Something I have seen hinder coffee companies throughout my time in the industry is leaping into debt or a demanding lease agreement before they have really had a chance to develop their business and prove they have a market for what they are selling. Pretty soon, whatever values or apserations they had for their business become subservient to their landlord or debt collector.
PHASE ONE
With this in mind I wanted to start SORTIE small, with resources and tools I could acquire without the help of banks or landlords. This is why SORTIE will start as a cottage industry business. As a cottage business I can start small with less overhead and slowly develop my businesses processes and build a customer base
PHASE TWO
Once the business has established a regular revenue stream and a certain average number of sales we will move the business to a food safe certified space. This will allow the business to sell to businesses and ship national wide and internationally. This move will not, most likely, be a facility build out. Rather, we will move to a kitchen rental facility. This, again, will allow for the business to broaden who it can sell to and how much it can sell without taking on large amounts of debt or a paralyzing lease agreement.
PHASE THREE
Finally, once a consistent revenue stream and average number of sales is established to justify (and pay for) a stand alone roasting facility we will make that move. The goal is to do a lot with as little as possible: "Small but mighty" as two of my roaster role models say it (Luna and Quietly).