Case Study: A Drive-Through with Traction

If you're driving north on Highway 101 through northern California, and you've marveled at the Golden Gate Bridge, tasted the products of the vineyards of Sonoma County (home of E-Myth Worldwide), gazed silently at the ancient redwood trees in the Avenue of the Giants, and spent an afternoon window shopping in the town of Mendocino, you're approaching northern California's northern-most metropolitan area--Humboldt County and the city of Eureka.

You're ready for a cup of coffee. You're in luck! Humboldt boasts more than 5 different coffee roasters and 75 specialty coffee outlets--including a well-known Seattle-based franchise, and not including the Styrofoam-laced gas station variety. Among those 75 outlets is one recently voted "Best Specialty Coffee in the North Coast." That honor belongs to Jitterbean Coffee--this month's E-Myth Mastery Client Profile.

Client: Rick Roberts Business: Jitterbean Coffee Company Primary Locations: 2 in Eureka, California, with a third set to open, a fourth in negotiations, and active plans for further expansion. Personnel: 25 Years in Business: 5 Began Mastery: July, 2001 E-Myth Mastery Coach: Linda Alber

EMW: What were you doing in the "pre-Jitterbean" days--and how did this venture begin, Rick?

RR: I was a youth pastor. I'd worked with teenagers since 1981, and it was time to move on, but I didn't know what I was going to do next. I really needed to make some choices. We went on a vacation up to Washington, and on the way, stopped at a couple drive-throughs. We talked to the owners, and learned some interesting things about their business. On our way home, we stumbled into a coffee conference in Portland, OR. We walked around and took in everything we could. We got home, thought about it, and said: "Let's go for it!" We found a parking lot in a shopping center that welcomed us. We were off and running, and the right pieces have been falling into place ever since.

EMW: You started with one drive-through location 5 years ago.

RR: Right--and we ended up having to move as a result of a development--which included a Starbucks store. Having to move out of there was the best thing that could have happened. We'd just opened up our second location, and were able to relocate our original store so that we then covered both the north and south ends of town on 101. So thanks, Starbucks! Our third and fourth locations will have us covering all four corners of the city.

EMW: Did your work in the E-Myth Mastery Marketing Module influence that plan?

RR: When I got into the Marketing Module, I put a map on the wall, and for the first time really began to look at Eureka, and did a lot of strategizing from that elevated viewpoint. It helped me begin to get a clear strategy of where I wanted to place our shops. It also helped me understand (and find out) who our market really was. We did a 3 x 5 card survey of our customers. We got an amazing 500 responses!

EMW: That's a great response. What did you ask and what did you discover?

RR: We asked age, occupation, sex, and their favorite coffee drink. We also left room for open comments.

EMW: Did you learn anything about what your customers felt distinguished you from the rest of the pack?

RR: Service! From the beginning, we wanted to give people the best quality coffee they could find, but the service was a huge component. That's what got the most spontaneous comments. People said they loved our employees. Loved the atmosphere. The attitude. It confirmed for me that the steps we were taking in customer service really kept people coming back.

EMW: So it was more than just the caffeine?

RR: From the very beginning of this venture, my wife and I knew we wanted to create a spot that would be what we called "a lighthouse." It had to be more than just great coffee. It had to be more than just convenience. We wanted a place where relationships were being built--a few seconds at a time. We've worked, in a systemic way, to create a culture, a philosophy, an attitude of the "Jitterbean Experience." Our employees consider it almost a sport to get a tough customer and turn them around--get them to smile or laugh before they pull away. We train our people to strive for that with every order.

EMW: It sounds at though you were well on your way with this business before you came to E-Myth. What brought you here?

RR: About 6 months after opening our first store, I was reading one of our trade journals, and E-Myth Revisited was highlighted by the editor. I read it, and that book really supported me. I applied what I'd read to what we were doing; trying to systematize. My brother-in-law also read the book, and became a Mastery client. I started watching him apply what he was learning to his 12-year-old business--and he was getting just remarkable results. When our second store opened, I really needed more information. I talked with my wife, and said that if we were going to make this work we needed the upper hand, and I felt that
E-Myth was going to do that for me. I jumped in. I came to Santa Rosa for the Leadership Intensive, and then became a Mastery client. Somebody in our Intensive asked the trainer if anybody had ever failed in this. She said: "No. Not if they apply it."

EMW: So, it's working for you.

RR: It's been fantastic! It's doing exactly what it said it would do. It's a specialized program that applies not only to our business, but it would apply to anything else I ever decided I wanted to get going. I also see that it would be relevant to the people who are working for me, too. I can give them something to get excited about and grow into.

EMW: Rick, of the processes you've been exposed to in E-Myth Mastery, does any one particularly stand out?

RR: I use all of them! Every one of them has had the effect of changing the way I think. The Leadership Module was very powerful. The Marketing module was good to help me understand who my customer is. The Finance module has helped me get things in order. It removed the fear, and gave me a confidence that let me really read and understand the numbers. It's been great in helping me make decisions in the growth of my business. What I'm getting from E-Myth right now is key to what we need in this huge growth spurt. I've always been a visionary, but when I look at what I know now, from this Mastery work, I keep thinking: "Man, I wish I'd known this 10 years ago." This came at a crucial time for us

EMW: Rick, Michael Gerber says that the real result of doing E-Myth should be "More Life." Have you found that to be true for you?

RR: Oh, yeah! It's given us the ability to enjoy life more; to do more than we ever thought possible. We come into contact with more people and positively impact their lives--which is a Primary Aim for us. Financially, it's given us abilities that we'd never had before. It's given us travel. It's given our sons what they need to be successful and achieve. That's very exciting. It has definitely given me more vision, more understanding of what we're really doing, why we're doing it, and where we're going. It's given me more understanding, really, of who I am--and my function in the world.

EMW: You're doing amazing work, Rick, and to have Jitterbean voted "Best in the North Coast" must confirm that for you.

RR: Well, there's a big coffee culture here--so to rise to the top of the coffee food chain in five years speaks volumes to me about the value of deciding how you're going to do things, and following the plan. I'm absolutely convinced that E-Myth has given us the "one-up." We're a step ahead of everybody else.

EMW: Are you having fun?

RR: We're having lots of fun! It has a lot to do with loving people, and being alive in that spirit, and facing every day with optimism, creativity, integrity, humor--and just having fun. If the business doesn't allow and enhance that in my life, it's not worth it.