Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Barista Built a 7000 Monthly Side Hustle in Coffee Roasting Consulting
Transcript
- Lucas: So there’s this barista in Seattle named Maya. She’s been working at a third-wave coffee shop for about six years, knows her pour-overs, knows her espresso pulls. And a couple of years ago, she started noticing something — the cafe she worked at was paying a roastery nearly eighteen dollars a pound for beans that she knew cost the roastery maybe six or seven to source. Luna: That’s a brutal markup. So she figured there had to be a cheaper way? Lucas: Exactly. And she found it. She taught herself to roast on a five-hundred-dollar used machine in her apartment, and eventually started a side hustle consulting small cafes on how to roast their own beans. Today she’s pulling in about seven thousand dollars a month from that — while still working her barista job part-time. Luna: That’s impressive. And honestly, it’s a perfect example of what we talk about on this show — turning an insider’s knowledge into a service that saves other people money. Lucas: Yeah, and speaking of what makes this show possible — quick honest thing. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through Buy Me a Coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds us making this many episodes. No ads, no sponsors, just people who find the stories useful. Luna: It’s true. And we really appreciate it. Keeps the whole thing independent. Lucas: Alright, back to Maya. So she started by approaching a few local cafes that were spending between two and three thousand dollars a month on roasted beans. She showed them the math: if they bought a roaster for about ten grand and sourced green beans at around four dollars a pound, they’d break even in about six months. After that, they’d save roughly forty percent on their coffee costs. Luna: And that’s just the raw cost. I imagine there’s also the appeal of having a unique roast that sets you apart from other cafes. Lucas: Huge. That’s actually the second selling point she uses. She tells them, ‘You can create a signature blend that no one else has. That’s a marketing asset.’ So her consulting package is about three thousand dollars for a six-week program. She teaches them how to source green beans, how to profile roasts, how to maintain the machine, and how to train their staff. Luna: Three grand for six weeks. How many clients does she take on? Lucas: She does about two to three at a time. That’s where the seven thousand a month comes from. She’s careful not to overbook because she’s still pulling shifts a few days a week — keeps her connected to the barista world. Luna: Smart. So she’s basically doing a kind of vertical disintermediation — cutting out the middleman roastery. That’s a trend we’re seeing in a lot of food and beverage niches. Lucas: Exactly. Same thing happened with craft beer — breweries started doing their own malting. Or bakeries milling their own flour. The economics are compelling when the markup in the middle is that high. Luna: So what’s the biggest challenge for someone trying to replicate Maya’s model? Lucas: The learning curve on roasting is real. She burned a lot of batches in the beginning. She says it took her about three months of daily practice before she could produce a consistent, drinkable roast. And you need a space that’s ventilated — roasting produces smoke and chaff. Luna: But if you’re already a barista, you have a huge head start. You know what good coffee tastes like, you know the language of flavor profiles. Lucas: Right. And you have credibility. When Maya walks into a cafe and says ‘I’ve been pulling shots for six years,’ the owner listens. She’s not some consultant who read a book. She’s been in the trenches. Luna: I love that. So the side hustle isn’t just about the skill of roasting — it’s about leveraging your existing network and reputation. Luna: And that client saved how much? Lucas: About twelve hundred dollars a month after the break-even point. Within a year, they had paid off the roaster and were in the black. That cafe now has a house roast that customers ask for by name. Luna: That’s the kind of win-win that makes this model so powerful. Lucas: And the thing is, it’s not just coffee. The same consulting model could work for a butcher teaching small shops how to break down whole animals, or a baker teaching cafes how to make their own pastries. Anywhere there’s a skill that’s been outsourced, there’s an opportunity to bring it back in-house. Luna: So what’s next for Maya? Is she thinking about quitting her barista job? Lucas: She says she’s not in a hurry. She likes the balance. The consulting pays the bills and lets her save, but the barista job keeps her grounded and connected to the daily reality of cafe life. Plus, she says it’s her best source of new clients — she meets cafe owners and managers every day. Luna: That’s a great point. Your day job can actually feed your side hustle. Lucas: Exactly. So if you’re a barista listening, or anyone in food service with a specialized skill, Maya’s story is a blueprint. Find the pain point — in this case, high coffee costs — and offer a solution that’s grounded in your own experience. Luna: And start small. She didn’t buy a ten thousand dollar roaster right away. She learned on a cheap used machine. Lucas: Right. That’s the key. Low cost to validate the idea. Then scale up as you prove it works. Luna: Alright, that’s all for this episode. If you have a side hustle story you want us to cover, shoot us a note. And if you find these episodes useful, you know where to find the Buy Me a Coffee page. Lucas: Yeah, we’ll put the link in the show notes. Until next time, keep hustling.