The Rollercoaster

One of the things they don’t always tell you when you start a business is how wildly different each day becomes for you. Gone are the days when you would wake up and could tell yourself, with a reasonable amount of certainty, what that day was going to look like. Do we wake up, go through our morning routine, and go to our place of work each morning just like everyone else? Yes of course, but I didn’t realize that how I would evaluate my life choices would be a consistent and ever present, DAILY conversation. We opened the doors to our first coffee shop a couple months ago and we are loving it, but every time the shop empties in the middle of the day, or the first customer takes longer than usual to come through the door, you’re left wondering if you made the right decision.

Some people find that uncertainty thrilling, others petrifying, I likely fall somewhere in between. With the benefit of a bit of experience, a lot of mistakes, and a not insignificant amount of ego, I am usually able to remind myself that the business is young, it takes time, the model should work, blah blah blah. There are days though where all of that isn’t enough, where you want to run away, or you look into whether or not you COULD sell pictures of your feet for money. This is called the rollercoaster of being a new business owner, it’s fun sometimes, it’s fine most of the time, but when it sucks you think you’re going to die.

January is always a slow month in the hospitality world. Not many people wake up January 1^st and set the intention to eat more pastries and drink specialty coffee. We know this and know that eventually people find their way back out into the world. Unreasonably cold temperatures definitely add an additional layer of desirability to the hermit lifestyle (trust me, I would be inside under a blanket with a good book too!). It is a struggle for all of us local businesses to find the magic formula to draw people out into the cold, so please know how grateful the bakery, the pizza shop, and the cheerful yellow coffee shop are when you come and support us. For a lot of local businesses, the margin between healthy and financial danger is razor thin so these low weeks are extra stressful. As joyous as Christmas is in many ways, it also takes a lot out of all of us so every gesture, even the small ones, carry a lot of extra weight.

We are so grateful to have the network of allies that we have as we go on this adventure together. You talk with other business owners before you get started and everyone alludes to this ride in some form or another, but until you get on it yourself, you don’t really know. Once you do, you have a guaranteed conversation starter with any entrepreneur out there because no matter what you choose to dedicate yourself to, just about every business owner goes through some version of this rollercoaster in the beginning. Now when you mention “the ride” you get that slow, knowing nod, a camaraderie instantly born through the trials of starting your own business.

The best part about all of this? Apparently, for most businesses, IT NEVER ENDS! You get to keep riding that ride, day after day, month after month, year after year (if you’re lucky), and you likely never quite get to “relax” the same way again. One thing that you can find in this new life, if you’re willing to look, is just how little you really NEED in life to be ok. I am certainly someone that thinks I need a lot more than I actually do need so I am definitely grateful for the fresh perspective in this regard. I likely wouldn’t feel so great about it without the army of people that have helped us along the way. We have heard so many amazing things from customers who have found us these first few weeks, from other business owners who have given us such valuable advice, and those knowing nods that tell us we’re part of that special club now, from mentors who have helped us shape this vision we had to share wonderful coffee and goodies with you all, and from our family, who have given us every possible chance to find success.

This coffee shop is our baby (albeit one we get to directly profit from) and even though it’s incredibly cliché, it takes a village and we could not be more grateful for ours. The days are getting longer, the warm weather will come again, January is already half gone, and we can’t wait to look back at these few weeks as nothing more than part of the ride.