7 Reasons Why Engineers Should Run a 'Quiet Coffee Shop'
I started this because I wanted to run a coffee shop that people don't visit.
I'm Tsukishima.
It's been about two years since I started my quiet coffee shop (Tsukishima Coffee).
A while ago, a tweet like this (not my own) went viral, so maybe there is some demand in the world for wanting to run a coffee shop that people don't visit.
Why did I want to run a coffee shop that people don't visit?
Until about three years ago, I was working at a foreign-owned company, but the simple reason was that I wanted to test if I could work as a freelance engineer and I wanted a place to work.
Basically, it was just, I drink coffee while I work, so maybe I'll open a coffee shop.
The benefits of an engineer running a quiet coffee shop.
I've found seven benefits after actually doing it.
You can live a regular life
As a freelance engineer, you tend to sleep and wake up at odd hours or write code late at night, but since you have to wake up in the morning to prepare for opening the coffee shop, you naturally end up living a regular life.
You have to open the shop because a customer might accidentally show up.
You can source delicious coffee cheaply
Coffee, the engineer's best friend, can naturally be sourced at wholesale prices for high-quality beans, so I can drink coffee much cheaper than when I used to work at places like Starbucks looking for Wi-Fi.
Of course, unlike Starbucks, you have to brew it yourself.
You get better at making coffee
If you make a lot every day, you'll get better whether you like it or not. You also end up becoming knowledgeable about things like coffee bean origins.
You can make effective use of your time
For example, if a coffee shop's business hours are 7 hours and you also need 7 hours to complete a program, that's 14 hours by simple calculation, but if you write code during the quiet times at the coffee shop, you can significantly save time.
If no one comes in at all, you can write your program and run the coffee shop in 7 hours, which is possible! (The significance of running a coffee shop...)
You can acquire an easy-to-understand job title
Until now, when I introduced myself by saying, "I'm an engineer who can do algorithm development for signal processing, image processing, control design, etc., and MBD modeling," it was usually not understood, or if I just said something vague to older people like "I work in computers," they would say, "Then fix my computer" (a misunderstanding).
I've always struggled with self-introductions, but now it's solved with "I'm a coffee shop owner." When I want to sound cooler, I can just say "I'm a barista."
You can understand the mechanisms of sole proprietorships, restaurant business permits, and food hygiene
Engineers, including myself, can be ignorant of the world, so you can learn how restaurants operate, knowledge related to food hygiene, and the ins and outs of the restaurant business.
Even without being particularly conscious of it, you end up making a lot of acquaintances in the restaurant industry, and you gain all sorts of knowledge.
You have more opportunities to meet your neighbors
I feel like engineers don't go out or get much sunlight (is that a bias?), so if you live a normal life, you might have zero interaction with neighbors, but you will have more interaction with neighbors who come to drink coffee.
There are a lot of dogs around here, so I've made a lot of dog-owner friends too.
A busy coffee shop is no good.
A coffee shop doesn't make that much money, and if a lot of customers come and it gets busy, it defeats the purpose, so you must never make it busy. However, if there are truly zero customers, that makes me sad, so a coffee shop where a few people and dogs come by a day is best.
So, next time, I think I'll post some know-how on how not to get busy.