Chill Business Advice From Josh Russell
I started drinking coffee at the ripe old age of 29 as a way to “legitimately” leave the corporate office I worked in with my pal Speedy. I was not very discerning because… coffee wasn’t the point. But flash forward a number of years and coffee is firmly entrenched as a relaxing start to my day. I’ve tried coffee around the world including at my fave Climpson & Sons in Broadway Market, East London and have definitely become more cultured in my choices.
One of my all time favourite coffee spots in Brisbane was Cup in the Gabba, created by Josh Russell. In a world of cookie-cutter cafes, Cup was original. Based in a huge warehouse with beautiful carpentry, a table tennis table up a mezzanine, and a huge roastery operation out the back, it’s was relaxed and cool. Most places shouldn’t have the back end of their business on show, but at Cup it was ordered and clean and visually interesting at the same time. Which says a lot!
I personally believe that the best businesses are the ones that make the most of the owner’s unique blend of strengths. Josh’s background is a really interesting mix of carpentry, graphic design and coffee roasting and it really showed.
As a regular at Cup, Josh was always friendly and super relaxed, and since I’ve started a new business of my own, I wanted to find out his secret! While he sold Cup, he’s recently created another awesome business, specialty coffee roastery, Sunday’s Coffee Co, and balances that with co-owning one of Brisbane’s most beautiful cafes, King Arthur.
The main thing I wanted to know when we met up was does he ever get stressed?! Josh laughed at that, but didn’t answer (I’ll take that as a no?), but he gave me some really helpful business advice that I’ve passed on to a couple of people already. He said, “It’s always been at the point that I’ve just about given up and been resigned to whatever happens, that all my businesses have taken off.” It makes me feel so much better to hear that from someone who has worked for themselves for a decade. Letting go seems to be the way to let things progress organically.
He is also very clear that his business is not just about the quality of what he creates, but how he goes about it. The business name Sunday’s is a nod to the intended vibe of the company. “If I don’t enjoy what I’m doing and how I’m doing, what is the point?” I really admire his approach because ramping up and being constantly busy with no time for anything personal is not really successful is it?
“Sunday’s doesn’t have a retail element (a cafe) so I can just focus on the roastery which means that I have a lot more control over what I do,” he said. “I roast on Mondays and Tuesdays, do deliveries on Wednesdays and a few hours of admin on Thursdays and Fridays.” He did slightly complain though: “I can’t take a holiday for longer than 7 days because I roast each week…but I do have a three-day weekend.” Hmmm, doesn’t sound horrible!
No matter how well you design it, Josh reminded me there’s always some unavoidable elements the new business owner (me) needs to take care of. “It’s a cliche but when you start out everyone tells you to keep records with money and you think, of course I’ll do that,” he said. “I made that mistake in my first business and learned the hard way with a surprise tax bill. Now I stay on top of the admin.” Eep! Noted!
Thanks again for your great example, great advice and great coffee Josh!