Internship in a coffee shop/bistro

micromary

I am to be honest in a very lucky position in that I got inheritence/redundancy and was looking to open my own coffee shop/bistro. It fell thru due to legals. matters but this may be a blessing in disguise as I lack the necessary experience. I don't want to waste money either by throwing €30k or more down the swanny. I am stuck in a rut in the last 2 weeks and don't know what to do with myself. I'm 39, but am looking big-time at courses, starting work just to get back into the routine. I am thinking of going on a Jobbridge Internship sort of thing with a coffee shop/bistro. If anybody knows where to approach or give advise they can PM me or write back here:(s

boobar

micromary wrote: »

I am to be honest in a very lucky position in that I got inheritence/redundancy and was looking to open my own coffee shop/bistro. It fell thru due to legals. matters but this may be a blessing in disguise as I lack the necessary experience. I don't want to waste money either by throwing €30k or more down the swanny. I am stuck in a rut in the last 2 weeks and don't know what to do with myself. I'm 39, but am looking big-time at courses, starting work just to get back into the routine. I am thinking of going on a Jobbridge Internship sort of thing with a coffee shop/bistro. If anybody knows where to approach or give advise they can PM me or write back here:(s

why not call to local coffe shops and ask if there are any vacancies, even offer to work one or two days for free (just to get experience)....rather than going through the JobBridge route

Denerick

Seriously, don't go to job bridge.

Go speak to a local coffee shop owner (An independent shop, not one of the chains obviously) Say that you want some hands on experience because you want to learn the ropes and open your own place (Say it'll be far away, they don't want the competition!) These independent coffee shop owners will likely be very understanding. Say you'll work for a nominal fee but paint it in terms of 'work experience' and say you want to shadow the manager and learn the do and don'ts of the trade.

By the way, I'd just like to say you have a refreshing approach to self education and have a get up and go attitude. Best of luck, really mean that. You're the type of person that will put this economy back on its feet!

tony81

I disagree with previous poster. Take an internship if it helps you learn the ropes.. a place like costa coffee could teach you best practices. You can always visit the independents to see what gives a place some personality. Whatever you do, don't blow your money. I assume you're mortgage free living in a nice, modern property with no problems. If not, take care of that first Before investing money in a business.

micromary

Thx guys for the responses. I am new to Boards and find it really refreshing that people are prepared to help out others. I am definately going to ask and look around. Yep due to personal circumstances at the moment I live with my father and have my house rented out so I am lucky and I realise this. I almost threw €50k at a shop but they did not have health and fire certs and to be honest despite the shop being in a super location my solicitore advised against. I have heard of several bad stories of people throwing away redundancy money and not checking where they are moving in fully. However you have to get off your a**e and make something happen out there because certainly orgs like FAS or the govt aint going to help u! Must say however other orgs like the Larkin Unemployed Centre and Fingal County Council have been great.

tempura

I have experience in this business and as I’m sure you are aware it’s a very competitive, precarious business to be in. You probably know some most of this already but here’s my 2cents worth.

Pick your location carefully. Check out the local competition; see what they are offering price and variety wise. There are loads of way to make this type of business work, for example, I have a friend that runs an establishment at the moment and she bakes all her own cakes etc, this saves a fortune but she has to be careful in relation to hygiene standards, make sure your are Haccp certified http://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/haccp/haccp.html.
In my experience there is a huge variable on coffee prices at the moment, check out suppliers, there are some very competitive prices on suppliers out there, most will give you a lot of free supplies (as in crockery and machinery) if you choose to deal with them, dealt with illy myself and they were great, reps always threw in a few extras when ordering so long as you were pushing their product.

The whole sandwich thing is saturated at the moment so again, it’s a difficult market to break into. Again with the supplies, shop around, you can make a lot of savings if you are willing to get your own supplies rather than getting deliveries in. Same goes for other items you may be selling (soft drinks, juices, savoury snacks etc). Have seen many added costs due to ordering and delivery, you can save a lot by going to big wholesale outlets like Musgrave’s etc. Fresh produce can also be bought very cheaply in the like of Aldi and Lidl. Again saves a fortune.

Another selling point that I notice a lot of coffee shops missing lately is kid size portions, and good food catering to children’s needs. I have seen many a customer walk out of a place with a bunch of kids as nothing on the menu appealed to the kids ( off to mcdonalds they went ) . The country is bustling with parents looking for a place to eat with small ones, where they can get something for themselves and the kids at a reasonable price and a fair level of tolerance from other customers, I honestly believe it’s a hugely over looked market in this country and if someone got it right, they could be on to a winner!

I am genuinely excited for you and I love to see someone making a go of a new business, it’s a tough road but can be very rewarding in the long run. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to pm me. Best of luck with your new venture.

Mrs OBumble

tony81 wrote: »

a place like costa coffee could teach you best practices.

They might teach best practices for making coffee.

But they won't teach much about managing an organisation without the support of a franchise structure, central purchasing, area manager etc.

Denerick

JustMary wrote: »

They might teach best practices for making coffee.

But they won't teach much about managing an organisation without the support of a franchise structure, central purchasing, area manager etc.

Agreed, the manager of an independent shop is an entrepreneur, the manager of a chain shop is a manager. A huge world of difference and the amount you would learn in a chain would be minimal compared to an independent shop.

Plus, there is a danger you could be taught bad practise in a chain like that. People by and large choose to go to an independent coffee shop because they prefer the ambience and anti-corporate image (Or maybe thats just me!)

Solair

Maybe see if you can get work experience somewhere far away from where you plan to setup too. That way you won't be have any difficulty as you won't be seen as competition.

For example, consider somewhere with a vibrant café / food culture maybe Kinsale, Cork City, Galway etc if you're from Dublin.

You also might find a totally different perspective too.

Maybe even go somewhere like London, Brighton, Edinburgh or even (if you have the cash) to the continent?

Brussels isn't a bad destination. I could recommend a few places and there are plenty of opportunities there to rent (at very reasonable prices) short term accommodation around the European quarter.

user.name

Denerick wrote: »

Seriously, don't go to job bridge.

(An independent shop, not one of the chains obviously) Say that you want some hands on experience because you want to learn the ropes and open your own place

I would go with this, a local coffee shop, get as much as experience under your belt as possible.

micromary

Thx guys for the responses. I went in directly to a coffee shop in Kinsealy and asked for the mgr. I ordered a coffee and waited for her to come over. When she did, she was very friendly at first thinking i was a normal customer, but then when I told her what I was at, her attitude changed. She advised that there was no such position, all that is wrong in the catering industry and go and find a proper job! I have thought about it and since then approached a few local places with a well written email. If they have interest, they can write back or ring me first and we will take it from there. I will keep you posted but at least its a start!

micromary

Well after approaching a few places directly and sending off about 10 emails I got just 2 responses back and nothing to show for my efforts. A friend of mine said it could be to do with insurance that they don't want to take someone on, on such a basis. Oh well I think it is time to start checking abroad for work.