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Coffeehouse Owner

Culinary: Koffee on Audubon, New Haven, CT
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Do you want to be a Coffehouse Owner?

Is your life all about the cup and not about the coffee?

There’s an old story about a group of alumni, well established in their careers, who got together at a lecturer’s home. Conversation turned to complaints about work and life and stress. The host offered a pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – some plain and some fancy - and told guests to help themselves. Once everyone had a cup in hand, the lecturer observed: “All the nicer cups have been taken, leaving behind the basic ones. It’s human nature to want the best, but it’s also a source of problems and stress. What you really wanted was the coffee, not the cup. But consciously you went for the best cups, while eyeing each other’s cups. Life is like the coffee. Everything else – the jobs, the money and position in society – are the cups. If we focus only on the cups, we fail to enjoy the coffee.”

So…are you ready to enjoy the coffee? Come start things brewing with our VocationVacations Coffee House Owner experience and Duncan Goodall of Koffee on Audubon in New Haven, CT!

Growing up in rural Oregon, Goodall never guessed his life ahead as an entrepreneur. In high school he sold gum by the case out of his locker. He was a campus DJ and baseball hat distributor during college at Yale in New Haven,. But it didn’t occur to Duncan - until later - those ventures meant something more than just a way to make money.

“The signs were there, but I basically ignored them,” explains Duncan. “I’d long since put myself on a track to become “Big Important Corporate Guy”. It was a path from high school that I set and disciplined myself to achieve.”

Yet all the while, these other ideas began percolating and brewing…

After graduating from Yale in 1995 with a degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Duncan spent seven years at a consumer market research company. As a business consultant specializing in new product introductions, he moved from Connecticut to New Jersey and then traveled to open a Latin American office and lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sitting at his desk in Argentina, Goodall realized he was just not happy. “I had achieved everything I set out to do after graduation from college. At age 29, I was living abroad, helping start a foreign division of a major company, and doing very well for myself. Yet it was gently…killing me.” In 2001, Duncan and his wife Melissa (an environmentalist) moved back to Connecticut. Determined to start a business, he spent time at a favorite Yale coffee house to mull over his options. “I looked around and realized I really loved the place,” Goodall remembers. “So I talked to the owner and later cut a deal to buy it.”

Koffee opened in 2002. While the shop (by Duncan’s description: “a quirky, bohemian, comfortable place”) was a popular student hangout in the arts district, it was losing money and needed repairs. Duncan installed new equipment, revamped the menu and drink selections and focused on catering. Revenue went up 40% in the first six months.

Looking back, Duncan shakes his head. “It was scary as hell!”. With a new baby and his wife off work, he had to re-evaluate his life. “One thing that struck me was how much I had defined myself by my job. I had to get over the “I was a big corporate player but now I’m just sloshing coffee’ mentality.”

He came to a startling realization. “Money and power do not equate happiness and success.” Duncan earnestly explains, “I’ve learned to cut out all the unnecessary things and get to the core of what is important. Now I get to hang out with my wife, play with my daughter, go mountain biking or for a run, and be with my friends. I orient my life more around my more natural inclinations, like rising early.”

Koffee partners with the community, helping charity organizations and sponsoring struggling artists. Duncan also provides environmentally-friendly materials and containers at his shops where possible. Koffee won several recent New Haven Advocate awards (Best Place for Wireless Internet, 2nd place for Best Coffee House) and Duncan was New Haven’s “2004 Downtowner of the Year” and also profiled in 2005 as a Connecticut Business News Journal’s “Rising Star”.

And the coffee? Just ask Duncan. It’s good, no question.

Here's what recent Vocationers had to say about their VocationVacation:

“The entire Vocation Vacation was great. I learned a lot from my mentor who was knowledgeable and shared helpful information from his own experience. The VocationVacation both strengthened my desire and made it seem more doable. Some gray areas were clarified. I feel more prepared and confident.”
Sabrina, Brooklyn, NY

“I just couldn’t believe I could learn so much in two days. Duncan helped me progress from a scattered mind to a more organized mind when it comes to starting my own café business. A VocationVacation is a valuable and rich experience and the best 'vacation' I have ever taken."
Olivia Geng, Pasadena, CA

“My time spent with Duncan confirmed for me that I truly want to do this.  Even if I would win the lottery, I would still want to do this. My desire to own and operate a coffeehouse has increased dramatically.  I am talking with a broker on a coffeehouse that’s up for sale, and I just bought my first piece of equipment – a huge, high-end espresso machine!”
Dana Beatty, Dallas, TX

During your VocationVacations® dream job holiday, Duncan Goodall of Koffee on Audubon will lead you through some or all of the following Coffee House Owner-related activities:
  • Understand the market, understand the consumer, then creating the shop and product for that market.
  • To buy a pre-existing coffeehouse or to start a new one – that is the question!
  • Gain an understanding into how to select a good coffeehouse location.
  • Buying or leasing equipment – the ins and outs. Navigating the maze of suppliers and products.
  • Negotiating leases – the do’s and don’t’s. (Another title: evil landlords)
  • Building the coffeehouse from scratch.
  • Suppliers – finding and managing them.
  • Promoting the business – how to effectively promote your business without breaking the bank.
  • Learn about the business infrastructure needed for a successful coffeehouse
  • Developing guidelines for hiring, managing and firing employees. How do you find and cultivate good managers?
  • Bookkeeping basics
  • Coffee, coffee, coffee….how to make a good cup and ensure all employees do the same.
Your Coffee House Owner VocationVacations® dream job holiday includes:
  • Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job as a Coffee House Owner
  • The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post-VocationVacation career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
  • A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job becoming a reality
  • Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on mentor's availability

Price: $849 Per Person

Book This Career Mentorship



Suggested Accommodations

Fairfield Inn by Marriott

Omni Hotel at Yale
(Not included in the price of your VocationVacations® dream job holiday)

Other activities and tourist destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:

Full payment of the VocationVacations dream job holiday is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacations adventure cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. In the US, Grounded Nomads, LLC and VocationVacations holidays encourage all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling. In the UK, Grounded Nomads, Ltd and VocationVacations holidays must require all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling and provide verification of such travel insurance to Grounded Nomads, Ltd.