Some might have called our bid for a Piaggio coffee cart on EBay a moment of madness, but we knew that one day we would devise an exciting and challenging management development programme around it. So two months later, when our client EDF Energy wanted something new and innovative for their New Horizons programme, it was time to dust it off and put the coffee cart to use.

So when two months later when a group from EDF energy was developing a coaching programme for young people as a part of their management training we offered them the chance to use the cart to teach the young people business skills

The Coffee Cart

Unless you see it for yourself, it can be hard to imagine, but the coffee cart is only about a meter and half tall and one meter wide, with a tiny 50 cc engine. But it still manages to turn heads everywhere we go. It was that, that got us thinking about using it to come up with a publicity and CSR friendly project, spreading the word about big business and organisations helping out young people – people who need a bit of a head-start in the world today.

The people

We started with six senior managers. They chose to work with a group of six young people from The Robert Levy Foundation* - Tarjah, Chris, Amira, Jo, TJ and Elliot.

The challenge

The managers’ challenge was to coach and mentor this group of young people with little or no business skills, and get them to a place where they could run their own coffee cart business. It called for good coaching skills, as well as project management and front-line business expertise in costing, pricing, branding, health and safety, location and customer service.

The results

The group of young people, who braded their coffee, A Cup of Youth, made £223 in sales on their first outing. They gave the £60 profit to Sports Relief. They were also the guest stars at the Programme Launch at the Tate Modern, alongside Tim Campbell , winner of the very first BBC Apprentice and Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools and Learners. The coffee cart was parked in the Turbine Hall and the young people served everyone with their own cup of Youth as they arrived.

What touched us was the amount of time and enthusiasm people have to help young people who are working hard to make their own way. The group were sent down to EDF’s south coast offices where they were taken through costing, pricing and spreadsheets by the financial department. The next day they were out there selling coffees and the accountant came in on his day off to see them and offer his support.

They have now moved onto the coaching side of the programme, where they discuss how they can build on what they have achieved. Already they are finding the future much more hopeful. One participant, Amira said:

"I have learned so much and I’m getting up at four in the morning to make the most of this opportunity. I’ve had a glimpse of how I can use my brain and make money and I love it! Although the pressure is huge, I’ve learned that’s business and the look on people’s faces when I give them their coffee is worth it. I was planning to go back to an ordinary job in a hairdressers, but now I’m thinking seriously about my future, as I don’t want to waste what I’ve learned here."

Obviously, this was our first Coffee Cart Project but already we’ve learnt so much. Some of that is:

• Shorter and more intense is better. The logistics in running a long term programme is difficult for both the managers and the young people
  
• Structure the programme carefully, the young people are full of dreams, aspirations and enthusiasm but have had little help and support with the skills necessary to work patiently towards their goals
  
• Many business people are uncomfortable around young people, perhaps because of the bad press teenagers tend to get. This was a fantastic way to build relations between business and the community
  
• The coffee cart is a brilliant mechanism through which to build business skills and awareness. It touches so many different aspects of business, there is so much that can go wrong - and did go wrong – which gave the opportunity to learn, adapt, change and start again
  
• You can read more about our Coffee Cart Project at www.acupofclearworth.co.uk