Nicholas Cho, co-founder of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, has opened six coffee shops since 2002, in both the Washington D.C area and San Francisco. In a Serious Eats post from 2014, he dispelled some thoughts that bear repeating, about how to approach this business of coffee—if you want to consider yourself among those that serve true specialty coffee.

Even if you want to serve good coffee that's not necessarily on the bleeding edge of "specialty" while focusing more on amazing baked goods or the best sandwiches money can buy, Cho's words can be translated to those passions, too. It's all about really showing up and knowing your stuff and caring.

Cho offers a big-picture analysis of how to approach and immerse yourself in your craft including keeping track of trends, staying educated and building a culture that others will want to be a part of. These are all huge factors in success—about as important as the right location or even your cash flow. Not to sound metaphysical, but it's about energy flow. It matters.

Whether you're a full-on specialty coffee shop or one that sticks to the traditional aesthetic and palate of your town or region, make sure you're the best version of that model that you can be.