Image this: everything is free inside a coffee shop, except the time you spend in the store.
Can you imagine Starbucks giving away its food? All you pay for is the time you spend in the shop? This little experiment is going on in a coffee shop in London called Ziferblat. The word means clock-face in Russian.
Ziferblat – Clock Face Coffee
Ivan Meetin understood that what you sell matters less than how it makes you feel. In 2011, in Russia, he founded Ziferblat as a tree house for adults. He saw a community of aspirational poets who wanted to work together with other like-minded individuals. The physical space was like a magnet, drawing in others with a similar desire for connection.
When the “tree house” (in his attic) became overpopulated, Ivan looked elsewhere for more space. Initially, his attic space was sustained through voluntary guest donations. They created the pay per minute model we see today governing Ziferblat’s economics. This model allowed for a more formal but necessary way to structure guests’ attendance. On arrival, guests were treated like a visitor to one’s home, with tea and cakes laid out for them to help themselves.
Today, Ziferblat has grown to over 14 venues around the world. Acting as a cultural center, an entertainment venue, a co-working area and social space, Ziferblat has broadened its horizons. There are no restrictions here other than all must respect the space and others in it.
“Our mission is to create a place conducive to people feeling free, devoid of the pressures of modern living.” – Ivan Meetin
They charge by the minute for you to occupy the space. An hour of time might cost roughly what a cup of coffee and a muffin would cost at Starbucks. They charge five pence per minute measured by the various, odd clocks. Five p is about eight cents, so if you spend an hour, it costs about $5.00
Not a Coffee Shop, More of a Micro-Office
The owners, Ivan, and Ben see their business through a different lens. They aren’t a coffee shop. They are an office that rents out small portions of their space by the minute. The food is incidental.
What Ziferblat does is something that author Youngme Moon writes about in her fabulous book Different. The owners focus on something others aren’t paying attention too – the real estate not the food. They noticed coffee shops occupied for hours and hours by visitors who may not even buy a cup of coffee. Ziferblat flips the model on its head.
This business has created wonderful word of mouth in the UK and beyond. My friend, Joe, shared the story with me a few days after he heard me speak about marketing and pricing models. His English sisters couldn’t wait to take him to this coffee shop when he visited. The business is so different that customers love to share the story. Like Bucketfeet, their marketing is baked into their business model.
Is your business so memorable, different and remarkable that people are talking about it?
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Photo Credit: From Ziferblat Coffee Shop
Could you use a time out? Let’s have coffee and connect.
