Starting small, on an island
Everyone told me to open in Iloilo City, where the people are. I opened on the island where my people are. Here's what the first year taught me.
I was 24 when I came home to Jordan with ₱180,000 in savings, four years of barista experience, and no idea how to run a business. What I did know was that the island had plenty of mangoes, plenty of tourists passing through the wharf, and nowhere to sit down for a good cup of coffee.
The boat is your supply chain
On the mainland, if you run out of milk, you walk to the store. Here, milk, cups and coffee beans ride the same pumpboat as everyone else. I learned to buy for the week, not the day, and to keep a notebook of what sells on which days. On bad-weather days the boats slow down, so I always keep three days of stock, no matter how tempting it is to save the cash.
Price for your neighbours first
Tourists will happily pay city prices. My neighbours won't, and they're the ones who come back every single day. So we have two kinds of drinks: the everyday cup at a price a tricycle driver can afford, and the special mango drinks the visitors photograph. The everyday cups keep the lights on. The mango drinks pay for the new grinder.
Hire people who already belong
Our six staff are cousins, classmates and the kid from two houses down. None of them had made coffee before. What they did have was patience with lolas who take ten minutes to order, and that turned out to matter more than latte art. Latte art can be taught in a month.
Plan for the quiet months
Mango season and summer holidays are loud. The rainy months are not. In our first August, we had days with eleven customers. Now we use the quiet months to test new drinks, fix things, and sell bottled cold brew to offices in Iloilo, sent over on the morning boat.
What I'd tell anyone starting on an island
- Start smaller than you think. A table and a good cup beat a big empty room.
- Know your boat schedule better than your menu.
- Make one thing only your island can make. For us, that's mango.
- Post every day, even from a quiet café. People plan trips from their phones.
- Keep a cash cushion for the weather. The sea decides a lot.
A year in, we're not rich. But the chairs are full on Saturdays, six people I love have jobs close to home, and my lola gets her kape for free. For a small island café, that feels like a good start.
Carlos
