Meet Niki Weegens, Creative Director at Onyx Coffee Lab and founder of Specialty Creative, who brings a unique perspective to coffee branding shaped by her journey from building furniture to building brands. In this comprehensive conversation, Niki breaks down what branding really means beyond just looking pretty—it's about how your business feels to customers and how intentionally you express who you are.

Niki challenges common misconceptions about branding, emphasizing that it's not just aesthetics but the complete experience customers have with your business. She provides practical advice for solo coffee shop owners, including her surprising recommendation to start with writing 20 pages of copy before focusing on visuals, and how to leverage AI tools like ChatGPT as a 24/7 brand strategist.

Her background building out all the Onyx Coffee locations during her woodworking years gives her unique insight into how physical spaces and brand identity work together. Niki's approach emphasizes clarity over complexity, helping coffee shops find what makes them "right for the right person" rather than trying to serve everyone.

Topics covered:

• Why brand is about how something feels, not just how it looks
• The copy deficit vs. creative deficit concept for solo business owners
• Using AI tools as brand strategy partners and writing coaches
• Why "serving everyone" actually serves no one
• Building brand guides and documentation that teams can execute
• When to invest in professional branding help (hint: sooner than you think)
• The transition from woodworking to coffee brand strategy

Chapters:00:10 - What Branding Really Means Beyond Pretty Visuals04:47 - Practical Branding for First-Year Coffee Shop Owners07:17 - How to Know Your Branding is Actually Working12:09 - Telling People What You Care About Without Screaming16:26 - The Copy Deficit Problem and Writing Your Way to Clarity21:17 - Communicating Brand Vision to Your Team25:58 - When to Reach Out for Professional Branding Help30:29 - The Woodworking to Coffee Branding Journey Story

Niki Weegens is Creative Director at Onyx Coffee Lab and founder of Specialty Creative. Find her at specialtycreative.co or follow her occasional cat content on Instagram.