A business plan for a radical new type of sustainable cafe.

1. I. Company Mission / Overview
Kelly Jo Kokaisel
SLOW
Slow is a sustainability hub for people, goods, and services. It is a place to reconnect to yourself, each
other, and to the planet.
Mission Statement
"Slow exists to promote a cultural shift toward slowing down life's pace, and create a more sustainable
society through urban permaculture, resource conservation, and education."
II. Project Overview
The focus of this project is to develop and implement communication strategies to promote two community events
sponsored by Stella's. The events themselves are promotions for the restaurant and the restaurant's intentions as a
community member.
Goods  Skillet meals (ala cart  Ecotourism
 Pedal powered grains, legumes,  Community Garden
smoothies veggies, dairy, area
 Pedal powered grain meats, sauces, etc)
mill  Organic and natural Education
 Homemade Kava clothing and  How to make your
 Homemade accessories own furniture
Kombucha (workshop)
 Homemade Kefir Services  How to grow and
 Free Trade Coffee  Waste exchange make your own
 Organic Tea  Seed exchange food/drinks (garden,
 Biochar Pyrolyzer  Plant exchange nursery, and kitchen)
Kits  Energy efficient  How to capture and
 Garden and patio transportation hub: conserve renewable
rain collection o Nice Ride resources
barrels o Zip Car
o Lightrail
Value Propositions
Slow proposes to provide:
• Clean fresh organic local food that is healthy for people and the planet
• Markets of exchange that foster community & diversity
• Local-reliance skills & eco-education
• Tools for creating sustainable systems
• Efficient options for mobility & connectivity

2. • Improvement in the quality and enjoyment of living by encouraging ways of being
present in the moment and becoming locally-reliant so as to achieve a state of sustained
peak experience.
• A positive example of urban permaculture and resource conservation.
• Our community with the education and tools necessary to create a diverse and
sustainable culture, while connecting people with each other and with the Earth.
It is through these influences that we can slow down, become more sustainable, and experience
a fundamentally different way of life that promotes harmony & bliss.
Product: The products and services are of a durable quality that will last over time.
Price: The products and services are at a similar price to competitors, where they exist.
Access: We are urban and accessible by multiple transportation options, near water and among
green space.
Service: We provide diverse and efficient alternatives.
Experience: You can be unique, comfortable, and at peace with our community and our planet.
SWOT Analysis
• Strengths: Slow brings to this town the ideas and tools in sustainability that provides a way
of life that can save money, time, and precious resources.
• Weaknesses: New ideas for goods and services are risky and the market may not have
demand for them.
• Opportunities: Hopkins is currently lacking a good breakfast-food restaurant, as well as lacks
an ala cart type restaurant. Dedicated organic restaurants are also not yet competing in this
area. There are no current competitors for the proposed exchange services, nor does there
exist a single transportation hub with the proposed eco-transportation options. Hopkins
demographics show that housing is 62%, or roughly 5,000 households, renter occupied,
meaning a large portion of the population may not have access to resources to produce at
home the goods and services offered by Slow. 50% of the population is between the ages of
20 and 44 and are of the audience that may have families and would care about health and
saving money, as well as the environment.
• Threats: Hopkins’ demographics show that the per capita income is just under $27,000;
prices will have to be competitive for this area.
Influences
Slow has been influenced by case studies of trail-blazing companies in sustainability such as Peace
Coffee, Stoneyfield Farms, and Patagonia, as well as personal experiences in permaculture communities
throughout the United States.

3. III. Project Detail
We propose to launch with the following capabilities:
 Pedal powered smoothies
o Blend your own smoothie by way of recycled bicycle parts
 Pedal powered grain mill
o We propose to take in bike parts and use them to create machines to replace current
electric powered machines.
 Homemade Kava
o Made from organic kava from farms in Hawaii.
 Homemade Kombucha
o Made from organic cultures from Minnesota.
 Homemade Kefir
o We will make these beverages on site with organic ingredients from Minnesota.
 Free Trade Coffee
o Supplied by Peace Coffee
 Organic Tea
o These will be obtained from local farms or co-ops.
 Biochar Pyrolyzer Kits
o Handmade on-site with recycled materials.
 Garden and patio rain collection barrels
o These are made on-site from recycled or waste-exchanged materials and local bio-
polymers.
 Skillet meals (ala cart grains, legumes, veggies, dairy, meats, sauces, etc)
o Smoothies and skillets home-made from all organic ingredients.
 Organic and natural clothing and accessories
o Supplied by local artists.
Services
 Waste exchange
o Must take equal in agreement to what you bring in.
 Seed exchange
o Must bring in seeds to make exchange with.
 Plant exchange
o Must be an equal value exchange to participate.
 Energy efficient transportation hub:
o Nice Ride
o Zip Car
o Lightrail
 Contracted out.
 Ecotourism
o Information on events.
 Community Garden area
o Must be a resident of Hopkins to participate. Annual registration and fee are required.
Education
 How to make your own furniture (workshop).
o Classe based on interest.

4.  How to grow and make your own food/drinks (garden, nursery, and kitchen).
o Proposed weekly.
 How to capture and conserve renewable resources.
o Proposed weekly.
We propose to market this venue through the following efforts:
Facebook
Twitter
Weekly newsletters to community
Website
Sandwich signs outside on venue
What are we going to talk about in our marketing:
Information and discussion of pertinent topics
Trivia
What makes us ‘green’ board
Association with Affiliates
Benefits and discounts
What is the goal?
The goal of the business is to create a sustainable system in which triple top line is met and the
community I benefitted from.
Who are we targeting for participation?
Our target audience is people 20-44 who live in Hopkins and are interested in sustainability.
Potential Affiliates include:
Rethink Recycling Living Green
LiveGreenTwinCities Minnesota Energy Challenge
Minnehaha Creek Watershed District LocalHarvest
Friends of the Mississippi River 350.org
Nice Ride Minnesota Carrotmob Minneapolis
Ecopolitan Green Body
The Red Stag Supper Club Permaculture Research Institute Cold Climate
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IV. Criteria for Success
Diversity of participants:
We need to focus on those who are tuned in to what we are saying; those who are educated
about the current state of climate and who care about its future. By being true to principles and core
values of permaculture, we will gain support from the mainstream.

5. Number of participants:
A certain amount of business needs to be conducted per day in order to stay in business. This
tipping point needs to be calculated with the assistance of a professional.
Production:
I have thought about production, and it is exactly born out of the need for materials for production that
I even came up with the idea for SLOW. By acting as a ‘by-acceptance-only’ waste exchange, I can
monitor the materials that are coming through the store and therefore acquire what I need to compile
my kits. Food production will require the expertise of a Permaculturist, at least in a consultant aspect.
We will also need a kitchen manager, a workshop manager, and a nursery/garden manager. I believe
there is local talent to fill these rolls and these jobs would benefit the community.
Funding:
I propose to acquire a business loan and private funding.
Walk the Talk:
The difficulty in this business lies in attracting our desired customer. There are probably not that many
20-44 year old eco-consumers in Hopkins proper, but I do believe that if the aforementioned group
within the entire metro area was marketed to, I think we would have a significant customer base. In
addition to this, we would have our message in front of the cyclist on the bike paths, affiliates with
which we are associated with, and through member volunteering. With the combination of these word-
of-mouth efforts, I believe we could establish an audience who could be advocates for our brand.