Starting a Bricks and Mortar Business is still risky in 2018, but if it's a Coffee Shop then you really have no choice, but to plant your flag in the ground.

And as far as businesses go, starting a coffee shop is a great small business to own. The markup on a cup of coffee is generous and the shop can usually function with just a couple of people, so it's a perfect way to cut your teeth in the business world.

The downside is you need the foot traffic to support the business as coffee shops are plentiful and it's actually hard to get loyal customers from neighbouring coffee shops to make the switch.

However, if you're opening up a Vegan Coffee Shop in a low socioeconomic area you're probably going to need another way to finance the business, because the foot traffic will likely be worthless from the outset.

And despite the adversity, I recently discovered such a business, about to take the plunge in 2018. 

Yes, there is a new Vegan Coffee Shop opening up not far from where I live and it's got me thinking about how a small business like that could incorporate Steemit as a way to supplement their daily income and also be used as a marketing tool to promote the business.

Using Steemit to Supplement a Bricks and Mortar Startup

When starting a business from scratch, the biggest hurdle you'll face is finding new customers in your area. And until they discover you, you'll have plenty of free time on your hands and will more than likely be burning through money quickly.

But what if you found a way to use that extra time to supplement your income?

Building an Audience on Steemit

One of the best ways to build an audience on Steemit is to write about something people might be interested in or write about a cause they might support.

In this example the owners could use Steemit to write about the journey of starting a Vegan Coffee Shop in 2018. I'm sure they'll find an audience interested in their journey and there are plenty of vegans on Steemit that might support their cause.

It could quite easily be a daily blog or even a vlog if they were happy to spend a little time in front of the camera and with a little persistence they could easily build a small following on Steemit.

And a story format would work best as it'll keep them coming back daily.

Financially Supplementing a Brick and Mortar Business with Steemit

Now once you have an audience on Steemit, making money becomes a lot easier because you can expect some regular upvotes from your followers, which ultimately translates into a financial reward via Steem Backed Dollars (SBD) and Steem Power (SP).

And right now (Jan 2018) even as little as $30 earned on a Steemit post could translate into $100 AUD once you take out the curators fees and make the conversion on an exchange or site like Blocktrades.us.

That's right, while you're waiting for those customers to start rolling through the doors, you can use your spare time wisely by writing on Steemit and making a few dollars along the way.

And having a few hundred dollars in your pocket each week might help you to pay the bills while you get established.

You could even curate a few posts and make a few comments while you have customers in the shop, which could also help your bottom line.

But that's not the only opportunity you have.

Attract New Customers by Accepting Steem

Once you become familiar with Steem and cryptocurrencies, in general, you might consider taking Steem as a form of payment within your cafe.

This could help attract new customers who are just waiting for a reason to spend their hard earned Steem. Afterall, what's the point of having a digital currency if you don't use it as a currency.

And as I mentioned before, just in Australia alone we have a number of Steemian's who are strictly Vegans and others like myself who would try the vegan experience, just to support a business accepting Steem.

The income could be reported just like any other business transactions, even if you just converted the Steem to fiat yourself.

But why stop there...

Onboarding New Steemians

In cafe's around Australia it's common to see people working on their laptops while sipping coffee because a cafe can act as a meeting place or simply a place get away from distractions.

And if you're the only Vegan Cafe around who take Steem then it's likely you find a few Steemians sitting and writing and posts on Steemit. And maybe they'll become you followers too.

But to further supplement your income you could run small workshops teaching people the Steemit ropes, and on-boarding them.

All the while building up your customer base in the process.

And that local foot traffic that initially passed you by because of their low socioeconomic status suddenly become interested in your shop due to the opportunity you've shared in your front window about making money with the Steemit platform.

An IDEA is just a thought until you Take Action

So what's it gonna take to convince the owners of this or any Bricks and Mortar Startup that this is a great plan?

Well first I'll need to communicate the idea, and introduce Steemit to them one on one. This might require a little hand-holding at first, but then we can begin to follow the master plan step-by-step.

But so far I've only taken the first step and said 'Hi'. 

And this is when I found out the 'One for The Crow - Plant Based Cafe Nursery' was indeed a Vegan Cafe. And one of the owners felt the need to mention they'll also have "regular milk too" as if to say everyone is welcome.

I also, suggested I'll pop on by when they open the doors in mid-Feb 2018, but being a handyman of sorts I might even see if they want a hand next time I'm passing by because this totally looks like a bootstrapped startup.

So wish me luck and maybe we'll have a new Steemit On-boarding Vegan Cafe who accept Steem right here in Melbourne, Australia.

And for those who just enjoy finding new Vegan Cafe's to try here's their street address:

One for The Crow
9 Commercial St
Maidstone Victoria
Australia

But regardless if they discover Steemit and accept Steem or not, I wish them all the best for the future, because the world needs more people willing to follow their dreams and double down on their passions.