Blogging For Coffee - Part 3: The Coffee Consultants Go Live

Here's the third and final part of Chris' excellent summary of the birth of The Coffee Consultants:

The Coffee Consultants may sound like an eccentric, even confusing, choice but consider this:

- Coffee is the legal stimulant of choice at work, at home, on the road.

- It is a completely classless drink, appropriate for an almost limitless range of occasions, and – unlike alcohol – devoid of any nuances or obligations beyond “Let’s talk”.

- Some great inventions have been triggered by coffee. The Lloyds Insurance Exchange began in a 17^th century London coffee-house.

The Lloyds example was particularly instructive: merchants meeting away from their offices, discussing the risks of trading with the New World and the Indies without the usual constraints of a professional appointment.

Without its cost, too.

Taking the example on board, we determined that the first contact of prospect with partners would be the antithesis of all the false perceptions and phobias about consultants. It would be on neutral ground, where there would be no feeling of obligation, and after work, so that there was no interference with business. Cups of coffee (or tea if they insisted) would keep the meeting informal – but above all, it would be FREE.

The point that no meter would start ticking until the prospect had met the partners, tested their mettle and received constructive advice for his or her business is central to the concept. So too is the holding of the first, crucial meeting in a relaxed, informal atmosphere, away from the phones and pressures of an office.

Our instinct was to find a locally owned and run coffee-house that was central to the Mid-Somerset area. We found one that was right in every respect except that it closed at 5.30. Starbucks, the default choice, not only stayed open much longer; it turned out to have a policy of support for initiatives that help local business, and welcomed The Coffee Consultants concept with open arms.

We have our own section at the back of the shop, with arm-chairs, a coffee table (natch) and a sign visible from the entrance saying “The Coffee Consultants, every Tuesday, from 5pm”. There is a roster on the website which shows who will be there – and there is always a partner from each side of the consultancy – broadly, marketing and financial – to ensure we can answer as wide a range of questions as possible.

Sometimes the question asked begs a dozen others; sometimes it is so complex or multi-faceted there is insufficient time. If so, the prospect is offered an additional two hours of consulting with the most appropriate partner(s) for a flat fee of £100.

Again, if more time is needed and wanted, The Coffee Consultants put together a fully costed proposal setting out objectives, structures, MO and accountability. This is a team that has sat in the chair, faced the challenges, overcome the disappointments, bought and sold businesses and motivated themselves (and their customers) anew.

To convey some idea of the band-width of appeal, The Coffee Consultants are currently working with a wedding dress designer and manufacturer, a pub, restaurant and hostel business and a photographic retailer making the transition to a fully digitised future.

You could say that they have nothing in common, and on the face of it you would be right. But all are businesses determined to embrace change as a function of growth and all recognise the sense of delegating essentials they do poorly – or not at all – to concentrate on what they do best.

We are here to provide that essential boost to business development, across a range of disciplines rarely found in one place and almost never for free.