Yeah, this is great advice - the first person you hire is much more important than the coffee machine you buy. About the machine: there's a ton of second-hand

Yeah, this is great advice - the first person you hire is much more important than the coffee machine you buy. About the machine: there's a ton of second-hand equipment in the market right now, so definitely contact two sources: restaurant supply companies if you want to do most of the word yourself, or a coffee distributer/servicer/supplier if you want an all-in-one solution - i.e. a company that brings you the coffee, cleans the machine, etc. AVOID CRAIGSLIST FOR THIS ONE. The reason why there's a lot of second-hand machines out there is because, as said above, there are a LOT of food service companies that don't make it. Make sure you hire an excellent first employee, and have at least 8 months of operating expenses saved to cover your variable costs - that's after all the equipment has been purchased, improvements to your shop, etc.