Toru Otsuka, 67, is the president of Live Coffee, a coffee importer and roaster known for selling the best beans for the least dough. Otsuka is a treasure hunter: he handpicks only the highest quality from small growers around the globe, and considers his best finds the people who work with him. His blends are as original as the man himself, and his fans and employees think he should be packaged and sold as a model president. That he has opened six coffee shops and sold over 20 franchises in Japan is accidental, as is the fact that world leaders will be sipping Live Coffee's brews at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit to be held at the lakeside Windsor Hotel Toya in July 2008. Hopefully they will wake up, smell the coffee, and resolve that fair trade and kindness should rule the world, not greed.
Listen to your mother: she knows you the most. Mine used to tell me that I was never gonna make money. She was right.
Profit is not money. A company needs a little profit only, not a lot. The real profit or benefit is giving merit and value to many people. I sell coffee for a quarter of the price department stores charge and 40 percent less than other coffee merchants. I do that so many people can enjoy the great coffee and low price. I don't need to get rich, I just want to work. My accountant wants to see higher profits but he won't.
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