School-based Enterprise: Your Own Coffee Shop

Kadet Coffee by the Numbers

02

01

1M

135

Added 1 of each this year due to demand

POS Systems and Espresso Machines

For current and future needs

Boba Tea Sealer Machine

For creative problem solving, work based learning experiences and DECA trips

Opportunities

All are trained on Food Safety, Customer Service and Barista Trained

DECA Students

ABOUT US

We have humble beginnings! On day 1 of my first year, our one and only blended broke on the first order. Since then, we have invested in better blenders, more equipment and have brought in $40k in gross sales.

CO

FF

EE

Getting Started

My biggest pieces of advice when starting a school-based enterprise:

• Get your Principal on board with the idea of Work-based Learning.
• If you can, plan your business for a semester or 2 before opening. You *may* need to get bids on build outs, equipment, etc.
• Become BEST FRIENDS with your bookkeeper. Trust me! :-)
• Add researching supplies, recipes, etc. into your lesson plans. If your students are a part of the process, they will be bought in from the start. (DECA has School-based Enterprise lessons on DECA.org)
• Start SMALL and SLOW.

The Beginning

The Great Pivot

Just like all businesses, we had to change things up in 2020. We chose to sell pre-packaged drinks and carefully phased in handcrafted drinks.

Present Day

A Phased Approach to SBE

Example: Planning in Spring for Fall Opening

• January
• Meet with your principal and talk funding.
• Start thinking about product line and doing research on suppliers
• Note: I use Barista Pro, Sam’s Club, Amazon and a local coffee shop for all of my supplies.
• February
• Meet with Bookkeeper to discuss requisitions, p-card usage, district CC policy and deposit training
• March
• Have students conduct Market Research on products your target market wants
• Decide what periods/blocks you will be open and what communication needs to happen with teachers
• April
• Purchase supplies and equipment
• CTE Funds

• May
• Start testing recipes
• Make menu decisions
• August
• Start training for DECA team
• Assign Coffee Shop mentors
• September
• Hold soft opening
• Each Staff member gets to order a free drink so kids can practice
• October
• Open Coffee Shop!
• Adjust equipment/shop as needed
• If you sell a ton of frappes, invest in another blender
• November
• Plan a holiday “limited time only” product
• December
• Execute marketing campaign for holiday drink

Whether you run a Retail or Food Operations SBE, your students have the opportunity to compete at ICDC. The certification manual is rigorous but would be a great challenge for some of your more driven leaders. All requirements are on DECA.org and change each year. The first year, you complete the full certification and the next 4 years, you complete the shorter re-certification process.

#RealTalk

Just this year, I have:

• Held the plumbing into the wall after it completely failed
• My students ran to get duct tape :-)
• Taken apart an espresso machine and fixed it
• Sadly you don’t get to call the custodial staff for espresso machine issues!
• Had Amazon’s software issues crash my credit card machine
• Had the power go out for several hours and had to replace all of my refrigerated products

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BUT! You can’t get these real life skills from watching a video or listening to a lecture! Teaching resilience and adaptability is the greatest gift to give our students.

THANKS

alyssa.johnson@asd20.org

@kadetcoffee

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

Want some ideas or recipes to get started? Email me!

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