coffee business strategies

There was something oddly familiar about a certain Los Angeles Times this morning. Am I crazy or did they lift this from my website?

The LA Times article says:

Ah, the romance of owning your own coffeehouse: the gently steaming cups of fragrant cappuccino, the intellectual chitchat with your regulars, the freedom of being your own boss.

Try getting up at 5 a.m. to drive an hour round trip — without the benefit of caffeine — to pick up pastries for your shop. Staying on your feet as long as 17 hours a day. Training green employees to deliver consistent quality. Scrubbing floors. Replacing employees. Battling Starbucks.

Now, from my article “12 Fundamentals of Coffee Business Success” written in (and Copyright) 2006:

Owning your own coffee business has mass appeal. Picture yourself as the proprietor of a successful coffee shop and just think of the many positive attributes that you associate with that image: freedom to make your own decisions, financial independence, respect from the local community, your family and staff, and the satisfaction of providing a sought-after product to your customers in a social environment that brings people together, just to name a few. Just smell that fresh coffee brewing! What could be better?

Let’s add a shot of reality to that idealized image for a more grounded perspective: picture working 14-hour days, 6 or 7 days a week, smell the unrelenting pungent scent of stale coffee on your clothing and in your hair, feel that painful steam wand burn on your index finger, see yourself driving to your shop at 5:30 am on a dark and cold Saturday morning when an employee calls in sick (again), imagine yourself pacifying the argumentative customer that insists a traditional Italian macchiato includes caramel, “like Starbucks does.” Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?

I suppose that’s what you get when your website is #1 on Google for the phrase “starting a coffee shop.”

Despite the alleged plagiarism, the story covered is a positive one. Next time, a credit would be nice.