This is the start of a series for me: Stay OK. These posts will be reasons why I want to or why I don’t want to stay in Oklahoma after I graduate college. I’ve got a few semi-options right now that would take me around the country:
- Go to Chicago with my friend Britt, who is going to seminary at Wheaton.
- Go to California with my roommate Sean, who will be trying to get a sports media internship with a college out there.
- Go to Denver or Boulder, because I’ve wanted to go there forever.
- Tour South America with Ted Bado, of Scroundsbags.com.
- Stay in Oklahoma.
So what possible reason could I have for sticking around Oklahoma? I’ve been asking myself that question for a few years now, as I’ve planned my escape through the above avenues. Just recently, I’ve come up with a couple reasons to stick around.
[images from old posts got lost when I switched servers :( I’ll try to get them back soon]
A few months ago I was complaining to my dad about the lack of places in Edmond open past 10pm. It’s either IHOP, Denny’s or driving to OKC to find a cool place. Edmond is a ghost town at night. There are two colleges and more than four high schools in Edmond! Why would the town be so dead? So these kids just go to Starbucks until they close and then go home and drink? It’s disturbing to me that there isn’t a cool, open-late, coffee shop in Edmond. So I feel the responsibility to fix this problem. One of my favorite parts of college is going to Aspen Coffee in downtown Stillwater and hanging out for a few hours, just talking to people at all hours of the night. When I was in Orlando this summer, my favorite place was Stardust, a local coffee shop, open late and always full of interesting people.
There isn’t a good place in Edmond for people to chill and hang out, and of course drink coffee. There are a lot of cool coffee shops in OKC or in the Paseo: Sauced, Coffee Slingers, Cuppies and Joe. So why is Edmond so deserted? So many rich high school kids, and poor college kids need coffee and community. So I want to fill this need.
- Good, fair trade coffee.
- Cool, chill place for people to form community. Open late every night.
- Local art and design for sale – super cheap. No one buys $300 student work. We’re talking $20 paintings/prints.
- Original screen printed shirts – all organic. Discounts if you wear one in.
- Constant flow of good music and space for a small acoustic venue.
- Free basic bike repairs and discounts if you ride your bike to the shop.
- Everything recyclable or sustainable.
- Ask UCO sculpture class (or local 2nd grade class) to sculpt our coffee mugs.
- A place to live/do freelance design work, above or behind the shop.
- Promoted entirely by social media and word of mouth on UCO and OC campuses – no paid advertising.
Also, I will have the power to name coffees whatever I want. Black coffee will be named, The Vader: a bit on the dark side, but I can still sense the good in you.
[images from old posts got lost when I switched servers :( I’ll try to get them back soon]
Even if this never happens, I’m taking this on as a marketing project. I want to brand it, plan it, design it, price it, etc. Working on a name and an identity set this week. Next, a business plan. Ideas, tips, real estate and furniture are appreciated.