We're going live in a few hours for our weekly Q&A call. No slides. No prepared script. Just your questions and my honest answers — based on 6 years of building, running, and exiting one of Vienna's top specialty cafés. The stat that keeps coming up in this community: More than 60% of coffee shops struggle financially in their first years. Not because the coffee was bad. Because the decisions were wrong — and most of them were made before opening day. This call exists so you don't make those decisions blind. Bring your toughest question. The one you've been sitting on. The one that feels too basic or too specific to ask anywhere else. There is no wrong question here. ☕ Drop your question in the comments below and I'll answer it live today. 👉 Join the call here at 20:00 CET See you in a few hours. — Juan

Most people think opening a coffee shop is about location and vibes…but the real game is daily sales vs fixed costs. What do you think matters more for survival: branding or consistency in sales?

"Hey everyone, we are currently in the process of looking for a roasting partner to be our primary supplier, but we’re hitting a major wall: nobody is getting back to us. We’ve reached out to several roasters (both local and national) and it feels like our inquiries are just disappearing into a black hole. We’re serious about a partnership and ready to talk volume, but the lack of communication is making it feel impossible to move forward. • Has anyone else run into this issue when starting out? • Is there a 'secret' to getting a roaster's attention (certain info they need upfront)? • Are we potentially reaching out during a specific 'busy season' we aren't aware of? Would love to hear if this is a common experience or if we need to change our approach. Thanks!"

Hey everyone I noticed many of us here are in the early stages (same as me), so I thought I’d share where I’m at and also learn from you all. So, I’m planning a small specialty coffee shop of aprox. 20-30m² targeting around 60 cups/day. Right now I’m still researching and focusing on: • Equipment selection • Cost structure (coffee, milk, cups, etc.) • Simple menu design Curious, where is everyone else in their journey right now? Are you: 1. Still researching 2. Looking for a location 3. Already testing coffee / equipment 4. Close to opening Would be great to connect with people at a similar stage so we can share what we’re learning

Yesterday we obtained our EIN Number. We’re one step closer to our dream. Today we will be working on our LLC. We have a business plan done, just hope it is good enough for us to get a small business loan. Does anyone have any suggestions?