One of my favorite coffee shops is in a location where it seems unlikely for it to succeed.
Hillsdale, Michigan’s 2019 census data shows just over 8,000 living in the town that’s quite literally in the middle of nowhere. A few thousand College students supplant that number, but other than that, Checker Records just built a “cult” of insanely great coffee and vintage music.
You don’t need thousands of people to support you in doing cool things— you just need around 100. Seth Godin talks about building a tribe. Everyone’s looking for a fan group. Capturing 100 people out of the thousands of people you interact with isn’t hard. It just takes work. For Checker Records, they’ve been growing a following for 41 years.