While some may already know these details, there are two components of the three: the café/eatery during the week, and the holistic meal prep service that takes place on weekends.
For the majority of weeks and months since opening in March of last year, this has been the only routine I’ve been able to keep up with.
In other words, I’ve worked a loooooot — partially because there always seems to be work to do, partially because it's more cost efficient, partially because I'm still learning how to say no, and partially because my ultimate goal in the early stages of owning a business was to “build a foundation.”
As someone who had very little experience coming in to a venture like this (in the midst of a pandemic, to boot), I knew I had a lot to learn, so “building a foundation” just meant two things to me:
(1) just keep showing up + gain experience
(2) make + manage enough money to stay in business
If I could do these two things for a couple years, I thought, I’d have a little more freedom and confidence in my decision making to grow in the right way.
Well folks — it’s somewhere between 1-2 years, and I think I’ve done it.
I’ve worked handfuls and handfuls of consecutive days (don’t recommend), I’ve worked 20+ hours on weekends alone (no shoes are comfortable after 8 hours), and I (try to) manage a lot of moving parts of small business — but I think I’ve officially built the foundation.
It’s in this space that I can confidently make decisions that are both best for me, and for the business…including the following:
(1) I am currently short-staffed in the café. To give me time to prioritize hiring, the three will be closed on Fridays in October.
(2) I put a lot on my plate, and recently it’s proven to be too much. To provide myself some time off, while also improving efficiency of meal prep, there will be no meal prep on the last weekend of October (30th) and November (27th)
Please know neither of these are intended to be in place long-term, and instead are ways to tackle my current personal and business challenges.
Lastly, thank you. In the midst of the last year and a half of showing up and gaining experience, I’ve also been able to meet, serve and get to know some incredibly supportive customers + clients who express their care and support for both the business, and for me. I am so thankful.
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