PERSIST! 1 YEAR OF BLOGGING!
GOOD MORNING! I did it, I’m up and writing early, I finally got some sleep this week. This might come out later today but hey! Drinking house seltzer (gonna save so much money on lacroix here) and lIstening to the new album by Wet Leg, “Wet Leg”! It’s good, very tiktok but with some substance, female powerpop. would recommend. the big single is Chaise Lounge but there are some good and less horny songs on there also. Anyways, we signed a contractor to take care of the city mechanical work yesterday! It was much less than it could have been, I put in some due diligence to talk to a lot of people and alter the plans to be a little less crazy intensive. Hopefully we get rolling and are open in a week or two, but i’ve been saying that for weeks hahaha. I feel great though, we’re gonna do this we’re gonna make it happen.
Today makes a year of blogging! 52 weeks!
Time flies! I really thought this would take like 6-8 months, but it’s been 15 months now. I planned to blog until we opened, and it just kept getting pushed back. There were weeks when I struggled to think of anything to write, and there were weeks when I had so much to say! I probably missed a lot of details. In the end I hope that this stands as something to help shape the companys past and future, inspiring DIY and the possibilities of persistence! I really want that Idea to be there for other people and have Tetherball do the same!
You really can do anything you set your mind to!
My boyfriend of over 4 years, says that i’m the type of person who says I’m going to do something and does it. It was really nice to hear that recently from someone who’s known me this long, because I try to embody that, but end up doing a lot of trial and error! It can make me feel like i’m flaking on ideas, but you have to put yourself out there to accomplish things and grow! Over the last year on this project, i’ve had to do A LOT of trial and error with a goal in mind.
Just know that no matter how far your goal is, by taking steps in any direction and being true to yourself, you can make progress.
Lets revisit three major milestones!
The first couple things I did to get started 6/5/21
In this blog I outlined what I thought was necessary to begin opening a coffee shop. I said that I read a lot of books, I wrote a business plan, a cost estimate sheet, and I got a lawyer.
Books huh. If you have cafe experience, that’s all you realllllyyy need to get started. Books are better for understanding your role as an owner and manager, broad ideas that can shape your character. They may also help you organize yourself financially long term. I think I would have been better served by reading those same books slowly over the next 6 months so I retained them. I did read more later! But there was no rush.
A business plan is good to have. If you’re going with a big leasing conglomerate to rent a space, they’ll want to see it so they know you’re serious. For you as an owner it helps define the brand and goals of your business, things that will help you make important decisions later. Just know that these ideas will change, and try to write those changing ideas down again.
Cost estimates, oh man. My actual cost sheet was changed hugely by two things! Construction, and minimum orders. Depending on where you live, where you open, and what you need for your menu, your construction may vary. It doubled my estimated business cost! I’ll leave it at that. Get quotes from contractors before you assume too heavily. The owner of Lobos Coffee in Orlando told me I probably couldn’t build out for less than 75k, and he was right! As for minimum orders, custom cups may seem comparable to unbranded cups, but doing custom orders means ordering $thousands$ to get started! Don’t be afraid to change your mind and think critically about your priorities!
Lawyers were nice because I had a business partner initially (just me now), and we put together agreements and organized our LLC with help. If you’re flying solo, they may not be necessary! Google everything and get that LLC started with paper and pencil!
Leaving my Day-Job and Taking Out a Loan 11/27/2021
At this time I was convinced that ordering equipment would be my final big expense, and that I had enough money to sustain myself until we opened in the next month or two. I really did not like my job, and so I quit. I would recommend this if you don’t like your job :^) but I’d also recommend getting a new one. Work to secure a safety net until you absolutely can’t do it anymore. This process has been slow, steady, and surprisingly expensive at every turn.
I also noted in this blog that the contractors asked ME for a timeline, this is now how it should have gone down. I should have had them sign on a proposed timeline, because they estimated 6-10 weeks in late December and it’s now been more than double that. I was able to secure a 5 month no rent period from our building that ended in January, meaning I’ve now been paying rent, some equipment leases, insurance, etc for 5 months.
I had to learn the hard way that keeping a source of income and focused mindset throughout the entire project is important, it’s something I didn’t emphasize then because I was going through it, but really want to highlight it now!
Framing, Prepping the Walls and Floors 4/2/2022
At this time we finally finished concrete, framed the bars, and had a space where I could begin my portion of the work! I was hesitant until now to be in the same space as my contractors because the floors were dusty and covered in spare hardware/equipment. It was difficult to tell what I could work around and what I was waiting on.
I said “there’s not much left to do” which was pretty funny, but probably how I saw it then. The contractors took 4 months to complete the concrete and frame everything, and I was convinced I could do the rest in a week or two. The reality was that with working a second job and having no experience, each individual task from the ceilings to the floors would take me at least a week. I was mostly able to keep in step with our contractors but it was super exhausting, even now a couple weeks later i’m a bit groggy from so many late nights and early mornings.
A lot of the blogs through April and early May ended up being super short as I rushed from one job to the other, I wish I would have spent more time explaining my process of taking on the work. Something I probably mentioned a lot on social media were my many trips to the hardware store. I bought a lot of the construction materials back in November when I bought everything, before I had done enough proper research on what I would need. Since it had been 6 months, I couldn’t really return anything and had some wasted money here and there as I bought the more appropriate equipment. Realistically I could have bought just about everything but the ceilings on the day I needed them.
Blogging takeaways
Blogging has been like journaling with expectations. The site gets something like 400 page views a month now, with 130+ unique visitors. That’s more than 10 times the traffic of 6 months ago. It’s been difficult on weeks when we haven’t made much progress, but setting those weeks in stone has still been worthwhile. Getting to look back on the previous week when writing a new blog is a reminder that we are still taking steps forward! It inspires me to continue and it pushes me to do more each week.
Almost every day I’m here working on the shop, someone new comes by to say hi from the neighborhood. They walk right through the papered up doors like we’re already friends, which is always surprising and pretty cool. They usually come in to make sure this is still happening, and give me ideas to advertise nearby. They seem genuinely concerned for our long term well-being, and often are willing to have a nice conversation about coffee.
I think of this blog a lot like those doors for people who aren’t quite as bold, but who’d still like to check in on us. I keep this blog going to keep those doors unlocked even while the paper is up, and it seems like people are still willing to walk in.
Thanks for reading everyone
Talk to you next weekend, ~Elias
