-Jason Coffee: consulting and barista training

[EDIT: I've dropped the "Jason Coffee" name, and am now running under "EspressoTrainer.com" click

I suppose this is my official anouncement that my independent consulting and barista training business is launching fairly shortly.

I am giving a free training session later this week so I can
A: have a local reference
and
B: work out my curriculum for training.

I want to be as thorough as possible, while keeping in mind the fact that there are no absolutes in this industry, as well as keeping the session rather timely.

I have no clue what to charge for this sort of thing. The benefit is that I have no business affiliation with any roaster, so there is no worry about my advice being sales oriented. On the other hand, it also makes it more difficult to gain the trust of local cafe owners who may or may not care as much about quality as I do.

My greatest fear is failure. Not in the competence sense of the word, but in the business sense.

I am so worried about acceptance by local cafe owners, it's crazy. It's not that I want to personally be accepted, so much as I would love to see Lubbock as a whole accept the idea and potential of great coffees. Unfortunately, anytime money is involved, it's an uphill battle. Good coffee is more expensive. Straight up, it is. Even if it's not much per cup (which it really isn't.. $.10 more per cup.. seriously.. not that big of a deal), but people don't usually see it this way. Instead, they see the bigger picture of $30/week EXTRA. And honestly, isn't it worth that, even if it's out of pocket, to ensure the BEST possible quality in your establishment?

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I can think of at least 100 other people who are as crazy as I am if that's the case.

I have a logo, and I'm working on a brochure. I have Rocket Coffee Roasters as a reference, and I'll have Mangia Bevanda as a local reference. I have been quoated in Barista Magazine in the Alternative Brew Methods article (the melitta stand section.. check it out if you haven't already :o). I'm going to join the Barista Guild very shortly. (Nick, if you're reading this, is there any way to expedite the paperwork?)

I'm trying to get in a position to make this as professional an operation as possible. I believe my success in my goal of improving local coffee depends on it. People won't listen to someone who does not appear to know what they are doing, whether that person actually knows or not is irrelevent.

In other news:

I've got my labels made up for selling roasted coffee to friends and family, or anyone else who asks (on the consumer side of things only.. I am in no place to supply a shop, though I have been asked. I simply don't have the capital to make that happen, as much as I would love to. I guess that's not a bad problem to have.).

I've had a bunch of online friends from other communities (mostly car-related) ask if I sold roasted coffee. They started calling anything that was coffee-related and made by my hands "-jason coffee". Hence, the origin of the name. It comes from years ago when I used to sign every post with " -Jason ". The title sort of stuck, and so I've decided to make it my business name.

Any thoughts or suggestions, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I'm all ears. (err.. eyes, I guess)