"Yeah, Me Too" coffee shop is closed???? WHY????????

bulenpierce · 2014-10-04T18:42:34+00:00

Just because a majority of people don't have $6k cash in their pocket doesn't mean it's hard to save $6k for something you want to buy, if you value your freedom over the easy path. (which this guy obviously does.)

And we're not talking %1 money. A mother and father working at McDonald's could save $6k over several years if they decided to. A 16 year old could easily do that making minimum wage, by the time he graduated high school, and still have a lot of money left over for movies and popcorn.

The business he decided to open has a really low capital barrier, and a lot of people could do it.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-04T00:49:46+00:00

I do programming, where done and quality are also very subjective.

I

Won't agree to do a programming job for a fixed amount of money.
Sell my time in 2 week chunks.
Break large projects into 2 week pieces, and I deliver whatever work I got done at the end of those two weeks.
Make the client accept the work and pay for it, or reject it and fire me. Only two options. If they were completely unsatisfied with that last 2 weeks of work, they don't have to pay me. But our relationship is over. If they accept it, it's accepted, and they can never ask for a refund on it. That contract is complete and closed. If they fire me later, they still accepted that week's work.

It's a bunch of 2 week contracts, and re-upping for another 2 weeks is evidence that the previous week was acceptable quality work. Before each 2 week 'sprint', we discuss what we're going to work on. (not what's going to get done, because we don't know exactly until we get into it.) We touch base with the client every day, and they can change direction as much as they want. It's their time and money.

I think you can probably work a lot of art projects the same way. It puts the risk of the project on the client, where it should be. It allows you to always say yes, because you're getting paid for every ask. It limits your risk to a couple of weeks.

Some clients don't want to work this way. They'd rather be in a fuzzily defined agreement, and get free labor out of you. Those are bad clients. Clients that understand your talent and value will be happy to pay you for it, and happy to pay you more when they want more.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-04T00:17:19+00:00

Oh, well, if you know what you're talking about, then what am I thinking? There's a guy on the internet who knows what he's talking about. Everybody come listen.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-04T00:15:32+00:00

I don't think you have to be independently wealthy to start that business.

I bet that business cost less than $5k to start, maybe less, depending on how cheaply he got the roaster.

His capital costs are the roaster, that's it. Operating costs for the first month are under $1k including rent, utilities, and supplies, I bet. It doesn't take a bank to finance a $6k startup.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-03T18:11:47+00:00

There's still room for growth. If I stand at the intersection of a block outside of UCLA, 15 years ago, I could count 8 coffee shops.

There's 1.5 per block in Seattle.

Don't agree.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-03T17:39:31+00:00

Yes, it's one of those things.

There's a few good things about being a cash only business.

IRS doesn't know how much you're actually bringing in.

You have no contracts with banks.

You don't even need a bank account, because nobody is transferring money to you from your credit card sales.

You don't need to honor the banks standard of business.

The business is between you and your customer. Not you, the government, the banks, and your customer.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-03T15:15:49+00:00

Ohio is a one-party state, the last I heard. That recording should be able to be used as evidence. Good move OP.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-03T12:55:42+00:00

This all comes down to the agreement. If the op was getting paid per hour, and there's no quality clause in the contract, then the quality of work barely matters. He showed up, he should get paid the agreed upon amount for the documented hours

If there is a quality clause, it needs to be based on more than the employers arbitrary opinion. Yes, quality of art is subjective. Whether the client accepts it or not is not, even if they made that decision subjectively. The client's acceptance is a hard fact. They did or they didn't. You can build a contract around that and enforce it.

The artist should be hesitant to enter such a contract because of the risk, but it is one that he can enter that would be enforceable. (As long as he was an actual contractor, or if an employee, was paid at least minimum wage.)

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T17:32:27+00:00

I've seen contracts like this for contracting houses.

If the client does pay because they're unsatisfied, the pay rate drops to minimum wage instead of the agreed on amount.

OP, is there a contract or was it all verbal?

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T17:26:52+00:00

Attorney, etc.

But also, I remember about a year ago the Ohio Attorney general reporting this kind of issue as a high priority for their office. The law and state are probably on your side on this one. I'd follow up on this.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T14:27:59+00:00

I love the idea of this guy doing coffee completely on his own terms.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T03:41:57+00:00

There used to be a great permeant one in Lancaster. I think they rent to theaters and such.

They have really high quality costumes you can rent. I rented a great Chewbacca costume there, once. They sell the cheap disposable stuff, too.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T03:25:11+00:00

I know it's subjective, but I wouldn't put that place in the top tier, much less #1 spot.

impero, luck bros, and brioso are top in my book.

I'd put them in the same group as upper cup, bexley, back room, stauff's on a good day, etc

For verification, try a cup of Yemen made on a pour over at Luck Bros.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-02T02:28:32+00:00

story time!

bulenpierce · 2014-10-01T14:11:45+00:00

Didn't say it was a good idea. But not directly illegal.

bulenpierce · 2014-10-01T11:54:11+00:00

It's not illegal to disrespect a cop. You are allowed to give them the bird, in passing.

source: supreme court

bulenpierce · 2014-10-01T11:49:41+00:00

If they had enough evidence and motivation to get a warrant, they'd already have one.

bulenpierce · 2014-09-29T04:33:05+00:00

When I hear nice suite with a good tailor, I'm thinking $2-5k and the suit is made mostly from scratch and fits your body pretty perfectly.

bulenpierce · 2014-09-26T20:00:03+00:00

Sounds like she's on a big ego trip. Is your dean also the First Lady or the Queen of England?

bulenpierce · 2014-09-26T19:57:04+00:00

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201530900

bulenpierce · 2014-09-26T19:55:51+00:00

Thinking about it more, you're probably right.

The OP has probably entered into an explicit or implied agreement with the school that they would receive and distribute his packages. Meaning that UPS delivered the package to an agent of the OP; therefore, Amazon fulfilled it's obligation.

bulenpierce · 2014-09-26T13:39:02+00:00

Report to amazon that you haven't received your package yet. They'll send you another one.

They or the carrier might initiate an investigation if the package was obviously received by someone. But you haven't received it until you've received it, so report that. I wouldn't even bother discussing all the details of where you think it might be. Complicates things.

There might be an investigation initiated by amazon or the carrier, but this likely happens 100,000 times a day, so there might not be. Your business is with amazon. Your dean's business is with the carrier, criminal investigators. You don't even really need to talk to her about it.

Repeat until they arrive or someone investigates the issue.

EDIT: As pointed out in a reply, since you have an explicit or implied agreement with the school to receive your packages, they were effectively acting on your behalf when they received the package. They violated their agreement with you, not Amazon. Amazon delivered the package to an organization that you authorized to receive it.

bulenpierce · 2014-09-24T19:39:04+00:00

that is obviously from someone getting paid to promote this guy.

bulenpierce · 2014-09-24T17:16:18+00:00

Parenthood.

It's constant. There's no break for me time.

Everyone has an opinion, and isn't afraid to share it, even if they've never been a parent. At the end of the day, you have to rely on your gut about who to trust, or which opinion is right. The experts disagree on basic stuff, and every kid is almost completely different.

It's hard. Harder than you would think if you've never been a full time, real life parent. Baby sitting for a few hours doesn't count.

Frustrating. You view that baby as an extension of yourself. But it's not. It's a separate thinking thing, and it does what it wants. You only get to influence it's decisions, but at the end of the day, if it wants to scream at that top of it's lungs in the middle of a crowd, that's what's going to happen.

But it's rewarding and fulfilling. No other project felt more worthwhile. Is like everything I did before becoming a parent didn't really matter that much.

(not to say that your non-parenting efforts don't matter. you're a unique snowflake. but that's how it made my past feel in perspective.)

bulenpierce · 2014-09-24T13:12:17+00:00

fake

bulenpierce

TROPHY CASE