Tiffani Kocsis, owner of East Dallas Middle Ground and Texas Coffee School Coffepreneur®, is no stranger to the coffee shop world. She says she grew up studying, spending time with friends and finding a second home at coffee shops. So it’s no surprise that after 20 years in education, writing a book, and raising a family, Tiffani set out to create her own vision of what a coffee shop would be.
We asked her a few questions about starting a successful coffee business in East Dallas and for her best tips for aspiring coffee shop owners.
Imagine you set out to run 10 miles but didn’t track your distance along the way. How would you know when you reached your goal? Your intuition, or how out of breath you are? Lacking tangible metrics–like distance, time, and speed–leads you to an easy miscalculation. But when finances and your business are at stake, a miscalculation could be fatal. That’s why you need to track coffee shop KPIs.
Marta Alonzo, Texas Coffee School former student and owner of Sit & Sip with ME, has been working for someone else since 1986. That is, until she opened her own coffee business in 2023 in San Antonio, Texas.
“I’d rather work 100 hours for myself than 40 hours for somebody else,” Marta says.
Marta has always wanted to help others. She’s worked in nonprofits, the health department, and hospitals. But her emphasis has always been on building community.