Just over a year ago, Lisa and her partner Ash Baker moved to Whanganui from Upper Hutt, following family on both sides who had already made the move, and looking to get away from the big city buzz. Lisa explains, “We decided that we wanted to come up here, and not be in the hustle and bustle of Wellington. I like it here. I like where we are, and that it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to go anywhere, really.”
They were still exploring career options in their new town when Lisa decided to enrol on the Hospitality, Level 2 training course at Training For You, with a view to gaining barista work in cafés. Graduates of the free 15-week full-time Hospitality programme are awarded the New Zealand Certificate in Hospitality (Customer Service and Sales Support), Level 2. Within the first few weeks of her training, the couple started to consider the possibility that they could set up a coffee cart together and work for themselves.
“We did a lot of background research first, and we did it all ourselves. While I was training, Ash was doing all the investigating – finding out who to talk to, sorting a permit, working with the council. He looked into the trailers, the coffee machines. He was doing the background while I was learning how to do the coffee. We had to do a lot of investigating and planning to make it work.”
Lisa was supported by Training For You Tutor, Bex Carr, with advice during the planning stage, “I would run ideas past her, and she’d let me know if it was a good idea. And sometimes she’d bring ideas to me.”
Lisa and Ash identified an opportunity in their local community, “We noticed that in Aramoho especially, there was nowhere for coffee except for Caroline’s Boatshed which opens at ten o’clock in the morning.” The pair have secured a site at the Aramoho Shopping Centre and their business Joker Coffee began trading last month, but not before a few challenges popped up, “We had quite a few issues with getting started. We got sockets put in, and then our plugs were wrong. It was just small things - the wrong pipes et cetera. It was quite deflating at times, but we knew that we just had to keep pushing through.” Ash concurs, “It was one setback after the other, for about three weeks – plumbing, electrical.” Lisa continues, “We got a generator – the generator was wrong. We just had to push through. We’re glad that we did now, because we’re just having so much fun. And the people here have been so nice. People just stop and chat with us, which is really nice.”
Overall, the community have been very receptive, “The Aramoho people have been nothing but positive towards us, and it has been so lovely. We’ve already got some regulars that are coming every day to see us and get their coffee. I think we’re heading in the right direction with our customer base.”
Lisa gained the essential skills needed while working as a student trainee in the on-campus café at Training For You, “I couldn’t have done this without doing the course, because I didn’t know about how coffees are prepared. You see them doing it in cafes, but you don’t know what goes into it.” Lisa even keeps guides and references from her studies close to hand, “I’ve got my Training For You book in here. I’ve got all my work with me, just in case someone tries to trip me up with some fancy coffee!” The cafe training experience has also helped her cope with the busy nature of coffee service, “We had a day here the other day when we had to make seven coffees at once. We’ve had very busy times throughout the day, but we just work together to do it well, and it’s fine.” She is now confident enough to pass on her knowledge to partner Ash. He says, “I had never made a coffee before, but Lisa started teaching me after she learned. I can make just about any coffee now.”
Already they’ve been offered spots at events, and in time will take them on, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their regular service at the Aramoho site. Lisa says, “We don’t want to upset the people of Aramoho.” Ash agrees, “We want to keep our regulars happy, so they keep coming back.”
They are indeed listening to customer feedback and responding to demand. They’ve upgraded their large size servings to even bigger cups – named affectionately by Ash as ‘The Beast’. And when Ash made a sweet deal for a young customer who had fallen off his scooter on a frosty cold morning, it led to the creation of an early morning ‘winter warmer’ special for school children – large hot chocolates for just $2.50.
The name Joker Coffee is a fitting and clever amalgam of both of their last names – Jones and Baker. Ash explains, “We joke around all the time, so it actually works really well. We’re here to have a laugh. We’re here to have fun. We want to make people happy, that’s all we’re worried about. Coffee makes people happy. Jaffas and chocolate fish make people happy, and hopefully our service does too.”
The couple are thoroughly enjoying the new venture. Ash observes, “We’re just having a lot of fun, it’s awesome.” Lisa reflects, “And of course, I couldn’t have done it without doing the course at Training For You.”
