The End of Society

The Roman Empire fell when wealth became so great, and so widely distributed, that the privileged lifestyle of an expansive upper class became too heavy for society to bear.  In retrospect, it seems clear that a majority can never live in idle comfort based on the productivity of a laboring minority.  It only works the other way around.

Alas, as the saying goes, "history repeats itself", and I think American society is about to collapse.  I base my hypothesis on the photo above, similar to one I snapped myself a few days ago at a local retail center.  It shows that, despite high unemployment, the wealthy masses have grown so unable to care for themselves, that we need a nail spa on every corner to provide us all with basic grooming.

The spa in this photo is like one of an ever-expanding multitude of similar outlets.  I dare say there are more nail spas in Orange County, California than there are Starbucks (and there are way, way, way too many Starbucks).

This truly boggles my mind...adults paying other adults to groom them...so many in fact, that we need these outlets on every corner...and they are always full of customers...can we get any more ridiculous?

The end is near.

Blue Collar Coffee

Will one of you imaginary readers please take this can't-miss business idea and implement it so that, in the future, I can get a convenient cup of coffee without going to Starbucks. The idea is simple: open up a chain of coffee shops and call the product "coffee". Not venti or grande or latte or mocha....just coffee.

In terms of delivery, the coffee should be all brewed so when some one orders it, you need only pour it in a cup and hand it over for fifty cents. The only discussion required between the customer and the cashier (that's right, no baristas at Blue Collar Coffee) will be aimed at determining how many cups are to be purchased.

In terms of training and communicating, this approach will be easy on your employees and your customers will appreciate the simplicity as well. Regardless of how they try to obscure the fact, Starbucks just sells coffee. I can't fathom the rational for making it all so complex (a process that leads to me waiting in long lines behind incredibly annoying people). After all, coffee is a "commodity". If you look that up you will learn that, when dealing in commodities, one sample is essentially identical to any other sample. There is no escaping the fact that your business will be selling the same product as Starbucks.

I know that location is everything and that the research for identifying a key retail location is both complex and expensive. I recommend you just open up shop across from Starbucks locations; they've already invested in the traffic flow studies.

Let me know when you are opening in the OC, I will be your best customer.