The Café as a Destination
My subscriber count quickly reached 1,000.
Live broadcasts increased to twice a week.
My audience grew by nearly 1,000 every week.
I received continuous inquiries about starting a business in the comments.
I began traveling across the country.
I visited one café in each region to assist with their startups.
From small cafés to large bakery cafés.
Almost six months later, I became a YouTuber with over 100,000 subscribers.
To celebrate this milestone, I visited Jeju Island.
It was a café with a view of the vast sea.
The location and facilities were excellent.
Yet, I wondered why they called me.
I parked and looked around.
There were no restaurants nearby.
There were no amenities.
It was solely a standalone coffee shop.
I thought, 'This needs to become a destination.'
I asked the owner, 'Is the forest next to you also your land?'
'Yes, that forest belongs to my parents,' he replied.
'We sometimes use it as a wedding photo location.'
My direction was set.
I said, 'When people think of Jeju Island, they think of travel, healing, and memories.'
'Let’s transform this place into a space that creates those experiences.'
I explained my plan.
'Prepare 30 sunbeds in blue.'
'We need 50 to 80 cushions, and they should be soft.'
'Since the sea breeze is strong here, let’s also get 100 blankets.'
Then I added, 'Make the adjacent forest a photo zone.'
'Utilize it as a wedding photo location for promotional purposes, and create a photo zone for customers.'
I continued with my strategy.
'I will host a free event on Instagram and Naver.'
'This will attract young people first.'
'These days, people eat with their eyes first. The photos they take will make this café famous.'
I also mentioned, 'The coffee prices can be high.'
'With a unique design, creating cute merchandise will target young people.'
No strategy can be perfect.
In the first month, the number of customers was lower than expected.
Especially in Jeju, when it rained, it kept raining.
Moving the sunbeds when they got wet was a hassle.
The owner's expression gradually became tense.
Fortunately, as summer peak season approached, people began to visit.
Young people's photos flooded Instagram, and they wanted to come here even after a long journey.
The view and the photos were the café's strength.
People visited daily, especially on weekends when orders surged.
The couple seemed overwhelmed managing everything.
I made another suggestion: 'Reduce the variety of drinks and switch to canned coffee.'
'This will allow for quicker turnover.'
As time passed, customers in their 50s and 60s began to arrive.
They had both money and time.
The café created package deals combining photos and drinks.
People lingered longer, and lines formed.
The owner purchased more land to expand the parking lot.
The surrounding land prices began to rise.
Restaurants started to open nearby.
Pensions were built, and the area began to change.
The café that was nearly failing transformed completely.
I posted several videos documenting the changes in Jeju.
More people began to seek me out.
My channel became a pathway for café startups.
And after a year, my subscriber count reached 300,000.
I stared at that number for a long time.
Yet, strangely, I felt empty.
Suddenly, he came to mind.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/5berry-/224258094450
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