LivePlan customer, Brian Sung, loves his daily cup of joe more than your average Joe. And in his case, mixing business with pleasure has worked out very well.
Tailored Coffee Roasters, which Brian opened in Eugene, Oregon in April, is a coffee roasting business that focuses on taking the best beans and giving them a Scandinavian-style treatment that brings out their light, flavorful notes. “I want to serve people what I like to drink: sweet, juicy, high-quality coffee,” he says.
This busy entrepreneur was already running Brails Espresso, a spin-off from popular Eugene restaurant Brails, when he decided to opened Tailored. He was grateful he chose LivePlan to help him put together a business plan for his new venture because the software made it so quick and easy. “Trying to open a new business is very time-consuming, and since I was running another business while I was trying to set up Tailored, I didn't have a lot of time.”
While Brian didn't discover coffee until later in life, he got an early introduction to the food service industry. His family owns Brails, an American-style diner in Eugene's uptown district that's been a popular breakfast and lunch eatery since the 1940s. Brian worked in the restaurant while he attended the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business and ended up quitting during his junior year to take on a management position.
Brian started roasting his own beans in his spare time and quickly realized it could be more than just a hobby.
Customers seeking a place to recover from a rough night (Brails was given the title “Best Hangover Breakfast” by a local newspaper several years in a row) and the best hash browns in town frequently requested lattes and other espresso drinks, something the ‘50s-style diner wasn't equipped to provide. Rather than just buying an espresso machine, Brian and his mom decided to open a full-on espresso shop in their parking lot. That way they could serve their sit-down customers as well as people who just wanted a quick cuppa. Brails Espresso opened in February 2012.
The experience got Brian interested in coffee, to the point where he now describes himself as a coffee connoisseur/geek. He started roasting his own beans in his spare time and quickly realized it could be more than just a hobby. “The bottom line is that your business does a lot better when you roast your own coffee,” he says.