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posted on: 9/3/2006
revised: 3/9/2010
It seems that many writers find themselves
to be more
productive outside of their home and a traditional office.
That is certainly true for me. I like to "change scenery"
every few hours. I spend a lot of time in coffee shops.
I am clearly most productive in this environment and even if I
cannot explain it, that's why I do it. I developed this habit
long before Internet Cafes and before it was a "hip" thing to do.
I might have spent a few thousand hours in a total of at least 50 of
these spots across the U.S. by now. I instinctively seek out
the most potentially productive shop whenever I visit a new
location. Over time, I developed skills in knowing who to
order from, where to sit, to get the most from my experience.
It comes instinctively by now. I remember dropping into one
spot in Hollywood very early on a Saturday morning where a movie
producer (at least his card and attitude indicated he was) insisted
that he had seen me working there before. He asked if I was
working on a script; I was embarrassed to confess that my work that
morning was only a
commentary on the latest tax law.
When my nine year old step-son suddenly declared that
he wanted to make a career out of rating pizza shops, it struck
me as a reasonable idea, bringing back a flash of that opening scene
in the movie "Mystic Pizza". In fact, we bought him a notebook
to keep in the car to record his reactions to our weekly pizza
excursions. Then it occurred to me that I knew a thing or two
about coffee shops, at least from a customer's point of view.
I do not know anything about management of such businesses, although
it would be easy to presume so.
The prompt for writing this piece now is
that many of the best shops seem to be fading. Even more
significant, my memories of these magical experiences are beginning to
fade. I suspect that had I lived in New York City after the
turbulent 60s decade settled down,
I would be writing this same piece for the same reason, but perhaps
with more romantic idealism of the time. Yes, I still believe that these
three dimensional spots bounded by place, time and attendance have a
magical creative power.
These are a few observations in no
particular order.
Character - If a coffee shop
wants to have character, it has to have "characters". These people
stand out from the other customers are not necessarily typical of
other customers. In fact they can be quite annoying to
management and the other customers. But the set the tone;
expand the boundaries; redefine what is possible in the space.
Most people simply do not recognize that those exceptional and
non-traditional people open up the space for creativity and growth
in any environment. One I will never forget is Jim, the
retired Atlantic City policeman who turned professional singer and
was working on a movie script for as long as I knew him. That was
eight years ago. I
suspect he is still working on that script in the coffee shop; at least I hope so.
Resort towns - Many of the coffee
shops I visit are in tourist towns. The atmosphere changes with the seasons.
I befriended a famous writer at a coffee shop in Ocean City, New
Jersey around 2001. In fact, the place was loaded with creative
people in the off-season. Once school let out in 2002, the whole
town became over-run cell phone chatting SUV driving, over-stressed
visitors. They
just annoyed me so I avoided the daily walk to the coffee shop and just stayed home
instead. Later I learned that the
others did the same, but we never talked about it with any honesty.
I used to use his name freely but now I feel that I am unfairly
"dropping names" so I stopped doing it. Besides, he is
"retired" now (as if a writer ever retires) and deserves more
personal privacy. Few people realize that resort towns in
the off-season are heavily populated by divorced men and artists - both generally miserable but they do have their inspired
moments.
Tips - Coffee shop employees
should work for tips. It just works better that way. A
place without a tip jar arouses suspicion. Unusually creative
or aggressive messages on the tip jar mean that there's a story to
be learned later. A "regular" can be worth about $500 a
year in tips to a coffee shop. Not bad for an organization that
knows how to make the best of it.
The music link - Coffee shops
have a special relationship with the music of our culture. Most people
in the music field already
know this. Yet the primary advantage to me of a coffee shop that
host music events is that
these shops stay open for longer hours and no one looks at me oddly if
I stay there working into a Friday evening. It doesn't seem so much
that I don't have a more impressive social life, but rather that I
must appreciate the music.
Of course I do appreciate the music and am a big supporter of live
local performers in -
but that is a different story. For a writer, the
music simply provides a "cover" for being there and possibly more
characters.
Scenery - Many coffee shops are
located on a busy downtown street with big windows and lots to see. But that is not what I am talking about. My friends
know that when I use the word "scenery", I am talking about women.
I admit that I love love seeing the women who visit coffee shops. Clearly I am not alone.
I hope I don't gawk; maybe I do sometimes, but I really try to be
discrete. Anyway there seems to be a link between "scenery"
and productivity for me. I can not explain it but I write better
when inspired by nice scenery. A constant
parade of attractive female customers is not a bad idea for any
business, but it is clearly a God-send for a coffee shop. One
coffee shop shares a common entrance with a large beauty parlor. I
never cease to be amazed at the beauty God placed on this earth. I notice that it
is as if a
creative inspiration is gained from each glimpse of a beautiful
woman who passes through.
Lending Library - many coffee
shops have a book shelf that encourages browsing, lending and
contributions. The problem is simply that most people just do
not read. The books are dust collectors. A library of
artsy classic movies on old VHS tapes is much more effective in a
coffee shop. A shop where customers actually discuss these
movies is a special treat.
Pricing - Recently
my friend Luke closed his coffee shop. The last conversation we had
was about the financial stress he felt but that he afraid to raise
prices in a recession. The stress likely added to the many other
frustrations of running a business so that financial stress was
probably not the only reason for his decision. Small business
advisers know that this is a very common fear among owners.
Mathematically it always always makes sense for a small business
with a high quality product to raise prices. Yet owners do not
believe this and few are brave enough to make bold price increases.
This does not change the fact that a coffee shop must charge enough
to stay in business. This means fewer customers, more comments about
high prices, but most important, it means that the shop will be
there the next time I visit. I will miss Luke's place in Millville.
Coffee - It is amazing to me how
many coffee shops have mediocre coffee. This reminds me a
conversation I had with a friend who owned several McDonald's
franchise stores. I asked "Don't they know how bad their
coffee actually is?". He explained that corporate research
indicated that customers actually preferred their coffee. I did not believe
it. A year and a half later the McDonald's company changed coffee brands.
It took this major corporation a year and a half to make the
change! If a coffee shop does not have the
best coffee in town, change it immediately. This is not
rocket science.
keywords: coffee shops,
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Copyright 2010 by Tony Novak. Originally produced and published for the "AskTony" column syndication prior to 2007. Edited and independently republished by the author in March 2010. All rights reserved. |
