After working for many years for a major retailer in South Africa, 56-year-old Chris Morton is using his experience gained through that time to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.
With the cost of living crisis escalating in recent times, Morton launched his café earlier this year, CJ’s Coffee Café, with the aim of making sharing a cup of coffee affordable once more.
Morton told “Business Report”: “My wife and I have always shared a dream of opening our own business but more specifically our own coffee shop. We had always hoped we would be able to open a franchised coffee shop that would have been a family-owned business. This would have allowed me to leave behind a legacy for future generations, but unfortunately were not able to do so due to financial constraints. However, this dream has finally become a reality and we now have our own family-owned small business called CJ’s Coffee Café.”
Morton said that he always had a love for the bean-brewed drink and that it has grown even further after going through the process of starting his own business.
“Having been involved and exposed to the finer art involved in brewing coffee, I gained a greater respect and understanding of the various origins that coffee beans stem from,” he said.
As is the case with many start-ups in the country, Morton said that funding was a major issue in getting his business off the ground.
“The biggest challenge I faced has been not being a known brand and having people be willing enough to take a chance on my unknown brand. Sourcing affordable, high-quality products to use in my small business was also a challenge at first. I went through various financial challenges to acquire the necessary funds to start my small business successfully.”
He also said that having to put the faith and the start-up success of my small business into the hands of other people and businesses was also difficult.
Based at the popular shopping mall Cradlestone Mall in Gauteng, in the Woolworths court, Morton says he is hopeful that the foot traffic will bring him success, especially since the end of the pandemic.
“We just want to make an absolute success of our first café. Once our small business has survived its first year we would like to look at opening another of its sort and getting a café on wheels running. I would also like to create an opportunity for other people to start mobile cafés which will allow them the opportunity to generate sustainable incomes without the high expenditure cost of a fixed business. In doing so I will also be expanding my own brand by having multiple mobile cafés all around,” Morton said as he shared his plans for the future.
Affordable product
“Our main goal has been to create an affordable, high-quality product that customers can enjoy and want to share with family and friends. We have a brand that is family orientated, and strives to make the customer our top priority and not let them feel like just another order number. We have noticed a gap in customer service when it comes to service delivery and have made it our vision to ensure that every customer has a pleasurable experience when visiting CJ’s Coffee Café. This sums up our values of high-quality products at affordable prices with exceptional service delivery,” Morton said.
Despite having a stable job for many years, Morton realised that the poor state of the economy and his retirement was not sufficient to sustain him in the future.
“I was terminated unfairly by a major retailer after being in their service for more than 15 years. After facing many challenges in finding a job with the current state of the economy in our country. After my termination, I realised how quickly I had forgotten about my future after work. I also realised that I had not made sufficient provisions for my retirement, which led to my decision to start my own business. This would in turn allow me the opportunity to provide myself with a sustainable income once I retire,” he told “Business Report”.
“I would like to encourage anyone with any dream, big or small, to keep faith and do anything and everything within their power to make these dreams a reality. I noticed how quickly I was willing to give up on the dream of CJ’s Coffee Café when things got tough, but with continuous encouragement and forcing myself to stay motivated I can now say that I am the proud owner of my own Coffee Café. I would also like to give a word of thanks to every person – family, friends, and even strangers –who helped me make my dream a reality,” Morton further said.
BUSINESS REPORT