presenting The JavaU Training Center

The View

As Coffeetalk’s founder and publisher for over 20-years, I am both proud and excited to announce the launch of a new monthly Webinar education and training series via our JavaU Training Center! Beginning in May 2017, CoffeeTalk will produce four complimentary Webinars each month covering the hottest topics in the specialty coffee industry from its editorial calendar and featured columns in the general areas of Current Trends, Products, Technology and Operations.

What was NOT included in our media announcement is some of the background on how the JavaU Training Center came to fruition. I thought my column here would be a great platform to share the story! Back in the early 90’s…before I founded CoffeeTalk Magazine…I developed a product called JavaU Business Basics. At the time, there was this huge specialty coffee craze. Starbucks, SBC and Tulley’s were all vying for major market share while tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs were trying to get in mix by opening a drive through specialty coffee stand, or street corner cart. Before I even got involved too deeply in the industry, I realized there was a huge opportunity for these smaller vendors but that they had ZERO resources on how to start and run as small business! While Specialty Coffee was the trend and the product, what theses early adopters were doing was…opening a small business!

JavaU Business Basics had sample business plans, proformas, information on inventory management, site location, customer service, employee management, taxation issues and many other important aspects of running a business, regardless of the product sold. However, the information was all custom tailored to the specialty coffee industry and was a step-by-step “how to guide” on starting and running a specialty coffee stand.

JavaU Business Basics was so timely that it was contacted by the same “Infomercial” team that managed George Forman’s “Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine!” The infomercial for JavaU Business Basics tested well, but had a short run. However, through my marketing and development of that project, I fell in love with the Specialty Coffee Industry. So much so that I felt the industry needed a new voice…one that looked out for the small-business…one that looked out for the entrepreneurs.

As the last 20-years has gone by, I felt an urge to go back to the beginning…back to JavaU Business Basics. However, much has changed since then. Technology has continued to develop and we have new tools to teach, educate and train. The JavaU Training Center will launch with a series of educational and training Webinars produced by some of the industry’s smartest and brilliant minds. What a great treasure trove of Subject Matter Experts (SME) and industry thought leaders we have that already contribute to our magazine! The next obvious step is to take them from the 2-dimensional print world to the 3-dimensional, online interactive world of Specialty Coffee!  We start with our first four topics in May 2017, but by this time next year, we’ll have a library archive of over 48 best-practice Webinars for our audience to feast on.

So, it comes full circle. I launched my career in Specialty Coffee publishing an education and training guide for the small-to-mid sized coffee entrepreneur. Twenty years later, we get to continue, build and grow that legacy using best-of-breed technology and world class content providers.

It’s a proud day for sure. One that has both myself and my staff re-energized to deliver the information our customers need to become more efficient, empowered and profitable!

Contact me directly if you would like to be part of this new project. We are looking for sponsors and Subject Matter Experts for our ongoing monthly Webinar series!
kerri@coffeetalk.com | 206.795.4471