(upbeat electronic music)
- [Liz] The Office Coffee Shop is a business hub
where everyone can meet, work and be social
over some Michigan roasted coffee.
Like a moth to flames, professionals flock to the corner
of Lafayette and Fourth in downtown Royal Oak.
- [Peter] Following in their footsteps,
we decided to take a closer look ourselves.
- [Liz] After ordering a couple drinks of our own,
Peter and I sat down with owner Mike Kieth
to hear about how he and his wife Brooke took the leap
into small business ownership.
- So Michael, how did this whole idea
of blending baristas and rentable office space,
how did that all come about?
- So I traveled a lot in my previous career
in the engineering services.
I started actually working from home
when I was traveling a lot,
and I found out working from home is great
for a day, maybe five days,
but do it 30 days in a row and it just becomes boring.
You don't have any networking.
You don't have any interaction.
So I started working at the Starbucks every day.
So that was really where the idea started to stem from
that you can have the energy of other people
and the coffee and that atmosphere
to really be productive and get some work done.
- So Mike, I know you have a couple business partners.
Would you mind telling us a little bit
about how you came together
and what the nexus of this space really was?
- Yeah, so my wife and I and Courtney are the owners.
Courtney's actually one of the individuals
that was working at the local Starbucks that I worked at
on a regular basis, so I.
- She worked there?
- She worked there.
She was the barista there.
- She's like get me out.
- I asked her, I'm like hey, as I'm getting my coffee,
you know, would you like to start a company?
And she probably thought I was crazy.
You know, she did.
So that's how Courtney got incorporated into the business.
- Very cool.
- My wife's main focal point at the time
was to drive the philanthropy effort,
you know, find the charities, source 'em,
collaborate with 'em and do all of those fun things.
And now she's into a little bit more of the boring,
you know, payroll and (chuckling) real things,
but you gotta have fun with pleasure
or you know, fun with all of that, right?
- Yeah.
- Awesome, so tell us a little bit more
how the charities work and how that side works.
- So at every transaction, each guests is asked
which charity they would like to donate.
- So that charitable giving part,
that's built into the price. - Yes.
- Of the coffees or whatever?
Okay, so it's not, you're not asking someone,
hey, do you wanna donate a dollar?
- We're not Lowe's, we're not Lowe's.
- They don't get the option.
- This is built right in.
- It's built right in.
So it's built into the business model.
It's built in to allow us to ask and let them just be happy
to give, right, rather than having to feel guilty
that they're getting shamed into actually putting in
that extra dollar or the $0.50.
I dunno, it just seems like it's something
that's a little bit more inviting
and a little bit more of a smile
rather than somewhat of a turnoff.
- Yeah, you're like good news, you're a good person today.
Enjoy your coffee. (laughing)
- Where you guys source your coffee from,
is that part of that local and community feel?
- It's the local side for sure.
We get our coffee from Water Street in Kalamazoo.
Both my wife and I went to Western,
so we were Western grads.
Me being an engineer not inside the coffee world at all,
I looked to find people that would appreciate
where I got my degree, people that would maybe give
me a helping hand, and they were instrumental
in helping me get the right equipment, you know,
how to source the right bean.
It's local, so it just all really fit, right?
And so collaboration is so key to us.
We look at it as a positive.
We wanna work with anybody that wants to do fun
and cool things, you know?
- Like us!
- Exactly.
It's true, though.
I mean, you know, whenever you're breeding that
and growing that, then it becomes organic,
and then it's not about an individual.
It's about a community.
- Yup, for sure.
- Okay, so you mentioned Water Street coffee.
What are some of your favorite drinks or items on the menu?
- So our house special is the Black Eye,
which is coffee with two shots of espresso.
That's what I'm drinking now.
- [Peter] Oh boy.
- That's kinda how I start my day.
(Peter laughing)
So I don't, it's diesel fuel,
but that's the house special.
That's my favorite.
I also really enjoy our new lunches that we've got going on.
We got like a Cuban, an Italian sandwich
with all clean meats, you know, non-GMO.
We're more than just a coffee shop.
We focus on really catering to the client meetings
that are taking place.
If they need it, we might as well provide it.
- Smart.
Would you tell us a little bit
about what you guys provide for businesses?
- Yeah, so I mean the main focus is freelancers
and the different things.
A lot of people in here grinding,
it's their side hustle.
So you can get a private address, your own suite number.
You get rentable rooms
to where you can have your private conference calls
or a client meeting.
We can do print, scan, copy, fax.
Anything that you would really wanna do
out of your home office, you can do it here,
but it's a little bit more inviting for a client.
You know, you wanna come, and you wanna get some coffee,
and you wanna relax, and you wanna have a vibe
and an energy to your meeting,
and I think that helps a lot.
- And people were already doing that
in coffee houses anyways.
You just taking that idea and being like well,
if you're gonna do it already,
let's expand on what you can get at a coffee shop.
- For sure, yeah, totally.
- That makes total sense.
- Yeah.
- [Liz] After our conversation with Mike,
we realized just how awesome this concept was.
In fact, we decided to spend the afternoon working
from one of their rentable offices
to get the full experience.
- [Peter] While Liz spent the afternoon making calls
and following up with clients,
I bounced out of the private office,
printed a few documents and prepared to meet
with a close friend of mine
to discuss the current value of his home.
- [Liz] After spending the day here,
it was quite apparent that The Office Coffee Shop
provided everything we needed
to have a focused and productive workday.
After packing up our gear for the day,
Mike popped in for a quick goodbye.
- Hey, Mike, thanks for having us out.
We really appreciate it.
- Yeah, no problem.
Glad you guys could come out, enjoy a cup of coffee
and get some work done.
- Yeah, definitely, and if you're looking
for some great coffee, a great place to work
or just somewhere to hang out,
be sure to check out The Office Coffee Shop in Royal Oak.
- And until next time, community.
- [Liz And Peter] Keep it real.
(upbeat electronic music)
- Hey, you, and we're talking to you,
person who made it to the end of our video.
Thank you so much.
It means the world to us.
- It really does,
and if you're looking to buy a home,
check out realcommunityhometeam.com
where you can search homes in this area
or anywhere in Michigan.
- [Peter] And if you're looking to sell,
be sure to check out our Real Results Marketing Plan,
which can maximize your return
by weaving your home story
into our Community Show narrative.
- Also, do us a favor and click those like, share,
and subscribe buttons.
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