Is Opening a Coffee Shop Considered Standard Suicidal Behavior??

Is Opening a Coffee Shop Standard Suicidal Behavior?

While reading articles about coffee today, a topic stating that "opening a coffee shop is standard suicidal behavior" caught this writer's attention.

The content inside was a screenshot of a dialogue box.

The original poster's view was: "Opening a coffee shop is standard suicidal behavior, extremely detrimental to your wallet, emotions, health, and life. Whether part-time or full-time, it will lead to disastrous consequences. If you are sick, you need treatment, not avoidance, not just toughing it out without medicine or a doctor; that is how absurd, casual, and escapist it is." The poster was somewhat agitated in expressing it, but clearly hoped this netizen would think carefully about which problems most need solving right now.

Analyzing the Mental State and Coffee Shop Operation

Let us start by analyzing the mental state of the friend in the dialogue, whom we will call "Q": "Because of work pressure and interpersonal problems at a state-owned enterprise, I suffer from severe depression, which leaves me unable to concentrate, lacking motivation, with poor energy and overall condition, and slowed thinking and action. So I believe I am better suited to repetitive hands-on work like coffee, baking, and light meals."

Running a coffee shop very much requires the owner's own drive and enthusiasm. Although Q likes coffee, they merely enjoy the process of brewing it, because it brings comfort to their emotions and mindset during the brewing itself.

Running a coffee shop, however, is not something you do well on passion alone. It is a business. It may look simple, but in today's world, where coffee shops are everywhere, running one successfully is extremely difficult. What you face is not just making coffee but also decor, rent, utilities, marketing, and raw material costs. These operating costs cannot be carried or confronted from a negative emotional and mental state without self-adjustment, and they will only aggravate your own anxiety.

Loving coffee only sparks the idea of opening a shop, but running a coffee shop takes more than passion; it takes the ability to set appropriate marketing, operations, and management based on the current situation. Although Q mentioned some store operations and new media experience, it is clear Q has not deeply understood store operations and new media applications, only grasping some basic knowledge on the surface. On top of that, with a state-owned enterprise behind them, those store and new media operations already had resources and a customer base, which gave Q the illusion that running a new coffee shop or official account could easily obtain resources and customers.

Analyzing Q's Personality and Communication Challenges

Next, Q's personality: "I have a bad personality, am not likable, and also have a people-pleasing streak. I have tried hard to change but cannot find the right way. I am easily isolated when interacting with people over the long term. The reason is that I cannot convince and manage the seniors in the team I lead, which makes me even more afraid to communicate and coordinate with team members or clients."

From Q's expression, we can see a lack of confidence. It is precisely this personality, combined with a team that will not obey, that leads Q to use certain tones in their expressions to mask that lack of confidence, or to try to force team members to comply through a tough attitude. Of course, this is only an inference from their expression, not necessarily how Q actually is.

From the dialogue, we can also see that Q's leader values them highly, which proves Q's abilities are for the moment stronger than those of the team they lead. The tension between seniors and juniors has always existed in the workplace, but society looks at ability, and whoever is stronger gets ahead. Facing jealousy or disobedience from others is quite normal, but since the leader values Q, it proves Q brings work advantages to the team.

As the saying goes, win people over with virtue. To gain others' recognition, you must do well yourself and lead by example. When the team is unwilling to cooperate at first, stand on an equal footing with team members and do whatever the team does. Once everyone can agree on one thing, then start arranging the next matter and gradually build distance in the scope of work. By understanding and observing everyone's work strengths, assign different responsibilities. A team requires good communication from everyone, discussing together and solving together; you cannot act stubbornly on your own.

The Reality of Coffee Shop Operation

Communication is equally important whether you work for others or open a coffee shop. Whether partnering with others or opening one alone, starting from renting the space is a long communication process. The people you face are no longer those doing the same work as you. Landlords, renovation teams, wholesalers, customers, and more; not everyone you meet outside your team can accommodate a personality you yourself find problematic.

Opening a coffee shop is not as beautiful as the movies make it look. Especially now, the domestic coffee market is developing very rapidly, and coffee shops everywhere struggle daily with the problem of how to attract new customers. On top of that, the virus has not yet been effectively controlled, so there are far too many unknown and irresistible factors.

Using a coffee shop to escape the nine-to-five work life is the wrong direction. As an employee, you can still have at least one rest day a week and private time after work. But opening a coffee shop means 7 days a week, 24 hours a day except for sleep, you are worrying about the shop and constantly calculating one thing after another. Even if it is something you love, the pressure in that situation is no less than working for someone else, and may even be greater.

What Q needs to do right now is let go of the source of pressure and get out of their predicament as soon as possible with the help of medication, rather than opening a coffee shop and entering an infinite loop of anxiety.

The Reality vs. the Dream of Coffee Shop Ownership

Beyond Q, many people from other industries now hope to become baristas through recruitment, learn the skills, and then open a coffee shop to escape their current nine-to-five life. Everyone thinks being a boss beats being an employee. But few consider that entrepreneurship is a process requiring a great deal of mental energy and constant running. Coffee shops are definitely not as peaceful and quiet as they appear on the surface. Every successful coffee shop depends on the owner's love of coffee, recognition of coffee's value, and wholehearted dedication to the shop. No one succeeds by chance; all success comes from a great deal of tears and sweat that others never see.

Is being a coffee shop owner really better than being an employee? Let me quote a netizen's comment: "Opening a coffee shop is just working in a different position. You go from pleasing one boss to pleasing many bosses." That sentence captures the bitterness of entrepreneurs. So there is really no need to choose opening a coffee shop just to escape reality or the nine-to-five routine, because the result will not turn out as you wish.

Image source: Sina Forum, Internet

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