When 18-year-old Tom Oswald opened up his cafe in July, no one showed up. The recent graduate said that university didn’t appeal to him. So he had spent the last couple years learning about business so he could get started as soon as he left high school. But all of his efforts did not lead to success. As he said in a TikTok video, he had “opened a cafe and nobody came.”
Opening Day But No Customers
Despite the video where he was sadly “still waiting for a customer,” the teen remained optimistic about his business, which has improved since the depressing first day. “The cafe can get a little bit quiet at times but it is something I fully expect and do not get down about it,” he said. “Quiet days give me time to reflect and research and busy days teach me the importance of efficiency.”
This video was met with support from his online audience. People who lived near Hahndorf in South Australia said they would stop by and people in other countries encouraged the new business owner. “Stay strong, it’s always hard in the beginning,” said one commenter. Another said, “Keep your head up. New businesses always struggle at the start. I work in a cafe and even we struggle sometimes and we’re not new. It looks amazing.” Others offered suggestions for marketing, including filling the displays with more food and adding some greenery to the cafe.
The people of TikTok did not give empty encouragement. Those who lived near Hahndorf or Adelaide went to the Homeboy Cafe to support Oswald in person. On day seven, Oswald posted a clip about how TikTok was “keeping the dream alive”.
Oswald documented the early days of the cafe when he experimented with coffee and pastries. He explained that he garnered industry knowledge from working in an established cafe for two years. He also spoke with multiple mentors before opening Homeboy Cafe. So, when he was presented with the opportunity, he took it. He said that “an ex-neighbour had a paint shop with room for a coffee shop but had no one that could run it. Wasn’t sure if I could run a coffee shop by myself but wanted to give myself the challenge.”
Opening the Homeboy Cafe
His preparation involved going to “as many cafes as I could to learn what they do right” and talking to “anyone in the industry that had any advice they could share”. He fortunately “found some really good people to learn from thanks to dad”. In fact, his parents have been his most avid supporters. “My parents have been amazingly supportive which I have been very appreciative of. Mum is happy cooking up all the biscuits and brownies and dad is doing the pastry deliveries up to Hahndorf. I make sure to keep them busy.” [1]
His cafe is located at a venue that allows young people to open pop-ups. “The venue is called Thiele’s Shop and operates under a very interesting business model which I had never heard of. It allows small businesses to flow in and out of a place, giving them a chance to test their business in a real store,” Oswald said. The venue allowed him to start off with lower set costs since the space came with everything he would need.
“Our beautiful cafe is hosting a pop up til next April,” said a post on Thiele’s Shop Instagram. “A big congratulations to Tom who, in his first weeks with us, has been supported in establishing his own brand. We believe in holding a space for young and emerging creatives to establish themselves in a supportive environment without exposing themselves to commercial risk. Our pop-ups work in the same way as our artists’ residencies in that they are funded, with all equipment provided and fees subsidised.”
“The most customers I’ve ever had…”
“I am 18 years old, straight out of high school, currently in my gap year and this project is literally the only thing I’m ever working on,” Oswald explained. “I’m either at the shop working or working from the outside, finding ways I can improve the business in any way I can.”
In late August, he announced that he was preparing for the cafe’s first reservation. In Oswald’s most recent post, he thanked his followers for all of their support since they helped him receive attention from multiple media outlets. At the same time, he celebrated his most successful week yet. He had hit one million likes on TikTok, “perfected the lunch menu”, and served “the most customers I’ve ever had”. At first, he had no patrons at all, but for the first time, he had people lining up to buy his coffee.
“My plans are to keep working hard to create something special and hopefully one day Homeboy will be a success,” he said. “I would also like to get a chance to give back to the community too, by fundraisers and charity events. In the meantime, its just one coffee at a time.” If you’d like to visit the Homeboy Cafe, the address is 100 Mount Barker RD, Hahndorf, SA 5245.
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