How to Start a Coffee Shop or Coffee Business

So you’ve decided to get into the World of Coffee! Coffee can provide a multitude of opportunities and can also apply to anyone wanting to start up a Sandwich Bar, Cafe or Deli. Infact anyone wanting to open any business that features Coffee. Many types of business serve coffee these days, with either a Traditional Espresso Machine or automatic Bean to Cup Machine. Bookshops, Bicycle Shops, Motor Cycle Dealers to name but a few. Any business that attracts like minded people who share common interests is a great place to start a Coffee Shop. It gives people the chance to socialise and talk about their shared interests. This business diversification also provides an additional income for these businesses that are not “out and out” Coffee Shops.

Like any business that people want to start up, it’s usually because they have an interest in some element of their chosen business idea. It’s always a good idea to do something you like doing or have a skill at, otherwise what’s the point? However, just because you have a “passion” and a dream of setting up your own Coffee Shop doesn’t mean that it will be automatically successful. The same rules apply for any business – Doesn’t matter how good your idea is, you need to make sure there is a “need” in your town or geographic area. This research will form part of your “Business Plan”. A business plan is more than just putting a few figures together to get finance. “Your Business Plan” is just that. It’s about getting your thoughts and ideas down on paper and creating a plan of action for business research, marketing research, project managing and forecasts for getting your business open. It should also be business planning for the future to make sure you stay open! There is an old saying in business; “If You Fail to Plan You Plan to Fail”. It’s a known fact that a large proportion of new businesses fail within the first 3 Years.

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Stay away from Alibaba – Mark Mobius

This video covers the concerns that Mark Mobius has about the Alibaba shareholding structure, i.e, dual shareholding with promoters having significant control and little recourse for minority shareholders. Its not considered proper in the USA and NYSE should not have accepted such a listing. But commercial considerations have dictated the current situation.

Dr. Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group. He earned Bachelors and Masters degrees from Boston University, and Ph.D. in economics and political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Building Your Business With A Purpose

Building my business has been a fun yet challenging journey. My Business journey began in 1998 and 15 years later, I have discovered that the only way to build a successful business is with a Purpose. In fact, I believe that a business without a purpose is a business that is destined to fail.

When I wrote my business plan, it was written with my purpose in mind and that was, “To provide High Quality Chilare.” In fact, my purpose was the glue that held the business plan together. Moreover, as I completed each section of the business plan, it was completed with my purpose in mind.

Building a Business on purpose, takes lot of planning, lots of energy and lots of focus. Most importantly, you must be willing to persevere… no matter what comes your way. Adversity seems to attach itself to every business with a purpose; however, you must stay focused and stay the course.

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A Holistic Approach To Executive Leadership Development

Leadership has been a much discussed and debated subject over the last several decades and is under contention even today as to whether it falls under the category of Art or Science. Historically leadership programs tended to focus on creating a standard set of parameters or rules that candidates in training were meant to comply with. In recent years however, declining levels of leadership success has opened the eyes of the industry to what seemed a rather simple yet non-apparent problem – every individual was different and was not setup for success under a rigid system of compliance. Thus was born the paradigm of leadership training modeled around individual leadership styles. Corporate leadership programs today understand this and have taken steps to customize their setup to accommodate these changes.

So exactly how do these companies do this? In this article we will look at the modus operandi of leadership development programs run by companies that are actually structured according to the leadership style of the individual participating in the program, geared toward developing strategic leadership skills. Here are some leadership styles that such programs cater to:

Autocratic Leadership

These candidates generally tend to have intense or abrasive personalities and tend to make decisions on their own without feeling the need to consult with their team members. While they absolutely get things done, they tend to think that their judgment is in everyone’s best interest and it would be in everyone’s best interest to follow suit. For such a leader, training programs work to build their trust and relationship with fellow peers. Learning to delegate and share responsibilities in the crux of the training.

Democratic Leadership

This type of leader gives his team plenty of say and encourages everyone to share their opinion and judgment, but tends to make the final decisive judgment himself. While this does produce a good degree of satisfaction and camaraderie, it does not serve as a good model for when urgent and quick decisions need to be made. For this type of leader, programs are designed to take the weight of decision making so that the leader is equipped to handle difficult cases.

Laissez-faire

This type of leadership style tends to give full powers and abilities to the team, while playing a supporting role as a counsel or expeditor from the side. While this may encourage team satisfaction because of the trust factor, it still assumes that the worker or team knows best and is impervious to faults or errors. This can be problematic in the event of a team member making a drastic mistake or oversight. These type of leaders are trained to act as checks and balances to provide accountability for the team at all times.

Bureaucratic Leadership

This type of leader tends to go by the book and is a stickler for detail. Everything and everyone needs to follow a rigid pattern of adherence to a pre-conceived set of guidelines. Objectives and targets are achieved by meticulously conforming to these parameters. This leadership style however does not work in all environments. These type of leaders need to be trained to think out of the box and learn to trouble shoot creatively in the event of an unforeseeable circumstance or situation.

For more information on Leadership Training Program, please refer to the following article – global leadership development.

MMM Training Solutions conducts executive coaching, soft skills, leadership and presentation skills training programs for corporates in India and abroad. Our programs are customized based on the objectives, experience of the target audience and the type of industry. We have been in business since 2005 and some of our clients include Daimler, Standard Chartered Bank, Microsoft, Novartis, McKinsey, Boeing, Cipla, Deloitte, Caterpillar and many more.
Pramila Mathew, Owner and Founder of MMM, has a dual background in Business and Psychology and has significant work experience in both India and USA. Please visit our website http://www.mmmts.com to know more about our programs and our trainers.


Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Pramila_M_Mathew/186771

 

What If We Have This Whole Leadership Thing All Wrong?

Imagine that you just read an article on how your competition is steadily stealing your market share. This is nothing new to you, they have been out innovating you for some time now and it’s now apparent that your current products or services are inferior. Slowly you’ve seen your talent leave for greener pastures as rumors of downsizing abound. There is a fear permeating the organization as people wonder what the future holds. What’s needed is a real leader! Someone who can come in and make things right again. We’ve seen this scenario play out time and again. The Board will likely remove the C-Suite and bring in a leadership savior. Yet, what if we have got this whole leadership thing all wrong? What if the very essence of how we define leadership is no longer serving us?

We can’t really fault why we seek a leadership savior in these scenarios. It’s engrained in our DNA! Adaptive Leadership Theory explains that since the dawn of time we have engaged in a social contract within groups. Essentially when a group member emerged to offer us much needed direction, protection and order, we in turn granted them authority over us. As long as this person kept their side of the bargain, we continue to reward them with increased power. At some point we started calling this authority figure our Leader, Chief, or King which anointed them with title and elevated social status as well. The key distinction to make here is that we started associating the exercising of authority with leadership. This is a huge mistake as leadership is totally different.

Given the above scenario, direction, protection and order is exactly what we crave. We want a new direction and our new leadership should have the ability to see what we cannot. We require protection from our competitors and the threat they present. We desire order as a power vacuum emerges from the loss of key talent. Yet, what if instead of providing the direction we need to go, leadership helped us to figure out where we collectively want to go together? What if instead of sheltering us from our competitor’s threats, leadership exposed the reality that we faced and challenged us to be more? What if instead of returning us to a calm and comfortable place, leadership taught us to embrace the chaos of change and to value living on the edge of constant learning? In short, what might happen if instead of exercising authority, our leadership actually led us?

Intuitively, we get this. While management is an important aspect of a productive society, deep down inside we all want to be led more so than managed. When we experience true leadership we feel empowered to grow to our full potential. Outside of experiencing love, there is perhaps no greater feeling than pushing yourself to be more than you thought you could be. Yet, with the pleasure of growth we often experience loss and pain. We have to let go of a part of ourselves and learn to be something new. Learning then becomes a series of failures until we ultimately get it right. This can be a very disappointing and humbling process. Thus, true leadership requires us to disappoint our followers at a rate that they can tolerate.

This is the very reason why we see more authority rather than leadership being exercised in our world. There is a real art to establishing enough trust with followers so that they allow you to disappoint them. Disappoint them too much and you will soon be looking for a new job. Yet, it’s important to note that if you disappoint them too little, as when exercising pure authority, and you will also be looking for a new job! Exercising authority will not promote the learning needed for organizational growth, and thus results will be the same over time. With consistently poor to average results, you will eventually be replaced as your organization seeks out new “leadership.” Thus, the next time you feel the pull to provide direction, protection and order to your team, take a step back and try to recognize what is really needed in this moment. Start practicing leadership rather than authority and watch your organization begin to flourish.

David understands how effective leadership generates success. He a holds a degree in Leadership Development from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Organization Development from American University. A combat veteran with corporate leadership experience, he now consults to Fortune 500 companies internationally. David is recognized for his creative learning designs and ability to facilitate highly engaging training events. David holds expertise in the MBTI, DiSC, EQ-i 2.0, and PMAI behavioral assessments, as well as in non-verbal (somatic) communication. Learn more at http://www.leadergrowthgroup.com/

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/David_Spungin/1372660