Coffee Consultants Can Help You Bring Your Roastery Start-Up To Life
Your dream, your baby, the house that you built… No one knows your coffee company better than you do. And yet, the to-do list stretching between you and your goals is probably long and complex.
When internet searches yield more questions than answers, and it's dawning on you that the insight from your many wise and enthusiastic associates isn't all that actionable, it's time to bring in a consultant.
But is there a right or wrong moment to call one? What can you realistically expect to get out of it? Consultants aren't cheap… Is it really worth it?
I checked in with Coffee Equipment Pros Founder and CEO Rick Davis and a couple of well-established coffee industry consultants for details on the What, When, and Why of bringing a consultant into the fold.
What Does A Consultant Do?
Contrary to how they're depicted on TV, a good consultant doesn't merely talk the talk. A good consultant is an experienced industry veteran who's been there, done it, lived to tell the tale, and has since kept up with all the latest trends and challenges.
The right consultant for you will also be familiar with the demographics, consumer culture, industry resources, and government regulations in your area.
"If somebody's going to want to take this to the next level, I think consulting is a good way to go about it," Rick Davis told me. "Site plan design, the insides of the business, how to price your coffee in your geographic area, how to embrace and engage in the online world, how to penetrate Amazon with all the competition that's up there… Rather than firing up a 5-kilo roaster, buying some bags, and building a website, you could be much more successful with the right input."
Maloney Coffee Consulting President Patrick Maloney, for example, has been in specialty coffee for over twenty years. He speaks from experience when it comes to building and running a successful roasting business day to day and over time.
Coffee consultant Patrick Maloney.
Photo courtesy of Maloney Coffee Consulting.
Patrick roasted the coffee, designed the blends, wrote the big checks for equipment, and sorted all the extenuating factors. From build-outs to branding to brewing, Patrick and other consultants at his level have succeeded in these areas and more, both for themselves and for others.
Imagine the benefit of having someone like that by your side at the helm of your company.
"I'm not just reading stuff in books. I didn't just go to college for it and now apply some sort of abstract theory to what [my clients] are doing in their business," Patrick told me. "I'm actually giving them everything that's in my brain, everything inside of me as a coffee person and all the relationships I have built up as a part of that consultancy. They know that I'm not going to share with them anything I haven't done myself already."
When Should You Hire a Consultant?
While there is no wrong time, there is certainly a better time, and that's back at square one.
"I would say having a consultant at the very beginning is critical," Patrick said. "This can help them navigate other aspects of the business and not make the mistakes that they would otherwise make if they were unable to find answers to the questions that they're looking for. Part of what I'm trying to do for people is help them avoid pitfalls that are very costly."
Tracy Allen, CEO and founder of Brewed Behavior, agrees. A former president of the SCAA, former owner of Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Company, and one of the foremost consultants in the coffee industry today, Tracy told me that a consultant's real mission is simply to move their client away from risk.
Coffee consultant Tracy Allen. Photo courtesy of Brewed Behavior.
"Said another way: The sooner, the better, as experienced consultants will have more opportunity to help you avoid unnecessary challenges, which is a much easier path than addressing obstacles after they are encountered," said Tracy, adding that another advantage to booking a consultant right off the bat is to avoid potential scheduling challenges in a pinch.
"Getting involved early allows time to schedule around the consultant’s other commitments," said Tracy. "Whereas failing to plan ahead and then encountering sometimes emergency challenges makes it difficult, often impossible, for the consultant to break away from the other commitments to help the client through it."
As part of the consultative approach CEPros takes to connecting customers to the equipment and services that are right for them, Davis is increasingly referring customers to consultants he knows and trusts, as they help buyers determine clear answers to the important questions that set the stage for success.
Rick Davis, CEPros, with a customer and his new Toper TKM-SX 10.
"Right out of the gate, when we sell a machine, I say, 'Tell me where it's going. Where is it going to live? What does the room look like? What's the situation?'" said Davis. "We ask those types of questions, and if there's any hesitation or doubt — and most of the time, frankly, there is — we connect them with a technician. When we sell new equipment, it comes with packages. They come with the ability for us to handhold them through the installation, the commissioning, and the training."
Is It Really Worth It?
For business people fixated on the ROI for every penny, hiring a consultant can be a tough choice. It's hard to quantify what might appear to hinge upon a cloud of "what if"s. However, the savings from making good decisions instead of throwing good money after bad can add up fast.
Many consultants will not charge for an initial conversation or even an onsite walk-through if they're local. Once hired, rates will vary and can range around $100-$200 per hour or several thousand or more per week. The relationship can be brief, project-oriented, or long-term, depending on company goals.
To illustrate how a good consultant might prove their worth both in situations of guiding a company's one-time outlay or adjusting longer-term operating costs, Patrick shared some anecdotes.
"I consulted with somebody last year in the process of purchasing a piece of equipment for their operation, and it was a brand I'd never heard of, so I researched it. It was an international company overseas. I found a company that I knew about in the U.S., and the differential on that price point was significant — about $15,000. I steered them in the right direction, got them what they needed at a much cheaper price point, with better equipment," he recounted.
"And then it came down to their commodity purchasing of coffee. They were sourcing it from multiple places, and the cost of doing that was $2 more per pound than they would have if they had gone with somebody that I'd been working with for 20 years. So I steered them towards the folks that I know and do business with myself, and over the course of time, they were able to save $2 a pound on every single bean that they roasted. Steering people in a different direction helps them save money daily in their operation, and that is a specific return on the investment that people find frequently in the work that I do."
A Multitool, Not A Shortcut
In addition to knowledge and experience, the best consultant also brings a substantial network of active relationships and connections.
"Way more than it is about the latest toys, the latest technology, the latest thing that we sell at Expo, it's about who we know and the navigation of those relationships, which is really critical to what all of us do," said Patrick. "I'm still learning. The learning process never finishes for me in this industry, so if I don't know something, I will admit that, and I will find someone who has an answer for somebody."
It's important to recognize that consultants don't do it all. That's what friends are for. A consultant is not a technician, an accountant, or an interior decorator, but they'll know plenty of people who are.
"We stick to what we're good at and have always cared about the product that we deliver," Tracy said. "So for specialized needs, we have a network of specialized people and organizations that we call upon to address those things. And we're very careful in choosing who we recommend because it still contributes to the end product that Brewed Behavior delivers."
This comes back to that ROI concern because gains can come in forms other than financial.
By accessing info and resources quickly, one saves time, and time is, of course, money. However, one might also gain some sleep at night knowing that a trusted person puts them in touch with other reputable, trustworthy partners who can get their business where they want it to go.
"Many people want to focus on the return on investment as money. I would argue that just as valuable is the peace of mind in knowing that a decision I made was a good one," said Maloney.
