#100Coffees

I (Alex) love coffee and I love hearing people’s stories. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible people over the last few years and it’s always my goal to try to have coffee with someone I’ve never met or don’t know very well at least once a week.

For 2021, I wanted to continue to learn more about the people I meet, so I set a goal to have coffee with 100 different people. To hold myself accountable, I captured and shared a portrait of each person. I put up a public calendar and asked people on social media to sign up, having no idea who would take me up on my project. I started on January 4th, 2021 and by the end of that month, I had already made it to #29. As time went on, I scaled back my availability but I made it to my goal of 100 by the middle of May. There was no reason to stop there, so I continued for the rest of the year. On December 31st, I had the final coffee at 163. 

Here’s what I learned.

  1. I definitely had coffee with more than 163 people. Some people didn’t want their photo taken. Some, we ran out of time or forgot about a photo. And for a few people, unfortunately I had a memory card fail and a few photos were lost (I’m so sorry if that was you). But for the sake of the project, I’ll go with 163.

  2. It’s crazy the amount of people that I’m friends with on Facebook that I’ve never sat down and had a conversation with. I know a lot of people, but I also don’t know a lot of people. Some people I had coffee with are some of my dearest friends. Others I knew absolutely nothing about.

  3. I know a lot of people from all over the world and was fortunate in 2021 to have coffee with people in multiple cities and states but the majority were in Tallahassee. It was incredible to learn more about the history of my city but also other’s experiences in this place I have called home for 7 1/2 years.

  4. My biggest regret of the project was I didn’t journal anything about anyone’s stories. I didn’t write down any takeaways from each conversation. I didn’t have any consistent questions that I asked each person to compare conversations. I can only hope to remember most of the things I learned from each person.

  5. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Great hospitality is indicative of great communities, and we have some gems in our community that provide incredible hospitality. Locally owned and operated businesses are the heart of our community, and these people have made a conscious choice to invest in our city in a special way. Get to know your baristas, bring your friends, and give a little more grace because being in the hospitality world right now is HARD. I want to say a huge thank you to Paper Fox Coffee and La Florida Coffee and Wine where I had most of these meetings. Thanks for letting me sit for hours on end in your spaces, meeting with people from all over town. Also thanks to Lucky Goat, East Pole Coffee, Deeply Coffee, Ology Coffee, Black Bear Bread Co, King State, Sapor Coffee and Concepts, the Flamingo, and Cassis.

  6. In every community project I’ve been a part of, there’s been a common theme. Often times, people want to help but don’t know where to start. People want to solve a problem, but they often rely on someone else to do something about it. This time, the PROBLEM is that we live in a world where it’s easier to share your opinion or go on a rant behind a keyboard without ever talking to a person face to face. We may not be able to solve the world’s problems, but we can start by having conversations and getting to know people we may not know or may not agree with. It’s ok to disagree and still be friends. It’s ok to have differing opinions and leave the conversation as a better person than when you got there. We want to build a better community and the place to start is by getting to know the people who live here.

  7. There is incredible value in being known. So many people are known of, but when you take the time to truly get to KNOW someone, perspective shifts, barriers come down, and humanity takes over. What would happen if we all started to be more intentional about getting to know people so those people are more than just their titles, their hobbies, or their handles but those people become valuable and important? I don’t know why that ever got lost. Think about how the world could change if we started truly getting to know one another.

  8. Each one of you can do this. Maybe your number isn’t 100. Maybe it’s 52 (one a week). Maybe it’s 12 (one a month). But anyone can find an hour to meet someone for coffee (or beer, wine, donuts, yoga, whatever). You can accomplish a lot in an hour. The ideas that come out of an hour of conversation can be life changing. We all have margin in our lives if we make something a priority. I would encourage you to set a goal for yourself for this year. I’d love to hear all about it. (Shout out to Calendly for making scheduling a breeze and helping me keep my life in order!)

  9. Just because the project has come to an end doesn’t mean we can’t still have coffee! I have a coffee calendar up year-round at calendar.wearetheworkmans.com. I would love to get coffee with you and hear more about your story.

  10. If you would like to challenge yourself to connecting with folks in 2022, I would love to sit down with you, answer any logistics questions, and help you get a Calendly set up.

If you had coffee with me in 2021, I’d love to hear from you. What did you learn? What were your thoughts? Why did you sign up in the first place? 

Thank you to everyone who signed up and had coffee with me. I’m looking forward to continuing conversations and getting to know people better, and continuing to meet new people over a great cup of coffee. Together, let’s make our community a place where people are KNOWN instead of just being KNOWN OF!