The coffee business you want doesn't have to cost $100k to start.

I built mine from the ground up: resourceful, scrappy, and refusing to wait until I could afford the "right" version. These resources are everything I wish I'd had when I started.

Start here

Top 10 Systems Every Coffee Shop Should Have

The systems that keep a coffee business running smoothly — whether you're just starting out or trying to get out of survival mode. Free, no fluff.

A white brick building with a sign that reads 'Top 10 Systems' and 'Every coffee shop should have coffee' in stylized fonts. The wall features two vertical black signs spelling out 'COFFEE' with pointing hand illustrations at the bottom, and the phrase 'ON 8TH' below.</imageAltText>

Resources

Ready to go deeper? These guides and tools are built for people who are serious about building — or running — a coffee business the smart way.

A wooden desk holds a silver laptop keyboard, a white cup of black coffee on a saucer, and an iPhone with a triple camera on the back. Interviewing guide for coffee shop owners and managers.

Hiring the right person changes everything.

This guide walks you through my interview process developed after interviewing dozens of candidates.

It covers how to find candidates, what to ask, how to analyze answers, and what to do after the interview. Plus three ready-to-use templates: a job posting, a job offer, and a candidate decline letter.

A woman behind a coffee cart preparing a drink, with coffee equipment, a cash register, and shelves with coffee products in the background. Paola Chamorro Ward. Una Más TPA

Fitting a full coffee bar into a cart is overwhelming. There are more systems, tools, and decisions than most people expect. This guide breaks it all down: water, espresso, electricity, and POS. Plus three bonus lists covering bar utensils, additional supplies, and maintenance and emergencies.

This is not a structural build-out guide; this is focused on what lives inside the cart and how it all works together.

Interior of a coffee shop with high ceilings, large arched windows, hanging pendant lights, a wooden service counter, a menu board on the wall listing coffee options and prices, and a few customers sitting near the windows.

Running a coffee shop means sometimes things fall through the cracks, and this checklist helps you avoid that.

This Google Spreadsheet covers your opening, transition, and closing tasks, plus a step-by-step espresso machine cleaning guide.

Print it as-is and hand it to your staff, or customize it to fit your specific operation. Instructions included.


1:1 COACHING

Sometimes you don't need another guide. You need someone who's been there.

I occasionally work with coffee business owners one-on-one. Whether you're figuring out your concept, stuck on your numbers, or just need a thought partner who gets it. If that's you, let's talk. Schedule a free 30-minute chat to see if we're a good fit for each other ↓

A woman in a yellow sweater making coffee using an espresso machine in a cafe.