It looks like my job at GE is just about to tank. I am only scheduled to work one more week for the rest of the year. First quarter next year looks horrible and I expect I will be unemployed by the end of March. This means I will have some time on my hands. Aside from using the time to try to stir up enough business to keep this roaster busy, I want to extend an open offer to my home roasting friends.
Before I went into business, I would have killed for the opportunity to play with someone's commercial roaster. None of the roasters I met in the area would consider this due to the "competition" thing. So, here I am, I have this nice 10 kilo roaster sitting here and I am offering any and all of you the opportunity to come and roast on it. Just to be clear, I am not even close to being an expert here; I don't propose to teach anyone anything (that's why its free!) other than how to run the machine. In fact, I could probably learn from you! Realistically, we would most likely learn from one another.
Anyway, if any of you are interested, either by yourself or in groups, just write or call and we can arrange a time. You can not only get the feel for a commercial machine, you can get a visual of what a home-based business can look like. My shop is board of health approved and organic certified. I can tell you what it takes to meet those criteria and how to prepare for it. My only request is that you bring some beans to roast, as I could not afford to supply large quantities of that. If I could only get some of my kids to move out, I could even put you up, but right now the Inn is full! Plenty of hotel options in Bloomington, however, being a college town they can be expensive.
Shep