Before deciding to 'start' something
1. Unnecessary risks need to be stripped away.
1) I need to slice the size down and first secure a base of fans (100 people) related to it.
2) To secure fans, the tendencies of each user type must be understood
3) and the content they find meaningful has to be prepared
4) Application
(1) Types of users who use cafes
- A place to meet: dates, chatting with friends, study-group discussions
- A place to rest: somewhere cool/warm/comfortable, letting the kids roam, quiet reflection, hanging out, people-watching
- A place for reading and learning: studying in an open space, moderate ambient noise, the gaze of others, appropriate tension
- A place to savor flavor: coffee, drinks, bakery, etc.
- A place for photos: SNS proof shots, shopping-mall content
(2) My keywords
- Accept: study group, reflection, open space, moderate tension, others' gaze, proof shots
- Add: taste, self-development, guaranteed space (single seat), cost support (1,500 won off per refill), hospitality (trolley drip service)
- Homework 1 — concerns
a. How do I pull off single-person seating without making it feel like a study room?
- Not desks — a one-person sofa set (chair, table, lamp, basket), a one-person bar-chair set (chair, bar, lamp, basket)
- Homework: in what kind of building, with what content, for whom, how to promote, estimated cost?
> Weekday members: near home
> Weekend members: parking
b. How much time does a person actually spend in reflection in a day, in a week?
- 1 hour/30 min per day; 2 hours/3 hours per week
c. How much monthly cost can daily cafe-goers tolerate?
- Drinks (2 cups/day, weekdays) 110,000 won
- Goods 50,000 won
- Service ? won
d. What kinds of content or services could I sell apart from products?
- Through content or services, drive online/offline visits every day and every hour
- Content (info, news); services (study groups, networking, campaigns, bundled products)
- Usage > Free: auto-enrolled through mileage points
> Paid: monthly subscription — streaming (music, news..), delivery (breakfast, snacks, newspapers, books..)
e. What carrots could make it feel better than Starbucks?
- Reasons people go to Starbucks: you can sit alone or bring your kids without being judged, you can bring outside food
- Possibility: Starbucks, too, ends up being just another mass-produced product (big franchise)
- Counter-positioning: limited goods 'only the people who know, know'
- Homework: how do you match the taste and standard of people who have real charm?
f. A brand only the insiders know
- Make it easy for insiders to show that they know about it
- The insider should feel a certain pride at being seen in the know.
g. Who needs to be there, where and how would I meet them?
- Targets: content creators, baristas, creators (illustrators, goods makers, writers...)
- Homework: Why would they bother being with me? Money, fame, fun, a vision for the future
h. How do I prepare and sustain content/services that can keep a daily or biweekly reflection going?
- (in advance, secure the fans) card news, mailing lists, op-eds, essays, message design, campaign design
> Homework: where do I start, and how do I write and distribute?
- Social activities: morning club, study groups, sports, urban regeneration, flea markets...
- (limited editions, collaborations, shop-in-shop) a group of creators
- (offline 101) creating-study sessions
i. When, where, with whom, and how much will be needed?
- Homework: location, share of surrounding population, floor area, parking/valet, car wash,
j. How do I shrink this homework to one-tenth and secure a fan base of 100 matched to it?
- Homework: prepare content in advance
- Homework 2 — revenue concept
a. Justifying consumption: value-added products/content/services
b. Smart consumption, an authentic brand → limited goods only insiders know
c. Instead of products → taste-based content/services
d. Inventory sales → share of pre-order purchases
e. How do I turn all of this into a standard, a process, a franchise?
f. How do I deal with the well-funded copycats chasing behind?
2. Priorities
1) Forget strategy and all that — first of all, branding myself has to come before anything else
(1) Share my values, tastes, thoughts, and worries
(2) In the end it's personal branding, being true to myself
(3) How did I do it before?
- Posting photos or writing on Cyworld, then reposting to gather content and recruit members
- But the content barely correlated with anything. It was only usable after opening.
(4) This time?
- The diary (reflections, worries) of a 39-year-old bachelor?
- Introducing and selling pieces from my collection?
- Reading notes
- A bundle of ideas
- Life-hack coding
- vlog.. a log..
> Is there a log format with a bit more authenticity, one that minimizes the effort of performing?
> Easy to record, easy to expose, easy to share, easy to get feedback
> Self-encouragement, motivation
- Whether I run a cafe, write, or make products — who are the people or groups that might pay attention to me?
> Attention, response, feedback (relationship to reaction VS. reaction to relationship) — when you like something, everything about it looks good...
> Shouldn't the relationship come first? — yes.
>> Where and how does the relationship begin? — first, join and take part in external networks?
>>> Which networks?
(5) Previously
- To-do list > record > check
> Habit patterns
> Recommendations, management, suggestions
2) And after that, share the cafe, the space, the service
