so much competition. There's so much competition. It really elevates coffee. It's why coffee is so good these days, but I think it's a
hard business to just crack into. So I totally understand. Maybe it's better to just keep drinking the coffee, apply that caffeination towards some other business ideas, at least for many of our listeners. But Bill, again, thank you for sharing the story. Listeners, if you have a question, an update about your hustle, sidehustleschool.com/questions. Today's notes,
sidehustleschool.com/2449. And that's pretty much it. Try to keep things rolling here, give you something interesting, motivational, helpful every single day. That's all for now. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
From the Onward Project.
